xai-org/xai-cookbook/grok-shorts-presenters

Presenters and personalities

Set up

Run this before the first command in a conversation. It takes a few seconds once everything is installed.

cd /workspace 2>/dev/null || cd ~
[ -d xai-cookbook ] || git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/xai-org/xai-cookbook
git -C xai-cookbook sparse-checkout set examples/grok-shorts
git -C xai-cookbook pull -q --ff-only
bash xai-cookbook/examples/grok-shorts/skills/setup.sh

In the commands below, shorts means the path in the shorts field it prints, usually /workspace/bin/shorts. shorts options lists the presenters and personalities there are.

A new presenter

1. Start from an idea, or from a real person.

• shorts presenter invent ["<idea>"] makes someone up: a first name, how they look, where they film, a voice, and a line in their voice. Without an idea it's a surprise.
• shorts presenter from-video <video> --consent [--at <seconds>] [--clone-voice --name <name>] reads a video of a real person: whoever is talking at --at, or else whoever talks the most, with four frames of them, a sample of their voice, and how they look and where they are. The video itself isn't kept. Ask first, every time: "Is this you, or did they agree to have their face and voice used?", and pass --consent only after a clear yes. --clone-voice makes a custom voice from the sample, which takes an Enterprise plan. Without one, voiceError says so: pick a voice from shorts voices instead.

1. Hear voices. shorts voices lists the voices, and shorts speak "<line>" --voice <id> says a line in one, for a fraction of a cent.
2. Draw portraits. shorts presenter portraits --look "<how they look>" --room "<where they film>", or --likeness <frame> with one of from-video's frames, draws four portraits for 16 to 25 cents. Attach them and let the person pick one. Skip any with words or app buttons drawn in.
3. Screen test. shorts presenter screen-test <portrait> --voice <id> --room "<where they film>" [--line "<line>"] [--delivery "<how they act>"] films a few seconds of them saying the line, for about 70 cents. Get a yes first, then attach it.
4. Save them. shorts presenter save --portrait <portrait> --name <name> --look "<how they look>" --room "<where they film>" --voice <id> [--personality <id>] saves them for every video, under the id it returns. shorts presenter save --id <presenter> [--name] [--voice <id>] [--personality <id>] changes a presenter already saved, or a built-in one, without new portraits.

Portraits and frames have to be ones the studio made, from the paths these commands return.

A new personality

A personality is how a presenter's lines are written, and how they act them out on camera.

1. shorts personality write ["<idea or @handle>"] writes one: a name, a summary, how they talk with example lines, and how they act on camera. With an X handle, Grok reads the account's posts and copies its style, never its name. Save what it prints to a file.
2. shorts personality lines --file personality.json [--topic "<topic>"] writes the hook, a beat, and the ending of a video in it, to try it out, and shorts speak says them.
3. shorts personality screen-test --presenter <id> --line "<line>" --delivery "<how they act>" films a presenter acting a line in it, for about 70 cents, after a yes.
4. shorts personality save --file personality.json saves it, with any part changed by --name, --summary, --style, or --delivery. Its id goes with --personality on draft, revise, and presenter save.

Rules

• A real person's face and voice only with their consent, confirmed each time.
• Presenters are always adults, and never a real person by name unless it's them, or they agreed.
• Get a yes for anything that costs more than a few cents: portraits and screen tests.