📖 Complete Setup Guide

ClipForge — How It Works

Everything you need to install, use, and download viral clips. Read this first — then launch the app.

✓ 100% Free ✓ AI-Powered ✓ No Account Needed

Jump to section

01 What ClipForge does 02 One-time installation (Python · yt-dlp · ffmpeg) 03 Starting the download server 04 Using the app step by step 05 Downloading your clip 06 Platform formats (TikTok · Reels · Shorts · Twitter) 07 Troubleshooting common errors

Section 01

What ClipForge Does

ClipForge turns any long YouTube video into short viral clips — fully automatically using AI.

⚡

AI Clip Detection

Paste a YouTube link — AI finds the top 5 viral moments with exact timestamps and scores.

✍️

Auto Captions

Every clip gets a ready-to-post social media caption and 8–10 hashtags. Just copy and paste when uploading.

✂️

Trim Editor

Adjust start and end time of any clip. Duration badge shows if it's the perfect viral length (15–30s).

⬇️

Direct Download

One click downloads the MP4 directly to your Desktop with a live progress bar.

📱

Platform Ready

Downloads in 16:9 normal or 9:16 vertical for TikTok, Reels and Shorts — cropped automatically.

🕐

Session History

Every analyzed video saves in the History tab. Click to reload any past video instantly.

Full workflow

Paste URL
YouTube link

→

AI Analyzes
finds moments

→

Pick Clip
see timestamps

→

Edit & Caption
trim + copy text

→

Download
MP4 to Desktop

Section 02

One-Time Installation

Do this once. After setup, ClipForge works every time with just a double-click.

🪟 Windows

🍎 Mac

Install Python

Go to python.org/downloads and download the latest version. Run the installer.

⚠ During install — CHECK the box "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install!

python --version

Run in Command Prompt to confirm. Should show Python 3.x.x

Install yt-dlp

Open Command Prompt (search "cmd" in Start menu) and run:

pip install yt-dlp

Install ffmpeg

ffmpeg handles video trimming. Run in Command Prompt:

winget install ffmpeg

ℹ If winget fails: download from gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds → extract → put ffmpeg.exe in C:\Tools → add C:\Tools to PATH

Put all ClipForge files in one folder

Create a folder on your Desktop called ClipForge. Put these files inside:

▶ ClipForge-FINAL.html — the main app

🐍 server.py — download engine

⚙ start_server.bat — Windows launcher

Section 03

Starting the Download Server

Do this every time before opening ClipForge. It runs in the background and handles downloads.

Windows — Double-click start_server.bat

Find start_server.bat in your ClipForge folder and double-click it. A black window opens.

Server starting on http://localhost:7432
Clips save to: Desktop\ClipForge Downloads
Keep this window open!

✓ Keep the black window open the whole time. Closing it stops downloads.

Mac — Run in Terminal

cd ~/Desktop/ClipForge && python3 server.py

Open ClipForge-FINAL.html in Chrome or Edge

Double-click the HTML file. A green bar at the bottom will say "Download server connected ✓" when everything is ready.

Section 04

Using the App Step by Step

Once the server is running and the app is open, follow these steps every time.

Watch the 5-second ad

An ad gate appears when you open the app. Click "Watch Short Ad to Continue". After 5 seconds click "Enter ClipForge". This keeps the tool free.

Paste your YouTube link

Copy the URL from YouTube's address bar and paste it into the input box on the top-left. Supports youtube.com, youtu.be, and Shorts links.

Click Analyze

Hit the red Analyze button. AI scans the video and finds the top 5 viral moments in 5–10 seconds. The video preview loads on the right.

Browse clips — click Preview to watch each one

5 clip cards appear in the left panel. Each shows timestamps, viral score, duration, and why it'll perform well. Click the ▶ preview button to jump to that exact moment.

Click a card to select it — then adjust trim if needed

Click anywhere on the clip card. The right side shows trim controls — change Start and End seconds to fine-tune. Green = perfect, Yellow = a bit long, Red = too long.

Copy the AI caption and hashtags

In the Caption panel, AI wrote a ready-to-post caption and hashtags for each clip. Edit freely then click "copy caption + hashtags" to copy it all at once.

Section 05

Downloading Your Clip

Two ways — one-click if the server is running, manual command if not.

✅

When the server is running you'll see a green bar at the bottom: "Download server connected ✓" — one-click downloads are active.

⬇ Method A — One-click direct download

Select a clip → scroll to the download bar → choose your button:

⬇ Download Clip (MP4)

Normal 16:9 — for YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn

📱 Download Vertical 9:16

Auto-cropped vertical — for TikTok, Reels, Shorts

A progress bar shows download %. When done: ✅ bar appears → click Open Folder to find your file.
Files save to: Desktop → ClipForge Downloads

⚙ Method B — Manual command (if server not running)

The app shows the command in the download area. Copy it, open Command Prompt, type cd Desktop first, then paste and press Enter.

yt-dlp --external-downloader ffmpeg --external-downloader-args "ffmpeg_i:-ss 00:00:45 -t 00:00:25" -f "best[ext=mp4]/best" -o "my-clip.mp4" "YOUR_YOUTUBE_URL"

Section 06

Platform Formats

Quick rule: TikTok/Reels/Shorts = use 📱 Vertical download. Everything else = use ⬇ normal download.

🎵

TikTok

9:16 · 15-60s
Use Vertical

📸

Reels

9:16 · 15-30s
Use Vertical

▶

YT Shorts

9:16 · up to 60s
Use Vertical

Twitter/X

16:9 · up to 140s
Use Normal

16:9 · 15-30s
Use Normal

Section 07

Troubleshooting

Common errors and exact fixes.

❓'yt-dlp' is not recognized

Run in Command Prompt:

pip install yt-dlp

❓ExtractorError: Requested format not available

YouTube changed formats. Update yt-dlp:

yt-dlp -U

❓Server bar shows offline / green bar not appearing

The download server isn't running. Double-click start_server.bat and keep the black window open. Then click "retry" in the app.

❓Video preview black / not showing

Some videos block embedding. Click the ⤢ Open in YouTube button on the preview area to watch it in YouTube instead.

❓Where do downloaded clips save?

Always saved to Desktop → ClipForge Downloads folder. Click the "Open Folder" button after download finishes.

❓Python not found when starting server.bat

Python wasn't added to PATH. Re-install from python.org and check "Add Python to PATH" during install. Then restart your PC.

Ready to start clipping?