Video Podcast Maker Nano

A 7-step pipeline for personal use: research ∥ materials → script → TTS → audio checkpoint → video → preview checkpoint → 4K render ∥ publish kit. No bundled scripts, no hardcoded backends, no templates. The skill owns the logic and runs autonomously by default; the TTS backend and video tool are chosen per video (see Tool selection).

What makes this work regardless of tool choice — the three invariants:

1. Checkpoints are never skipped — but who checks is policy. Three checkpoints exist: script (after Step 2), audio (after Step 3), preview (before render). Default checker is the agent itself (self-verification, defined per checkpoint); a project's AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md may upgrade any checkpoint to a human gate — see Oversight policy.
2. Audio is the master clock. The final video's duration must match the narration audio within ±0.5s (ffprobe both). Visuals are cut to the audio, never the reverse.
3. A script change invalidates everything downstream. Edit the script → re-run the script checkpoint, then TTS → audio checkpoint → visuals → preview checkpoint → render. Never hand-patch timings.

Oversight policy

Default mode is autonomous: the pipeline runs end to end, with the agent performing every checkpoint's self-verification. A working project's AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md can override per checkpoint with one line each:

• Checkpoint 1 (script): human — halt after Step 2 until the user approves the script. Worth it: a late script change costs a full re-run.
• Checkpoint 2 (audio): human — the user listens to the full audio before visuals. Worth it when TTS misreadings are costly to catch later.
• Checkpoint 3 (preview): human — the user reviews the draft before render. Worth it for style-sensitive channels.

Unmentioned checkpoints stay agent-verified. Project policy files start from AGENTS.template.md (next to this SKILL.md): copy it into the video project root as AGENTS.md (plus a CLAUDE.md copy for Claude Code) and fill in the tool bindings. The skill never uploads or publishes anything anywhere — the publish kit is files on disk; publishing is always a human act outside this pipeline.