| name | translate-video |
| description | Translate video subtitles to any language with native-quality refinement. Full pipeline: transcribe → translate → refine → embed RTL-safe subtitles. Use for: translate video, תרגם סרטון, video translation, foreign subtitles, Hebrew subtitles, translated captions. |
| argument-hint | [video-path] [target-language] [--shorts|--regular] |
Translate Video
End-to-end video translation pipeline: transcribe → translate → refine subtitles → embed.
Usage
/translate-video /path/to/video.mp4 he --regular
/translate-video /path/to/video.mp4 he --shorts
$1 — video file path (required)$2 — target language code (default: he). See references/languages.md$3 — --shorts (TikTok/Reels) or --regular (YouTube/tutorials). If omitted, ask the user.
Pipeline
Step 1: Transcribe
If audio > 25MB, extract first:
ffmpeg -i "$VIDEO" -vn -acodec libmp3lame -ab 128k "$AUDIO.mp3" -y
Transcribe with word-level JSON (always include --json):
cd ~/.claude/skills/transcribe/scripts && [ -d node_modules ] || npm install --silent
npx ts-node transcribe.ts -i "$INPUT" -o "$BASENAME.srt" --json
Produces: {basename}.srt, {basename}.md, {basename}_transcript.json
Step 2: Translate
Read .md for full context. Translate the .srt — preserve all timestamps and index numbers exactly. See translation rules in references/modes.md.
Step 3: Refine Subtitles
Read references/modes.md for full rules.
--shorts: Fix text only, preserve all timestamps. No merging.
--regular: Merge into full sentences using word-level timestamps.
- Plan subtitle groups from
.md (word counts per group)
- Fill
GROUP_SIZES in scripts/build-timestamps.py and run it
- Replace English text in output SRT with translated text
Step 4: Post-process (both modes)
Enforces MAX 2 lines, MAX chars/line (38 for --shorts, 42 for --regular):
python3 ~/.claude/skills/translate-video/scripts/postprocess.py "$SRT" 42
Step 5: RTL Fix (Hebrew / Arabic / Farsi only)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/translate-video/scripts/rtl-fix.py "$SRT"
Step 6: Embed & Open
~/.local/bin/ffmpeg-ass -i "$VIDEO" \
-vf "subtitles=$SRT:force_style='FontSize=24,PrimaryColour=&H00FFFFFF,OutlineColour=&H00000000,Outline=2,Shadow=1,Alignment=2,MarginV=30'" \
-c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 -c:a copy "$OUTPUT" -y
open "$OUTPUT"
⚠️ Do NOT use Docker ffmpeg for long videos on ARM Mac — x86 emulation is ~100x slower.
Output Files
| File | Description |
|---|
{name}.srt | Original language SRT |
{name}.md | Readable transcript |
{name}_transcript.json | Word-level timestamps |
{name}_{lang}.srt | Translated + refined SRT |
{name}_{lang}_subtitled.mp4 | Final video |
Supporting Files
