Terminal Gif Recordings

gooseworks-ai/terminal-gif-recordings

Create polished terminal GIF recordings using VHS (Video Hardware Software) by Charmbracelet. Use when asked to create terminal demos, CLI gifs, command-line recordings, or animated terminal screenshots for documentation, READMEs, or marketing.

1k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

1086

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/gooseworks-ai/goose-skills --skill terminal-gif-recordings

What comes with it

293 bytes besides the instruction

skill.meta.json

The instruction itself

13 sections, as written by the author

VHS Terminal Recordings

Setup

Read your credentials from ~/.gooseworks/credentials.json:

export GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY=$(python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$HOME/.gooseworks/credentials.json'))['api_key'])")
export GOOSEWORKS_API_BASE=$(python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$HOME/.gooseworks/credentials.json')).get('api_base','https://api.gooseworks.ai'))")

If ~/.gooseworks/credentials.json does not exist, tell the user to run: npx gooseworks login

All endpoints use Bearer auth: -H "Authorization: Bearer $GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY"

Create professional terminal GIF/video recordings using VHS.

Quick Start

# Install VHS
brew install vhs

# Run a tape file
vhs demo.tape

Style Settings (Orthogonal Standard)

Use these settings for consistent, polished recordings:

Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20
Set Margin 40
Set MarginFill "gradient-bg.png"  # Optional: gradient background image
Set BorderRadius 10

Theme Options

Catppuccin Frappe - Soft purple/blue tones (recommended)
Catppuccin Mocha - Darker variant
Dracula - Purple/pink tones
Tokyo Night - Blue tones
Nord - Cool blue/gray

Syntax Highlighting Setup

Enable zsh syntax highlighting before recording:

Hide
Type "source /opt/homebrew/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh"
Enter
Show

Install if needed: brew install zsh-syntax-highlighting

Tape File Structure

# Header comment describing the demo
Output demo.gif           # Output filename (.gif, .webm, .mp4)

# Style settings
Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20

# Hidden setup (env vars, cd, clear)
Hide
Type "export API_KEY=xxx"
Enter
Type "clear"
Enter
Show

# Demo commands
Type "echo 'Hello World'"
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 2s

# End with pause
Sleep 1s

Key Commands

| Command | Description |

|---------|-------------|

| Type "text" | Type text (with realistic timing) |

| Enter | Press enter key |

| Sleep 500ms | Pause for duration |

| Hide / Show | Hide/show terminal during setup |

| Ctrl+C | Send interrupt signal |

| Output file.gif | Set output file |

Timing Guidelines

Sleep 500ms - After typing command, before Enter
Sleep 2s - Short command output
Sleep 3-4s - Longer output or API responses
Sleep 1s - End of recording pause

Example: CLI Demo

# Orthogonal CLI Demo
Output cli-demo.gif

Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20
Set BorderRadius 10

# Setup
Hide
Type "source /opt/homebrew/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh"
Enter

Enter
Type "clear"
Enter
Show

# Search
Type "orth search 'web scraping'"
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 2.5s

# Run command
Type "curl -s -X POST $GOOSEWORKS_API_BASE/v1/proxy/orthogonal/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"api":"olostep","path":"/v1/scrapes"}'
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 4s

Sleep 1s

Output Formats

Output demo.gif    # Animated GIF (default, best for docs)
Output demo.webm   # WebM video (smaller, web-friendly)
Output demo.mp4    # MP4 video (universal compatibility)

Tips

Keep it short - 10-20 seconds max for attention
Hide setup - Use Hide/Show for env vars and cd commands
Realistic typing - VHS adds natural typing speed automatically
Clear between sections - Use Type "clear" + Enter if needed
Test first - Run commands manually before recording

Gradient Background (Optional)

Create gradient-bg.png for professional look:

Use 1200x800px image
Subtle gradient (dark purple to dark blue works well)
Set with Set MarginFill "gradient-bg.png"

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take gooseworks-ai/terminal-gif-recordings from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.

Install what it needs

The instructions reference npx, brew. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.