# Quickstart

> Create your first GenMotion video in five minutes. Paste one setup prompt into Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, or run npx @genmotion/cli init and render an MP4.

Source: https://genmotion.dev/docs/quickstart

There are two ways in. Let your agent do the setup, or run three commands yourself. Both end with the same project folder.

## Let your agent set it up

Open Claude Code, Codex or Cursor in an empty folder and paste this prompt. The agent installs the project, reads the rules, asks what the video is for and builds it.

```text title="Setup prompt"
Set up a GenMotion video project in this folder and help me make a video.

1. Run `npx @genmotion/cli@latest init my-video --yes` (add `--size portrait` for a vertical video), then `cd my-video && npm install`.
2. Read `AGENTS.md` and the `genmotion` and `genmotion-skills` skills in `.claude/skills/`.
3. Ask me what the video is for, how long it should be and where it will be shown, unless I already told you.
4. Run `npx @genmotion/cli skills search "<my request>"`, pick the one skill that owns this kind of video, follow it, and record the choice in `VIDEO.md`.
5. Build the scenes. Before telling me it is done, run `npx @genmotion/cli check` and `npx @genmotion/cli still --at 50%` and look at the frames.
6. Start a preview I can open with `npx @genmotion/cli dev --background`. Render the MP4 with `npx @genmotion/cli render` when I ask.

Docs: https://genmotion.dev/docs
```

> **Note:** The agent runs `npx`, so the folder needs Node 22 or newer. Check with `node --version`.

## Or set it up yourself

### 1. Create a project

```sh
npx @genmotion/cli@latest init my-video
cd my-video
npm install
```

Add `--size portrait` for a 9:16 video, or `--template <id>` to start from a finished video. `npx @genmotion/cli templates` lists them.

### 2. Start the preview

```sh
npm run dev
```

The studio opens at `http://localhost:4200`. Play, scrub, step through frames and jump between scenes. It reloads every time a file is saved.

### 3. Describe your video to your agent

Open your agent in the `my-video` folder and say what you want: "A 20-second launch video for our notes app, 16:9, dark and confident." The project already tells the agent how to work. See [Make your first video](https://genmotion.dev/docs/make-your-first-video) for how to brief it well.

### 4. Check and render

```sh
npm run check     # every scene compiles and renders headlessly
npm run render    # writes exports/my-video.mp4
```

The first render downloads a headless Chromium and ffmpeg, once per machine.

## Prefer an app?

[GenMotion Studio](https://genmotion.dev/docs/install-studio) does all of this in one window on a Mac: chat with your agent on the left, the preview in the middle, a timeline below and an Export button.

![GenMotion Studio: the agent chat on the left, a frame-accurate preview in the middle and a timeline of scenes and audio below](https://genmotion.dev/editor-screenshot.webp "GenMotion Studio")

## Next steps

- [Connect your agent](https://genmotion.dev/docs/connect-your-agent): The files a project ships with, the Claude Code plugin and the MCP server.
- [Skills](https://genmotion.dev/docs/skills): How the agent decides what kind of video it's making.
- [CLI commands](https://genmotion.dev/docs/cli): Every command and flag.
- [Rendering](https://genmotion.dev/docs/rendering): Formats, frame ranges, 4K and speed.