VHS Recording Skill

Generate professional terminal recordings from VHS tape files.

When To Use

• Recording terminal sessions with VHS tape scripts
• Creating terminal demo recordings for documentation

When NOT To Use

• Browser-based workflows - use scry:browser-recording instead
• Non-terminal demos or GUI applications

Overview

VHS converts declarative tape files into animated GIFs of terminal sessions. Tape files define commands, timing, and terminal appearance.

Required TodoWrite Items

- Locate and validate tape file
- Check VHS installation status
- Execute VHS recording
- Verify output GIF creation

Module Reference

• See modules/tape-syntax.md for VHS tape file directives
• See modules/execution.md for recording workflow details

Workflow

Phase 1: Validate Tape File

1. Confirm tape file exists at specified path
2. Read tape file contents
3. Verify required directives:
   • Output directive specifies GIF destination
   • At least one action command (Type, Enter, etc.)

Phase 2: Check VHS Installation

which vhs && vhs --version

If not installed:

# Linux/WSL
go install github.com/charmbracelet/vhs@latest

# macOS
brew install charmbracelet/tap/vhs

# Also requires ttyd and ffmpeg

Phase 3: Execute Recording

vhs <tape-file.tape>

VHS will:

1. Parse tape file directives
2. Launch virtual terminal (ttyd)
3. Execute commands with timing
4. Capture frames
5. Encode to GIF using ffmpeg

Phase 4: Verify Output

1. Check GIF file exists at Output path
2. Verify file size is non-zero
3. Report success with output location

Exit Criteria

• GIF file created at specified Output path
• File size indicates successful recording (typically >50KB)
• No error messages from VHS execution

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

If vhs is not found, verify that your Go bin directory is in your PATH (typically ~/go/bin). If the recording fails to start, ensure ttyd and ffmpeg are installed, as VHS depends on them for terminal emulation and video encoding. For "permission denied" errors when writing the GIF, check that the output directory exists and is writable.