How to use ViMax: clone, set up and make your first AI video

What ViMax does and who it is for

ViMax describes itself as an agentic video generation framework that covers the director, screenwriter, producer and video generator roles in one workflow. You give it a concept, script or novel, and it coordinates narrative planning, visual consistency, image generation, video generation and final assembly.

The README names four groups it fits best: creators who want to prototype short story videos from a written idea, developers exploring agent-based video production pipelines, writers who want to adapt a screenplay or novel into visual scenes, and users who want an interactive planning and revision workflow before rendering.

Check the requirements before you install

The README lists Python 3.12 and uv, a Python package manager, as prerequisites. The install method is clone-and-build.

ViMax depends on external generation services. You need access to image, video and LLM provider accounts, because the pipeline calls them to produce its outputs. Without those accounts the pipeline cannot run end to end.

• Python 3.12
• uv (Python package manager)
• Accounts with image, video and LLM providers
• Comfort running a Python project from the command line or a Web UI setup

Install ViMax by cloning the repository

Start by cloning the repository from GitHub. The README gives this command. After cloning, follow the setup steps in the repository's own documentation, since this guide only covers what the README states.

Choose a workflow to start with

ViMax offers several workflows. Idea2Video turns a short concept into structured stories, characters, scripts, storyboards, shots and a finished video. Script2Video converts an explicit screenplay into controllable multi-scene, multi-shot video. Novel2Video adapts long-form fiction into episodic visual narratives with narrative compression and character tracking.

If you are new, Idea2Video is the closest match to the project's core promise: a single concept in, a video out. If you already have a screenplay or a novel, use Script2Video or Novel2Video instead.

• Idea2Video: start from a short concept
• Script2Video: start from a screenplay
• Novel2Video: start from long-form fiction
• AutoCameo: place a person or pet from a reference photo into generated stories

Use the Web UI or the Agent Loop and TUI

The Web UI lets you manage named projects, work with the ViMax Agent, upload source files, inspect artifacts and storyboard progress, preview renders and configure providers from the browser. The Agent Loop and TUI let you discuss ideas, revise plans, resume sessions, review text artifacts and control rendering from one interactive workspace.

Both interfaces support an interactive planning and revision step before rendering, which is useful because the README does not promise that output is polished without review.

• Web UI: named projects, uploads, storyboard previews, render progress, provider settings, dark mode
• Agent Loop and TUI: planning, revision, session reuse, render control

Review your output before you rely on it

The README describes an automated pipeline but shows no quality guarantees. Treat generated scripts, storyboards and shots as drafts. Check the text artifacts and storyboard previews, revise the plan through the agent, then render.

The README also lists known limits of AI video in general: short clips, character inconsistency across frames, and a focus on visuals over story. ViMax tries to address these with consistency and storyboarding features, but you should judge the result yourself.