Practical overview
When it fits
Use it when you want a local Python workflow to automate scripting, narration, stock-footage sourcing and assembly for short-form videos.
Who it is for
- Creators producing faceless YouTube Shorts or TikTok videos.
- People building a repeatable topic-to-video workflow with automated narration and stock-footage editing.
Documented uses
- Turn a topic into a structured, multi-scene script.
- Generate narration and find portrait-format stock footage for scenes.
- Assemble paired visuals, voiceover and transitions into a short video.
- Include a custom avatar or mascot video in a middle scene.
Requirements & limits
The project is a public GitHub repository with an MIT license. Its README documents local setup and requires Gemini and Pexels API keys.
- The scriptwriter uses Google Gemini 2.0 Flash by default, with an optional GEMINI_MODEL override.
- Pexels supplies paired portrait-format stock clips; the README describes reusing the first clip if a second is unavailable.
- The voiceover stage uses Edge-TTS, and the editor uses FFmpeg for trimming, transitions and rendering.
- A user-provided avatar is optional to the setup but required for the described avatar-injection element.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Generate a short video from a topic
Run the documented pipeline to create a short video from a subject.
Before you start
- Python 3.10 or later and FFmpeg installed and available on the system PATH.
- Google Gemini and Pexels API keys.
- Repository dependencies installed with pip from requirements.txt.
- An avatar video at assets/avatar/avatars.mp4 if using avatar injection.
Steps
Clone the repository and install its requirements with pip install -r requirements.txt.
Create the assets/avatar folder and place the avatar video there as avatars.mp4 if desired.
Copy .env.example to .env and set GEMINI_API_KEY and PEXELS_API_KEY; GEMINI_MODEL is optional.
Run python main.py and enter a topic when prompted.
Expected outcome
The README identifies assets/final/final_short.mp4 as the output location.
Guide limitations
- The workflow depends on Gemini for scripts and Pexels for stock footage, so both API keys are required.
- The guide documents a local command-line workflow and does not establish a public API or hosted service.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 8 October 2026
- Original website title
- SaarD00/AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

