make video ads with claude code
paste a company's website, say what kind of ad you want, get a finished video. it reads the brand itself. runs on your own laptop, free per ad.
setup guide
- open code.visualstudio.com
- press the big blue download button
- open the file it downloads and install it
- open VS Code and leave it open
what is this?
a free app from Microsoft. you will not write any code in it. it is just the window everything else happens inside.
the one part you will use is the terminal: the menu is Terminal, then New Terminal, and a black box opens at the bottom. that is where you type things.
on a Mac, drag Visual Studio Code into Applications first, then open it from there.
- open claude.ai and make an account
- pick Pro, $20 a month. already have a free account? upgrade at claude.ai/settings/billing
do i really have to pay?
yes. this is the one thing on this page that costs money. the free plan does not include Claude Code at all.
Pro makes ads all day. Max ($100 a month) is only worth it once Pro actually starts telling you to wait.
- in VS Code, open Terminal, then New Terminal
- paste this line and press Enter
on Windows: switch the terminal to PowerShell first, then paste irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex instead.
- quit VS Code and open it again
- open a new terminal, type
claude, press Enter - pick Claude account with subscription
- your browser opens. sign in and press approve
- go back to VS Code. you are connected
something went wrong
command not found: claude means you did not quit and reopen VS Code. a terminal that was already open cannot see something installed after it started. this is the most common snag on this page.
no browser opened? press c in the terminal to copy the sign-in link, then paste it into your browser yourself.
- open github.com/melnikoff-oleg/ads-studio
- press the green Code button, then Download ZIP
- open the file you downloaded. it turns into a folder
- drag that folder to your Documents so it is easy to find
- in VS Code: File, then Open Folder, and pick it
how do i know i opened the right thing?
the left side of VS Code should now list CLAUDE.md, README.md, ads, reference and scripts. if you only see one folder inside another folder, open the inner one.
know what git is? git clone https://github.com/melnikoff-oleg/ads-studio.git does the same thing.
this is how the tool reads a company's website. it is free to start and takes two minutes.
- open firecrawl.dev and make an account
- go to API Keys
- copy your key. it starts with
fc-
now put the key in the folder:
- in VS Code, click the file called
.env.example - right-click it, press Rename, and name it exactly
.env - find the line
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=fc-your-key-here - delete
fc-your-key-hereand paste your real key in its place - save the file:
Cmd+Son Mac,Ctrl+Son Windows
careful with this bit
no spaces around the = sign, and no quote marks. just the word, the equals sign, and your key.
the file name is .env with a dot at the front and nothing after it. not .env.txt, not env.
never post this key anywhere or put it in a video. it is yours. if you ever show it by accident, make a new one on the same page and the old one stops working.
- open a terminal in VS Code, type
claude, press Enter - paste this and press Enter
- it will ask permission a few times. say yes
- wait until it tells you everything passed
what is it actually doing?
checking that three free tools are on your computer, and installing them if they are not: Node, ffmpeg and Python. they are what turn the ad into a real video file.
the first time takes a few minutes. after today you never do this step again.
if anything goes wrong, say so in the same box. it can read its own error and fix it.
paste one sentence. that is the whole job.
- it reads the website and picks up the colours and logo
- it writes the ad, then renders it
- when it finishes, the video is in the new folder inside
ads
then just say what to change: “slower at the start”, “bigger text”, “end on the logo”. two or three rounds gets it good.
more ways to ask
swap the website and the mood for anything you like:
make a 30 second ad for stripe.com, lead with the speed
15 second vertical ad for linear.app for instagram
6 second bumper for notion.so, just the logo and one line
the first video takes longer than every one after it. a 15 second ad is usually a few minutes.
every ad lives in its own folder inside ads, so nothing you make ever overwrites anything else.
it costs nothing per video. it all runs on your own computer.
if you get stuck
the things that actually go wrong, taken from the questions people ask under the video.
the terminal says “command not found: claude”
installing the Claude Code extension in VS Code does not give you the claude terminal command. the extension keeps a private copy for its own chat panel. that catches almost everyone, and it is not a broken setup.
to get the command, install Claude Code itself:
# macOS or Linux curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash # Windows PowerShell irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
then close the terminal window completely and open a new one. skipping that is the second most common reason it still says not found. check it worked with claude --version.
still not found on a Mac? your PATH is missing the folder, so run these two lines:
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc source ~/.zshrc
claude doctor prints a full health report if you are still stuck. and if you would rather never touch a terminal, the Claude Code desktop app does the same job with buttons.
one thing worth knowing before you install anything: Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan (Pro or higher) or an API account. the free claude.ai plan does not include it, so it can install perfectly and still refuse to sign you in.
what does this actually cost to run?
Claude Code comes with a Claude subscription: Pro at $20/month, Max at $100 or $200/month. usage is included, there is no per-run charge. the free plan does not include Claude Code at all.
inside Claude Code, /status tells you whether you are on a subscription or an API key, and /usage shows how close you are to your plan limit.
prices and free tiers move. these were checked in August 2026.
is "--dangerously-skip-permissions" safe?
it does exactly what the name says: it turns off the ask-before-acting prompt, so Claude can edit files and run commands on your machine without checking with you each time. that is why it is fast, and that is the whole risk.
the honest version: in a project folder like this one, where you know what is inside and nothing valuable is nearby, it is a reasonable trade. pointed at your whole home folder, or at a repo you have not read, it is not.
the safer default is to drop the flag. claude "/prime" does the same work and asks first. you approve a few things at the start, then it stops asking about the same kinds of actions.