knoopx/vhs

VHS

Terminal recorder from Charm that creates GIFs, PNGs, MP4s, and WebMs from scripted "tape" files. Run via nix run nixpkgs#vhs -- <file>.tape.

Tape File Structure

A tape file is a sequence of commands that describe terminal interactions:

Output output.gif           # or .png, .mp4, .webm

Set Shell "bash"
Set FontSize 14
Set Width 1200
Set Height 600
Set Theme "Catppuccin Mocha"

Hide                        # Hide typed commands from output
Type "echo hello"
Enter
Sleep 1s
Show                        # Show commands again

Commands

• Type "text" — type text into the terminal
• Enter, Tab, Escape, Space — press keys
• Ctrl+x, Alt+x — key combinations
• Up, Down, Left, Right — arrow keys
• Sleep 1s — wait (supports ms and s units)
• Screenshot file.png — capture the current frame

Settings

| Setting | Example | Purpose | | ------------------------------ | ----------------- | ----------------------- | | Set Shell "bash" | Set Shell "zsh" | Which shell to use | | Set FontSize 14 | Set Width 1200 | Terminal dimensions | | Set Theme "Catppuccin Mocha" | Set Padding 20 | Color theme and padding | | Set WindowBar Colorful | — | Window decorations |

Example: TUI Screenshot

Output screenshots/demo.png

Set Shell "bash"
Set FontSize 14
Set Width 1400
Set Height 800
Set Theme "Catppuccin Mocha"

Hide
Type "cd /path/to/project && my-tui-app"
Enter
Sleep 2s
Show

Ctrl+p
Sleep 1s
Screenshot screenshots/demo.png

Escape
Type "q"
Enter

Tips

• Use Hide/Show to control whether typed commands appear in the output
• Sleep timing is critical — give apps time to render before capturing
• List available themes: nix run nixpkgs#vhs -- themes