OpenShorts is a self-hosted, open-source AI video platform that combines three tools: a clip generator that finds viral moments in long-form video, an AI UGC creator that produces marketing videos with AI actors, and a YouTube Studio for thumbnail/title/description generation with one-click publishing. No watermarks, no usage limits, completely free — you only pay for the AI APIs you use. ~1.4k GitHub stars.
Source: GitHub - mutonby/openshorts
Three Core Tools
1. Clip Generator
Finds 3-15 high-potential moments from long-form videos:
- Google Gemini analyzes transcripts and scene boundaries
- Intelligent 9:16 vertical cropping (MediaPipe/YOLOv8 face tracking or blurred backgrounds)
- Auto-generated subtitles via faster-whisper
- AI voiceover dubbing across 30+ languages
2. AI Shorts (UGC Creator)
Product URL or description
↓
Web scraping / manual input analysis
↓
Viral script generation (hooks + CTAs)
↓
AI actor creation (Flux 2 Pro or gallery)
↓
Voiceover (ElevenLabs)
↓
Talking-head video (Hailuo 2.3 Fast + VEED Lipsync)
↓
B-roll with Ken Burns effects
↓
Final composite (FFmpeg + subtitles)
3. YouTube Studio
- 10 viral title suggestions per video
- AI thumbnails with custom face overlays
- Auto-generated descriptions with chapter timestamps
- One-click publishing to YouTube
Cost Structure
The platform is free. External API costs are minimal:
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Google Gemini (clip analysis) | < $0.01 per 10-min video |
| fal.ai (AI Shorts) | ~$0.50–1.50 per video |
| ElevenLabs (voice) | Free tier available |
| Upload-Post (multi-platform publish) | 10 free monthly uploads |
Self-Hosting
git clone https://github.com/mutonby/openshorts.git
cd openshorts
# Configure .env (optional AWS S3 for cloud backup)
docker compose up --build
# Dashboard at localhost:5175
Stack: FastAPI (Python 3.11) + React 18 + Vite + Tailwind CSS. YOLOv8, MediaPipe, faster-whisper, FFmpeg under the hood. API keys encrypted client-side, containers run as non-root.
How LearnAI Team Could Use This
- Educational content — clip long lectures into short-form highlights for social media
- Marketing — generate UGC-style videos for course/tool promotion
- Compare with Pixelle-Video — different approach (clip existing vs generate from scratch)
- Self-hosted pipeline — own the entire video workflow with no vendor lock-in
Real-World Use Cases
- Content creators — repurpose long YouTube videos into TikTok/Reels/Shorts
- E-commerce — generate product marketing videos with AI actors
- SaaS companies — create feature demo shorts from product walkthroughs
- Local businesses — produce promotional content without hiring videographers