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Install the genmotion CLI

Install the genmotion CLI with npm and Node 22. Scaffold a video project with npx genmotion init, preview it live, and render MP4 on macOS, Linux or CI.

The genmotion CLI is the app-free way to make videos: scaffold, preview, check and render from a terminal, plus an MCP server for coding agents. It's open source under Apache-2.0 and needs no account.

Requirements#

  • Node 22 or newer. Check with node --version.
  • macOS or Linux. CI runners work too.
  • Nothing else. A headless Chromium and ffmpeg download on the first render.

Create a project#

  1. 1

    Scaffold it#

    Terminal
    npx genmotion@latest init my-video

    npm create genmotion@latest my-video does the same thing.

  2. 2

    Install dependencies#

    Terminal
    cd my-video
npm install

    The project pins its own copy of genmotion, so npm run scripts and npx genmotion use the same version.

    Want genmotion without npx, everywhere? Install it globally:

    Terminal
    npm install -g genmotion

    That is the same command GenMotion Studio installs. If the Studio is on this Mac, genmotion . opens the current folder in it.

  3. 3

    Run it#

    Terminal
    npm run dev       # live studio at http://localhost:4200
npm run check     # compile and headless-render every scene
npm run render    # exports/my-video.mp4

init options#

FlagWhat it does
--size <size>landscape (1920×1080, default), portrait (1080×1920), square, 4k, or WIDTHxHEIGHT
--fps <n>Frame rate. Default 30
--template <id|path>Start from a catalog template or a local project folder
--engine <three|react>Scene runtime. Default three
--name <name>Display name. Default: the folder name
--yes, -yNever ask a question
--jsonPrint one JSON object, for scripts and agents
Terminal
npx genmotion init reel --size portrait --fps 60
npx genmotion init launch --template crypto-launch-video

Check your machine#

Terminal
npx genmotion doctor

It checks Node, ffmpeg, Chromium and WebGL, and prints the fix for anything missing.

Render in CI#

Rendering is deterministic: the default software WebGL produces the same pixels on every machine. A project needs no extra setup to render in a CI job. This is the workflow the starter repo ships with:

.github/workflows/render.yml
name: Render
on: [push]
jobs:
  render:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 22
      - run: npm install
      - run: npx genmotion check
      - run: npx genmotion render
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: video
          path: exports/