Goose-skills orthogonal-vhs-terminal-recordings

Create polished terminal GIF recordings using VHS (Video Hardware Software) by Charmbracelet. Use when asked to create terminal demos, CLI gifs, command-line recordings, or animated terminal screenshots for documentation, READMEs, or marketing.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/gooseworks-ai/goose-skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/gooseworks-ai/goose-skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/capabilities/orthogonal-vhs-terminal-recordings" ~/.claude/skills/gooseworks-ai-goose-skills-orthogonal-vhs-terminal-recordings && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/capabilities/orthogonal-vhs-terminal-recordings/SKILL.md

VHS Terminal Recordings

Setup

Read your credentials from ~/.gooseworks/credentials.json:

export GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY=$(python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$HOME/.gooseworks/credentials.json'))['api_key'])")
export GOOSEWORKS_API_BASE=$(python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$HOME/.gooseworks/credentials.json')).get('api_base','https://api.gooseworks.ai'))")

If ~/.gooseworks/credentials.json does not exist, tell the user to run:

npx gooseworks login

All endpoints use Bearer auth:

-H "Authorization: Bearer $GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY"

Create professional terminal GIF/video recordings using VHS.

Quick Start

# Install VHS
brew install vhs

# Run a tape file
vhs demo.tape

Style Settings (Orthogonal Standard)

Use these settings for consistent, polished recordings:

Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20
Set Margin 40
Set MarginFill "gradient-bg.png"  # Optional: gradient background image
Set BorderRadius 10

Theme Options

```
Catppuccin Frappe
```
- Soft purple/blue tones (recommended)
```
Catppuccin Mocha
```
- Darker variant
```
Dracula
```
- Purple/pink tones
```
Tokyo Night
```
- Blue tones
```
Nord
```
- Cool blue/gray

Syntax Highlighting Setup

Enable zsh syntax highlighting before recording:

Hide
Type "source /opt/homebrew/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh"
Enter
Show

Install if needed:

brew install zsh-syntax-highlighting

Tape File Structure

# Header comment describing the demo
Output demo.gif           # Output filename (.gif, .webm, .mp4)

# Style settings
Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20

# Hidden setup (env vars, cd, clear)
Hide
Type "export API_KEY=xxx"
Enter
Type "clear"
Enter
Show

# Demo commands
Type "echo 'Hello World'"
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 2s

# End with pause
Sleep 1s

Key Commands

Command	Description
`Type "text"`	Type text (with realistic timing)
`Enter`	Press enter key
`Sleep 500ms`	Pause for duration
`Hide` / `Show`	Hide/show terminal during setup
`Ctrl+C`	Send interrupt signal
`Output file.gif`	Set output file

Timing Guidelines

```
Sleep 500ms
```
- After typing command, before Enter
```
Sleep 2s
```
- Short command output
```
Sleep 3-4s
```
- Longer output or API responses
```
Sleep 1s
```
- End of recording pause

Example: CLI Demo

# Orthogonal CLI Demo
Output cli-demo.gif

Set Shell "zsh"
Set FontSize 18
Set Width 900
Set Height 500
Set Theme "Catppuccin Frappe"
Set Padding 20
Set BorderRadius 10

# Setup
Hide
Type "source /opt/homebrew/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh"
Enter

Enter
Type "clear"
Enter
Show

# Search
Type "orth search 'web scraping'"
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 2.5s

# Run command
Type "curl -s -X POST $GOOSEWORKS_API_BASE/v1/proxy/orthogonal/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GOOSEWORKS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"api":"olostep","path":"/v1/scrapes"}'
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 4s

Sleep 1s

Output Formats

Output demo.gif    # Animated GIF (default, best for docs)
Output demo.webm   # WebM video (smaller, web-friendly)
Output demo.mp4    # MP4 video (universal compatibility)

Tips

Keep it short - 10-20 seconds max for attention
Hide setup - Use
```
Hide
```
/
```
Show
```
for env vars and cd commands
Realistic typing - VHS adds natural typing speed automatically
Clear between sections - Use
```
Type "clear"
```
+
```
Enter
```
if needed
Test first - Run commands manually before recording

Gradient Background (Optional)

Create

gradient-bg.png

for professional look:

Use 1200x800px image
Subtle gradient (dark purple to dark blue works well)
Set with
```
Set MarginFill "gradient-bg.png"
```