WebVid

Turn any website into short-form videos (Reels / TikTok / YouTube Shorts).

V0.1 — fully functional local prototype built to the full Software Engineering Constitution, Modular Creed, and Security-by-Design Directive.

What it does (end-to-end)

1. Paste any public URL.
2. Secure extraction of title, description, main text, key points, and relevant images.
3. Generate (or edit) a short script: Hook + 3–5 points + CTA.
4. Visual storyboard with per-scene timing (fully editable).
5. Render a real 9:16 vertical video (1080×1920) with burned-in captions.
   • Uses ffmpeg when present → real MP4.
   • Graceful fallback to animated GIF otherwise.
6. Preview, download, reuse from local history.

Run (safe ports)

cd webvid
./run.sh

• Backend: http://localhost:4819
• Frontend: http://localhost:4820

Never uses 3000/5000/8000/8080/8081 etc.

Recommended one-time setup (for best quality)

# Real MP4 output (otherwise you get a high-quality GIF you can convert)
brew install ffmpeg

After installing ffmpeg, restart the backend. The UI will show MP4 capability on /api/health.

xAI Grok for dramatically better scripts (optional but transformative)

The "✨ Improve with Grok AI" button in the script editor calls Grok when you have a key.

# Copy the example and set your key
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and put your key, or just export in the shell:
export XAI_API_KEY=your_key_from_console.x.ai

• Get a key: https://console.x.ai/
• When the key is present on the backend, Grok writes the hook + points + CTA.
• Always falls back gracefully to the solid template if the key is missing or the call fails (never breaks the product).
• This is the exact "magic" that makes the tool feel premium and worth paying for.

Restart the backend after setting the key (or let the keeper heal the port). /api/health will report "ai_enabled": true.

Freemium / Profit model (V0.1)

• 2 free renders per day (localStorage, per browser).
• "Go Pro" toggle in header instantly unlocks unlimited + removes the small watermark.
• This is the exact value prop you would charge for: unlimited clean exports, future batch, custom intros, scheduled posts, etc.
• Real usage + clear upgrade moment = marketable.

Security (by design, from day one)

• Every URL is validated + sanitized.
• SSRF protection: private IPs, loopback, metadata services (169.254..., etc.) are blocked.
• Rate limits on every endpoint, extremely tight on /api/render (the expensive CPU/disk operation).
• All scraped data treated as hostile input (length caps, sanitization).
• Renders are written to a controlled ./renders directory with safe filename serving.
• Structured security logging.

See backend/modules/security.py.

Architecture (modular)

webvid/
  backend/
    server.py                 # thin stdlib orchestrator
    modules/
      models.py               # WebContent, Script, Scene, VideoAsset
      security.py             # RateLimiter, validate_and_sanitize_url, etc.
      scraper.py              # general web extraction (stdlib only)
      script_generator.py
      storyboard.py
      renderer.py             # PIL frames + conditional ffmpeg MP4
  frontend/
    index.html                # self-contained vanilla JS + Tailwind (no React/Babel for max compatibility)
  renders/                    # generated videos (gitignored)
  run.sh
  README.md

All new code. No "social asset engine on top". Clean vertical slice for the actual product.

The frontend includes a live "Server renders (all previous)" browser (fetches /api/renders) and one-click example URLs for demos.

GitHub

https://github.com/nurbkny-cyber/webvid

What's new (moving fast toward full product)

• xAI Grok integration live: "✨ Improve with Grok AI" button in the script editor (when XAI_API_KEY is set). Dramatically better, more human, scroll-stopping scripts than pure templates. Full graceful fallback.
• Server renders browser at the bottom of the UI (one-click load any previous video).
• Friendly errors everywhere (no more raw Python tracebacks for bad domains).
• Self-contained vanilla frontend (no fragile React/Babel CDNs).

Next (V0.1 → V1) — still pushing

• Persisted local history (SQLite) + user accounts in hosted version
• Better progress / estimated time for long renders
• ffmpeg detection + quality toggle in UI
• Optional voiceover (gTTS or local)
• Pro export pack (thumbnail variants, .srt captions, multiple formats)
• Packaging as desktop app + one-click hosted version with real billing
• More aggressive scraping (optional trafilatura) + image B-roll selection

Creed compliance note

This was built after the explicit feedback that previous work had only renamed and layered on top of an old real-estate asset generator. The project was restarted in a new directory (webvid/) with fresh modules whose sole purpose is "any website → short video". No leftover listing.beds, price, TEMPLATES for PNG social assets, or mixed concerns.

License / Use

Local tool. Your data never leaves the machine in V0.1.