| name | hance |
| description | Apply cinematic film looks to images/video via the Hance CLI. Use when asked to grade, color, or "make it look like" film. |
/hance
A single entry point that routes to one of six subcommands: setup, run, try, refine, batch, ui.
Routing
Pick the subcommand from the user's request. When in doubt, ask.
| User intent | Subcommand | Doc |
|---|
| "install hance" / "set up hance" | setup | subcommands/setup.md |
| "apply to " / "grade with " | run | subcommands/run.md |
| "make this look like X" / "match this reference" / "show me some looks for this" | try | subcommands/try.md |
| "make this one look better" / "tune/refine this grade" / "more grain, warmer, etc." | refine | subcommands/refine.md |
| "apply X to all of these" / batch a folder | batch | subcommands/batch.md |
| "open the editor" / "open the UI" | ui | subcommands/ui.md |
Runner selection (every subcommand)
Pick one runner per invocation, in order:
- If
command -v bun succeeds → use bunx @orva-studio/hance (preferred — fast cold-start, cached after first fetch).
- Else if
command -v node succeeds → use npx @orva-studio/hance.
- Else → inform the user that a compiled binary is available for download from GitHub releases, but do not install it for them.
Runner priority: Bun (bunx), then Node (npx), then compiled binary as a last resort. Never install the binary for the user — just let them know it exists if they have neither Bun nor Node. Every subcommand must work on a fresh machine; setup only verifies runtime + ffmpeg and shows examples.
The compiled binary expects a hance-gpu sidecar alongside it; a bare ./hance checkout without it fails with ENOENT … hance-gpu. This is why bunx/npx are preferred — they always work. When developing in this repo, run the source directly: bun run packages/cli/src/cli.ts ….
Hard rules
- Never invent flags. Only use names listed in
hance --help or hance preset --help.
- Never run a full video render to explore looks — use
hance preview (still frame) for try.
- Windows is unsupported. If
uname -s reports Windows, stop and tell the user.
References
references/preset-index.md — presets/index.json schema and rebuild contract.references/compare-page.md — /compare route query params and Edit hand-off.references/grading.md — how to judge and dial in a film look: the render→read→adjust loop, what makes a grade read as film, and common artifacts. Read before refine.
