jakubtyrcha · Aug 14, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026
@@ -155,38 +155,29 @@ else
   REPOSITORY="${REPOSITORY_ARG:-$DEFAULT_REPOSITORY}"; REF="${REF_ARG:-$DEFAULT_REF}"
 fi
 
-brew_has() { have brew && brew list "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1; }
-jpeg_ready() {
-  brew_has jpeg-turbo || [ -f /opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg-turbo/lib/libjpeg.8.dylib ] ||
-    [ -f /usr/local/opt/jpeg-turbo/lib/libjpeg.8.dylib ]
-}
-
 install_brew_formula() {
   local formula="$1"
   have brew || { say "Homebrew is required to install $formula; install Homebrew first"; FAILED=1; return; }
   brew install "$formula" || FAILED=1
 }
 
 handle_global_dependencies() {
-  local missing_git=0 missing_node=0 missing_pnpm=0 missing_ffmpeg=0 missing_jpeg=0
+  local missing_git=0 missing_node=0 missing_pnpm=0 missing_ffmpeg=0
   have git || missing_git=1
   have node || missing_node=1
   pnpm_ok || missing_pnpm=1
   { have "${VEED_ENGINE_FFMPEG:-ffmpeg}" && have "${VEED_ENGINE_FFPROBE:-ffprobe}"; } || missing_ffmpeg=1
-  jpeg_ready || missing_jpeg=1
 
   if [ "$missing_git" -eq 1 ]; then need_approval "install Git globally: brew install git"; fi
   if [ "$missing_node" -eq 1 ]; then need_approval "install Node globally: brew install node"; fi
   if [ "$missing_pnpm" -eq 1 ]; then need_approval "install pnpm ${MIN_PNPM} or newer globally: npm install --global pnpm@${MIN_PNPM}"; fi
   if [ "$missing_ffmpeg" -eq 1 ]; then need_approval "install FFmpeg globally: brew install ffmpeg"; fi
-  if [ "$missing_jpeg" -eq 1 ]; then need_approval "install jpeg-turbo globally: brew install jpeg-turbo"; fi
 
   [ "$MODE" = "auto" ] || return
   NEEDS_APPROVAL=0
   [ "$missing_git" -eq 0 ] || install_brew_formula git
   [ "$missing_node" -eq 0 ] || install_brew_formula node
   [ "$missing_ffmpeg" -eq 0 ] || install_brew_formula ffmpeg
-  [ "$missing_jpeg" -eq 0 ] || install_brew_formula jpeg-turbo
   if [ "$missing_pnpm" -eq 1 ]; then
     have npm || { say "npm is unavailable after installing Node"; FAILED=1; return; }
     npm install --global "pnpm@${MIN_PNPM}" || FAILED=1
@@ -195,7 +186,6 @@ handle_global_dependencies() {
   have node || FAILED=1
   pnpm_ok || FAILED=1
   { have "${VEED_ENGINE_FFMPEG:-ffmpeg}" && have "${VEED_ENGINE_FFPROBE:-ffprobe}"; } || FAILED=1
-  jpeg_ready || FAILED=1
 }
 
 handle_global_dependencies
@@ -276,7 +266,6 @@ handle_renderer() {
   [ "$ROOT_KIND" != "missing" ] || return
   engine="$(engine_path)"
   if [ ! -x "$engine" ]; then
-    if ! jpeg_ready; then say "renderer installation is waiting for approved jpeg-turbo installation"; return; fi
     if [ "$MODE" = "dry" ]; then say "WOULD APPLY LOCALLY — install the renderer in $ROOT/.veed-engine"; return; fi
     say "installing the renderer locally"
     bash "$ROOT/pipeline/scripts/install-veed-engine.sh" || die "renderer installation failed"

@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ preview/transcribe-video.ts
 # VEED login token caches (owner-only, never committed)
 veed/.veed-token.json
 veed/.veed-client.json
+# The workspace the user chose to have billed (local state, names an account resource)
+veed/.veed-workspace.json
+# Speaking rates measured on THIS machine's paid runs. Local evidence, not shared state: the rates worth
+# committing are seeded in veed/voice-rates.ts.
+veed/.veed-voice-rates.json
 
 # Harness installs skills per-checkout; track ONLY the product skill so a stray skill can't be
 # committed (and then mirrored). The already-tracked SKILL.md stays tracked regardless.

@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ Run the isolated VEED tests without network access:
 
 ```sh
 node --import tsx --test \
-  tests/cli-entry.test.ts tests/login-page.test.ts tests/oauth.test.ts tests/orchestrate.test.ts \
-  tests/token-store.test.ts \
-  tests/transcript-mapper.test.ts tests/workspace.test.ts
+  tests/charge-records.test.ts tests/cli-entry.test.ts tests/fabric.test.ts \
+  tests/generate.test.ts tests/generate-charge.test.ts tests/generate-set.test.ts tests/generate-validation.test.ts tests/login-page.test.ts tests/oauth.test.ts tests/orchestrate.test.ts tests/sample-presenter.test.ts \
+  tests/go.test.ts tests/token-store.test.ts \
+  tests/transcript-mapper.test.ts tests/voice-rates.test.ts tests/workspace.test.ts
 ```
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ or MCP server when it helps. Source video is optional: stills, slides, generated
 motion graphics are enough when the brief calls for it. Be creative and fluid — try new ideas
 rather than collapsing every ask onto captions.
 
+OpenEdit edits footage. Supply your own source files, or ask it to generate a talking-head clip with
+VEED Fabric when you have none — that spends credits, and never without your approval.
+
 <a href="https://github.com/veedstudio/open-edit/releases/download/launch-examples/OpenEdit-4x3-trim.mp4"><img src="docs/examples/openedit-launch.webp" alt="OpenEdit launch video" width="100%"></a>
 
 *This launch video was made in OpenEdit — click it to watch with sound.*
@@ -42,7 +45,8 @@ rather than collapsing every ask onto captions.
 | Intel Macs | Not supported — the renderer ships macOS-arm64 only |
 | Older macOS | Built and tested on Tahoe 26.0. Nothing checks the version, so earlier releases may work — untested |
 | Windows, Linux | Planned; prioritisation depends on demand |
-| Transcription | needed only to caption speech — OpenEdit asks once and remembers: VEED ([sign up](https://www.veed.io/signup) / [login](https://www.veed.io/login)), WhisperX locally, or your own service |
+| Transcription | needed only to caption speech — OpenEdit asks once and remembers: VEED ([sign up](https://www.veed.io/signup) / [login](https://www.veed.io/login)), WhisperX locally, or your own service. **VEED transcription consumes VEED credits**; WhisperX runs locally on your machine, and your own service is billed by whoever provides it |
+| Generation | optional — a veed.io account, only if you ask OpenEdit to generate footage you do not have |
 
 ## Installation
 Download this repo, or install via the command line with:

@@ -19,15 +19,23 @@ Preflight has three modes: bare applies safe local setup, `--dry` reports withou
 
 ## Requirements
 1. **macOS arm64**, **Git**, **Node**, and the pnpm version declared in `package.json`.
-2. **jpeg-turbo** — `brew install jpeg-turbo`. It supplies `libjpeg.8.dylib`, which the renderer loads at launch.
-3. **ffmpeg/ffprobe** (frame extraction + audio mux). On PATH or set `VEED_ENGINE_FFMPEG ` / `VEED_ENGINE_FFPROBE`.
-4. **veed-engine-cli** — the render engine. Its first install is automatic and local; later updates require
+2. **ffmpeg/ffprobe** (frame extraction + audio mux). On PATH or set `VEED_ENGINE_FFMPEG ` / `VEED_ENGINE_FFPROBE`.
+3. **veed-engine-cli** — the render engine. Its first install is automatic and local; later updates require
    approval. `pipeline/scripts/install-veed-engine.sh` downloads and verifies the latest macOS-arm64 release into `.veed-engine/`.
    Set `VEED_ENGINE_BIN` to use an existing installation.
-5. **A transcription provider** — the skill asks once and remembers the answer. Either
+4. **A transcription provider** — the skill asks once and remembers the answer. Either
    **VEED** (`node --import tsx veed/login.ts`, one-time OAuth, ~30-day refreshable token; a free account
    covers about 10 minutes a month) or **WhisperX** locally (`bash pipeline/scripts/install-whisperx.sh`,
    free and offline). You can also point it at your own service. See `README.md`.
+5. **VEED credits.** **VEED transcription consumes VEED credits** (WhisperX runs locally on your
+   machine; your own service is billed by whoever provides it). Separately, with no source video the skill can GENERATE a talking-head clip
+   (`veed/generate.ts`), which spends a workspace's AI Playground credits. **Fabric reuses VEED
+   transcription's authentication** — same account, same login, same token; no connector, no second sign-in. Generating is TWO charges on two allowances: AI Playground
+   credits for Fabric One Lipsync (~4 a second of finished video) and text-to-speech SECONDS for the speech. The
+   script sets the duration at roughly 1,080 characters a minute, so a 60-second read is a couple of
+   hundred credits plus about a minute of TTS. It never picks the workspace for you and never spends
+   without your explicit approval of the estimate; what the balance moved by is reported and recorded
+   under `runs/<key>/`.
 6. **config.ts** — optional machine-path overrides. Videos live anywhere:
    invoke the skill with the video's path (absolute, or relative to your CWD).
 

@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ SCRIPT steps are deterministic; AGENT steps need an LLM. The default (recipe-bac
 end — the only agent is the opt-in analysis pass; creative face-1 (the user brought their own
 reference/brand/concept) and creative iteration on a delivered result are authored inline by the orchestrator.
 The whole thing is encoded executably in `.claude/skills/open-edit/SKILL.md` (the golden master) — this doc
-is the conceptual map. One video → ONE captioned MP4. No per-shot intermediates, no user-approval gate.
+is the conceptual map. One video → ONE captioned MP4. No per-shot intermediates, and no user-approval gate on
+the captioning itself — the only gates are the FOOTAGE step's three, and they exist only when the user brought no
+footage.
 
 | step | kind | what |
 |------|------|------|
 | preflight | SCRIPT | check `veed-engine-cli` vs the latest release; offer install if stale/missing |
+| footage | SCRIPT (the only step that STOPS to ask) | **only when the user supplied no footage** — generate one with VEED Fabric (`veed/generate.ts`, same VEED login as prep) → `runs/<key>/<key>.mp4`, which the PREP step then treats as ordinary footage. Three gates, in order: FOOTAGE (generate a video, take a clip they have/will record, use another model, or build from other sources instead — a non-Fabric model gets the speech caveat, since silent clips transcribe to nothing) → WORKSPACE (whose AI Playground credits; never picked for the user) → the CREDIT APPROVAL (script + presenter + voice + framing + quoted cost in ONE yes — the only gate that spends; cost tracks the finished DURATION at ~4 credits a second, and how long a script runs depends on the voice). Confirm and spend are two passes; a charged job is collected with `--resume`, never re-paid. Procedure: the FOOTAGE step of SKILL.md |
 | prep | SCRIPT | transcript from the chosen provider (VEED `veed/go.ts`, local WhisperX `prep/transcribe.ts`, or the user's own via `prep/whisper.ts`; chunks = beats, real per-word timings) → `word-timings.json` (per-word absolute-ms reveal delays, synthesized by `prep/prep.ts`) + base frames; auto-detect aspect → write `meta.json` (canvas + duration + paths) |
 | analyse | AGENT (vision) | **OPT-IN, skipped by default** — run only when the user asks to refine the style; then ONE nameless bg subagent reads the frames + transcript → `analysis.json` (per-beat shot/bboxes/neg-space/brightness in CANVAS px), and the DESIGN + RENDER step re-runs with it. The **only** vision pass. `analysis.json` existing IS the fast-path/refinement switch. |
 | sample ONE style | SCRIPT | `pipeline/scripts/sample-style.ts` — facet-scored seeded draw of one aspect-matched ref from `refs/tags.json` (v3 RUNTIME INDEX, recipes only; `fit` = aspect SOT; transcript energy weights the draw) → `style.json` (facets, energy, coverage, alternates). Zero tokens. The CREATIVE PASS routes here too: face-1 (user brought materials) → the DESIGN + RENDER step, from-scratch; face-2 REMIX (any creative iteration) / RE-ROLL (variants asks) / patch (defects). |
@@ -17,18 +20,22 @@ is the conceptual map. One video → ONE captioned MP4. No per-shot intermediate
 | preview | SCRIPT (parallel) | `preview/server.ts runs/<key>` — localhost preview opened for the user (read-only): watch and scrub the footage, follow the transcript, preview the subtitles; auto-swaps to the new `final/out.mp4` when an amend re-render lands. Launched in the background; the pipeline never waits on it |
 
 ## Where quality lives (do not let these drift)
-- **Prep (1)** transcribes with whichever provider the user chose — asked once, recorded in
+- **Footage** is the only step that spends the user's money, so it is the only one with gates: nothing
+  generates without the footage answer, no workspace is ever picked for the user, and ONE approval covers the
+  script, the presenter, the framing and the quoted cost. The charge is always reported, and a job already
+  paid for is resumed, never re-bought.
+- **Prep** transcribes with whichever provider the user chose — asked once, recorded in
   `.open-edit-prefs.json` at the runtime root (real per-word timings either way) — then extracts the base
   frames and fixes the canvas from the source aspect; every downstream step reads `runs/<key>/meta.json`
   (never re-derives dims).
-- **Analysis (2)** is opt-in — the default run derives vibe from the transcript and places by safe margins.
+- **Analysis** is opt-in — the default run derives vibe from the transcript and places by safe margins.
   When the user asks to refine the style it becomes the sole vision pass: structured per-beat facts in CANVAS px
   so the design pass composes from numbers, not pixels — the design pass never re-reads the frames.
-- **Style selection (3)** is a seeded SCRIPT — same run key → same ref, `--seed/--style` to override
+- **Style selection** is a seeded SCRIPT — same run key → same ref, `--seed/--style` to override
   (`--style` only takes index ids — the runtime pool is recipes-only); recipe coverage grows offline. On creative face-1 the USER'S
   materials are the design authority and the DIRECTION covers content/mood/placement only. Keep the
   engagement seed copy **verbatim** (wording changes output).
-- **Design (4)** commits ONE design system in a single pass (no aesthetic re-litigation). Recipes exist to
+- **Design** commits ONE design system in a single pass (no aesthetic re-litigation). Recipes exist to
   ELIMINATE per-run design analysis — and being compiled code, the per-run assembly is exact by construction
   (paging, sizing, gate/fade math, verbatim `word-timings.json` delays; the arithmetic-slip failure class is
   gone). Verification is engine-analytic (`--verify`) — the only fix is the mechanical ladder step-down; no