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charm-vhs

MUST USE when writing, editing, or debugging Charmbracelet VHS `.tape` files for terminal demos. Covers scripted terminal recordings, timing, typing, screen layout, and producing GIF, MP4, or WebM demos from VHS tapes. Do NOT use for general shell scripting, live terminal automation without VHS, or browser and GUI recording tasks unless the output is a VHS-driven terminal demo.

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub
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VHS Tape Files

VHS records terminal sessions into GIFs/MP4s/WebMs from .tape scripts. Run with vhs demo.tape.

Critical Syntax Rules

Type command and inline directives

Type, Sleep, Enter are separate directives on the same line, delimited by the closing " of the Type string. The most common bug is forgetting to close the Type string, which causes Sleep/Enter to be typed literally into the terminal.

# ✅ CORRECT — closing " before Sleep
Type "echo hello" Sleep 300ms Enter

# ❌ WRONG — Sleep and Enter are typed as literal text
Type "echo hello Sleep 300ms Enter

Type with @speed override

Override typing speed per-command with @<time> immediately after Type (no space):

Type@80ms '{"pageSize": 2}' Sleep 100ms

Quoting

  • Double quotes "..." are the standard Type delimiter
  • Single quotes '...' also work and are useful when the typed content contains double quotes (e.g. JSON)
  • Escape quotes inside strings with backticks: Type `VAR="value"`
  • When building shell commands with nested quotes, split across multiple Type lines:
Type "gws drive files list --params '" Sleep 100ms
Type@80ms '{"pageSize": 2, "fields": "nextPageToken,files(id)"}' Sleep 100ms
Type "' --page-all" Sleep 300ms Enter

Pitfall: Every Type line that is followed by Sleep or Enter on the same line MUST close its string first. Audit each line to ensure the quote is closed before any directive.

Settings (top of file only)

Settings must appear before any non-setting command (except Output). TypingSpeed is the only setting that can be changed mid-tape.

Output demo.gif

Set Shell "bash"
Set FontSize 14
Set Width 1200
Set Height 1200
Set Theme "Catppuccin Mocha"
Set WindowBar Colorful
Set WindowBarSize 40
Set TypingSpeed 40ms
Set Padding 20

Common Commands

| Command | Example | Notes | |---|---|---| | Output | Output demo.gif | .gif, .mp4, .webm | | Type | Type "ls -la" | Type characters | | Type@<time> | Type@80ms "slow" | Override typing speed | | Sleep | Sleep 2s, Sleep 300ms | Pause recording | | Enter | Enter | Press enter | | Hide / Show | Hide ... Show | Hide setup commands | | Ctrl+<key> | Ctrl+C | Key combos | | Tab, Space, Backspace | Tab 2 | Optional repeat count | | Up, Down, Left, Right | Up 3 | Arrow keys | | Wait | Wait /pattern/ | Wait for regex on screen | | Screenshot | Screenshot out.png | Capture frame | | Env | Env FOO "bar" | Set env var | | Source | Source other.tape | Include another tape | | Require | Require jq | Assert program exists |

Hide/Show for Setup

Use Hide/Show to run setup commands (e.g. setting $PATH, clearing screen) without recording them:

Hide
Type "export PATH=$PWD/target/release:$PATH" Enter
Type "clear" Enter
Sleep 2s
Show

Checklist When Editing Tape Files

  1. Every Type string must be closed before Sleep/Enter on the same line
  2. Multi-line Type sequences that build a single shell command: ensure the final line closes its string and includes Enter
  3. Sleep durations after commands should be long enough for the command to finish (network calls may need 8s+)
  4. Settings go at the top — only TypingSpeed can appear later
  5. Test locally with vhs <file>.tape before committing