Agent skill · creative production · daymade
cli-demo-generator
Generates professional animated CLI demos as GIFs using VHS terminal recordings. Use to create terminal demos, record CLI workflows as GIFs, generate animated documentation, build demo tapes for README files, or showcase any command-line tool visually: record terminal / VHS tape / demo GIF / animate my CLI.
Why this skill is useful
Adds executable scripts for generating animated CLI demos that enhance visual documentation capabilities.
What it needs
Requires asciinema, python3 installed locally. About 4k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 1,320 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
CLI Demo Generator Create professional animated CLI demos. Four approaches, from fully automated to pixel-precise manual control. Quick Start Simplest path — give commands, get GIF: Self-bootstrapping demo — for repeatable recordings that clean their own state: Critical: VHS Parser Limitations VHS Type strings cannot contain $, \", or backticks. These cause parse errors: Workaround: base64 encode the command, decode at runtime: This pattern is essential for output filtering, function definitions, and any command with shell special characters. Approaches 1. Automated Generation (Recommended) Flag Default Description ------ --------- ------------- -c required Command to include (repeatable) -o required Output GIF path --title none Title shown at start --theme Dracula VHS theme name --font-size 16 Font size in pt --width 1400 Terminal width px --height 700 Terminal height px --bootstrap none Hidden setup command (repeatable) --filter none Regex pattern to filter from output --speed 1 Playback speed multiplier (uses gifsicle) --no-execute false Generate .tape only Smart timing: install/build/test/deploy → 3s, ls/pwd/echo → 1s, others → 2s. 2. Batch Generation Create multiple demos from one config: 3. Interactive Recording Record a live terminal session: Requires asciinema (brew install asciinema). 4. Manual Tape File For maximum control, write a tape directly. Templates in assets/templates/: basic.tape — simple command sequence interactive.tape — typing simulation self-bootstrap.tape — self-cleaning demo with hidden setup (recommended for repeatable demos) Advanced Patterns These patterns come from production use. See references/advancedpatterns.md for full details. Self-Bootstrapping Demos Demos that clean previous state, set up environment, and hide all of it from the viewer: The Hide → commands → clear → Show sequence is critical. clear wipes the terminal buffer so hidden commands don't leak into the GIF. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills daymade/cli-demo-generator