EXPERIMENTAL spike. Adds a Node-side WebGPU compositor backed by the `webgpu` npm package (Dawn) and wires it into the existing shader-transition worker as an opt-in alternative to the CPU blend. Default OFF — set `HF_DAWN_WEBGPU=1` or pass `--gpu-shader-blend` to the CLI to engage. The hf#677 chain (PRs #756-#760) gets us 1.95x on Mac via a CPU shader worker pool, ring-buffered pipelining, and a hybrid layered/parallel capture path. The remaining ceiling is the per-pixel JS blend itself — scalar f64 math in v8. On any host with a real GPU (Mac/Metal, Linux/Vulkan, Windows/D3D), moving the blend to the GPU via Dawn should drop blend wall time on a 854x480 rgb48le frame from ~150-910 ms (depending on shader complexity) to a few ms, projecting 3-5x end-to-end on top of the existing cascade — see the `reference_5x_shader_perf_alternatives.md` memo (option B). beginFrame is structurally Mac-unavailable (crbug.com/40656275); native WebGPU is the next-best Mac-viable lever. The Dawn binding (`webgpu@0.4.0`, dawn-gpu/node-webgpu, maintained by Dawn upstream — Corentin Wallez, Kai Ninomiya) ships a `darwin-universal` prebuilt that targets Apple Metal directly, plus Linux x64/arm64 Vulkan and Windows x64 D3D. Verified locally that the package loads on Linux x64; adapter init returns null in the sandbox (no Vulkan driver) and the worker transparently falls back to the existing CPU path. Mac numbers must be measured on Vance's laptop — there's no GPU host in CI. - `packages/producer/src/services/shaderTransitionGpu.ts` (NEW) Node-side compositor: dynamic-imports `webgpu`, requests an adapter + device, compiles a WGSL compute shader per supported transition, manages per-size GPU resources, dispatches blends, reads back to `rgb48le`. Returns structured init failures rather than throwing — the caller can always fall back to CPU. `HF_DAWN_FORCE_FAIL=1` short-circuits init for testability of the fallback path. - `packages/producer/src/services/shaderTransitionWorker.ts` Augmented: on the first message, if `HF_DAWN_WEBGPU=1`, dynamic-imports the GPU module and probes once. On success, supported shaders run on the GPU. Unsupported shaders (`glitch`, `domain-warp`, `swirl-vortex`, the rest) and any host without a GPU adapter fall through to the existing `TRANSITIONS[shader] ?? crossfade` CPU path with zero behavior change. Mid-render GPU failure disables the GPU path for the rest of the worker's life and falls back — the frame still completes. - `packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts` New `--gpu-shader-blend` boolean flag (default false). When set, the CLI exports `HF_DAWN_WEBGPU=1` into `process.env` before any worker pool spawns. Env-var plumbing chosen over threading the flag through the orchestrator -> stage -> pool -> worker chain because env vars cross the `worker_threads` boundary unchanged. - `packages/producer/build.mjs` + `packages/cli/tsup.config.ts` `webgpu` added to the `external` list in both bundlers. The Dawn binding ships a 70+ MB native `.dawn.node` binary per platform — it must be loaded from the user's node_modules at runtime, not inlined into the bundle. - `packages/producer/package.json` + `packages/cli/package.json` `webgpu@^0.4.0` added to `optionalDependencies` on both. Optional because (a) it's a native binary that may fail to install on some hosts and (b) the feature is opt-in. - `packages/producer/src/services/shaderTransitionGpu.test.ts` (NEW) 3 vitest tests: `HF_DAWN_FORCE_FAIL` short-circuit, init never throws, and PSNR-vs-CPU >= 50 dB on hosts where the adapter is available (auto-skipped on Linux sandbox with a log line). One representative shader (`crossfade`) is ported to WGSL end-to-end as proof of correctness. The harness is shader-agnostic; porting more is a mechanical add to `SHADERS_WGSL` in `shaderTransitionGpu.ts`. Unsupported shaders transparently fall through to CPU even when the flag is on. GPU compute uses f32 + u16 storage; CPU canonical uses f64. Bit-exact equality is not realistic. The default-off path keeps CI byte-equality pins intact (the existing fixtures hit the CPU path unchanged). Fixtures that exercise the GPU path must use a PSNR pin (>= 50 dB documented in the new test). The fallback CPU path is bit-exact with the canonical CPU implementation. Bundled CLI worker smoke (854x480 single crossfade blend, see the investigation log for the harness): | config | wall | notes | |---|---:|---| | CPU baseline (`HF_DAWN_WEBGPU` unset) | 67 ms | reference | | `HF_DAWN_WEBGPU=1` (fell back, no GPU) | 70 ms | +3 ms init+probe, then CPU | | `HF_DAWN_WEBGPU=1` + `HF_DAWN_FORCE_FAIL=1` | 66 ms | fallback verified | Both fallback runs produced byte-identical output to the CPU baseline checksum — fallback fidelity confirmed. **Mac numbers: Vance, please fill in.** Pull the branch, run a shader-transition fixture both with and without `--gpu-shader-blend`, and drop the wall-time pair in a comment. Anywhere the GPU path can't run, the existing CPU path runs unchanged: - `webgpu` package not installed (optional dep skipped on install) -> CPU - `webgpu` loads but `requestAdapter()` returns null (no GPU) -> CPU - WGSL pipeline compile fails -> CPU - `--gpu-shader-blend` set but shader not in `SHADERS_WGSL` -> CPU - Mid-render GPU failure -> log + disable GPU + finish on CPU Failure reason is logged once per worker (not per frame). No crash path. - Port the remaining 12 shaders to WGSL (mechanical: `flashThroughWhite`, `chromaticSplit`, `sdfIris`, `glitch`, `lightLeak`, `crossWarpMorph`, `whipPan`, `cinematicZoom`, `gravitationalLens`, `rippleWaves`, `swirlVortex`, `thermalDistortion`, `domainWarp`, `ridgedBurn`). - Once Mac wall-time confirms the lever, decide on flip-default-on or keep opt-in. - Update fixture pins for any fixture that needs to exercise the GPU path under CI (PSNR-only). - A persistent device + pipeline cache shared across workers (currently per-worker init). _PR drafted by Vai_ Co-Authored-By: Vai <vai@heygen.com>
Write HTML. Render video. Built for agents.
Hyperframes is an open-source video rendering framework that lets you create, preview, and render HTML-based video compositions — with first-class support for AI agents.
Quick Start
Option 1: With an AI coding agent (recommended)
Install the HyperFrames skills, then describe the video you want:
npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes
This teaches your agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex) how to write correct compositions, GSAP timelines, Tailwind v4 browser-runtime styles, and first-party adapter animations. In Claude Code, the skills register as slash commands — invoke /hyperframes to author compositions, /hyperframes-cli for the dev-loop commands (init, lint, preview, render), /hyperframes-media for asset preprocessing (TTS, transcription, background removal), /tailwind for init --tailwind projects, /gsap for timeline animation help, or the adapter skills (/animejs, /css-animations, /lottie, /three, /waapi) when a composition uses those runtimes.
For Claude Design, open docs/guides/claude-design-hyperframes.md on GitHub and click the download button (↓) to save it, then attach the file to your Claude Design chat. It produces a valid first draft; refine in any AI coding agent. See the Claude Design guide.
For Codex specifically, the same skills are also exposed as an OpenAI Codex plugin — sparse-install just the plugin surface:
codex plugin marketplace add heygen-com/hyperframes --sparse .codex-plugin --sparse skills --sparse assets
For Claude Code, the repo also ships a Claude Code plugin manifest: test it locally with claude --plugin-dir .. The manifest intentionally omits skills because Claude Code auto-discovers the root skills/ directory by convention, and for marketplace submission use the title HyperFrames by HeyGen plus the black/white icon assets at assets/claude-code-icon-dark.svg and assets/claude-code-icon-light.svg for the two theme slots.
For Cursor, the same skills are packaged as a Cursor plugin — install from the Cursor Marketplace, or sideload by cloning this repo and pointing Settings → Plugins → Load unpacked at the repo root.
Try it: example prompts
Copy any of these into your agent to get started. The /hyperframes prefix loads the skill context explicitly so you get correct output the first time.
Cold start — describe what you want:
Using
/hyperframes, create a 10-second product intro with a fade-in title, a background video, and background music.
Warm start — turn existing context into a video:
Take a look at this GitHub repo https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes and explain its uses and architecture to me using
/hyperframes.
Summarize the attached PDF into a 45-second pitch video using
/hyperframes.
Turn this CSV into an animated bar chart race using
/hyperframes.
Format-specific:
Make a 9:16 TikTok-style hook video about [topic] using
/hyperframes, with bouncy captions synced to a TTS narration.
Iterate — talk to the agent like a video editor:
Make the title 2x bigger, swap to dark mode, and add a fade-out at the end.
Add a lower third at 0:03 with my name and title.
The agent handles scaffolding, animation, and rendering. See the prompting guide for more patterns.
Option 2: Start a project manually
npx hyperframes init my-video
cd my-video
npx hyperframes preview # preview in browser (live reload)
npx hyperframes render # render to MP4
hyperframes init installs skills automatically, so you can hand off to your AI agent at any point.
Requirements: Node.js >= 22, FFmpeg
Why Hyperframes?
- HTML-native — compositions are HTML files with data attributes. No React, no proprietary DSL.
- AI-first — agents already speak HTML. The CLI is non-interactive by default, designed for agent-driven workflows.
- Deterministic rendering — same input = identical output. Built for automated pipelines.
- Frame Adapter pattern — bring your own animation runtime (GSAP, Lottie, CSS, Three.js).
Hyperframes vs Remotion
Hyperframes is inspired by Remotion — we used Remotion at HeyGen in production, learned a ton from it, and kept attribution comments in the source for the patterns it pioneered (Chrome launch flags, image2pipe → FFmpeg streaming, frame buffering). Both tools drive headless Chrome and both are deterministic. They differ on one decision: what the primary author writes. Remotion's bet is React components; Hyperframes' bet is HTML.
| Hyperframes | Remotion | |
|---|---|---|
| Authoring | HTML + CSS + GSAP | React components (TSX) |
| Build step | None; index.html plays as-is |
Required (bundler) |
| Library-clock animations (GSAP, Anime.js, Motion One) | Seekable, frame-accurate | Plays at wall-clock during render |
| Arbitrary HTML / CSS passthrough | Paste and animate | Rewrite as JSX |
| Distributed rendering | Single-machine today | Lambda, production-ready |
Licensing: fully open source vs source-available
Hyperframes is completely open source under Apache 2.0 — an OSI-approved license. Use it commercially at any scale, with no per-render fees, no seat caps, no company-size thresholds.
Remotion is source-available, not open source. The code is on GitHub under a custom Remotion License that requires a paid company license above small-team thresholds. It's a great product with a real team behind it — but if open-source licensing matters to you (OSI compliance, redistribution rights, no per-use fees), that's a first-order decision point.
Full write-up with benchmarks, an honest list of where each tool wins, and a GSAP side-by-side: Hyperframes vs Remotion guide.
How It Works
Define your video as HTML with data attributes:
<div id="stage" data-composition-id="my-video" data-start="0" data-width="1920" data-height="1080">
<video
id="clip-1"
data-start="0"
data-duration="5"
data-track-index="0"
src="intro.mp4"
muted
playsinline
></video>
<img
id="overlay"
class="clip"
data-start="2"
data-duration="3"
data-track-index="1"
src="logo.png"
/>
<audio
id="bg-music"
data-start="0"
data-duration="9"
data-track-index="2"
data-volume="0.5"
src="music.wav"
></audio>
</div>
Preview instantly in the browser. Render to MP4 locally or in Docker.
Catalog
50+ ready-to-use blocks and components — social overlays, shader transitions, data visualizations, and cinematic effects:
npx hyperframes add flash-through-white # shader transition
npx hyperframes add instagram-follow # social overlay
npx hyperframes add data-chart # animated chart
Browse the full catalog at hyperframes.heygen.com/catalog.
Documentation
Full documentation at hyperframes.heygen.com/introduction — Quickstart | Guides | API Reference | Catalog
Packages
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
hyperframes |
CLI — create, preview, lint, and render compositions |
@hyperframes/core |
Types, parsers, generators, linter, runtime, frame adapters |
@hyperframes/engine |
Seekable page-to-video capture engine (Puppeteer + FFmpeg) |
@hyperframes/producer |
Full rendering pipeline (capture + encode + audio mix) |
@hyperframes/studio |
Browser-based composition editor UI |
@hyperframes/player |
Embeddable <hyperframes-player> web component |
@hyperframes/shader-transitions |
WebGL shader transitions for compositions |
Skills
HyperFrames ships skills that teach AI agents framework-specific patterns that generic docs don't cover.
npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes
| Skill | What it teaches |
|---|---|
hyperframes |
HTML composition authoring, captions, TTS, audio-reactive animation, transitions |
hyperframes-cli |
Dev-loop CLI: init, lint, inspect, preview, render, doctor |
hyperframes-media |
Asset preprocessing: tts (Kokoro), transcribe (Whisper), remove-background (u2net) — voice/model/codec selection |
hyperframes-registry |
Block and component installation via hyperframes add |
website-to-hyperframes |
Capture a URL and turn it into a video — full website-to-video pipeline |
remotion-to-hyperframes |
Translate a Remotion (React) composition into a HyperFrames HTML composition |
gsap |
GSAP timelines for HyperFrames: paused registration, deterministic seeking, easing, sequencing, performance |
animejs |
Anime.js animations and timelines registered on window.__hfAnime for deterministic HyperFrames seeking |
css-animations |
CSS keyframe animation patterns that HyperFrames can discover, pause, and seek |
lottie |
lottie-web and dotLottie players registered on window.__hfLottie with local assets and paused playback |
three |
Three.js scenes that render from HyperFrames hf-seek events and window.__hfThreeTime instead of wall-clock time |
waapi |
Web Animations API element.animate() patterns seeked through document.getAnimations() |
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Cloning the repo
The repo uses Git LFS for golden regression-test baselines under packages/producer/tests/**/output.mp4 (~240 MB of .mp4 files). If you're cloning the full repo for development, install Git LFS first:
# macOS
brew install git-lfs
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install git-lfs
# Windows
winget install GitHub.GitLFS
# (or install Git for Windows, which bundles Git LFS as an optional component)
# Then (once, per machine)
git lfs install
If you hit git-lfs filter-process: command not found during git clone or npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes, install Git LFS and retry. You can also skip LFS content if you only need the source files:
GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes.git
