Questions and answers

Which agents work with explainroo?

Any coding agent that can read files and run commands. That includes Claude Code, Codex, Pi and others. The agent runs npx --yes explainroo docs, which prints the steps for making a video and the hard limits. Then it reads the topic for each step, like the writing rules or the scene reference. Right now explainroo works best with Claude Code and Opus 5.5. They made the example videos.

Do I need an API key?

Kokoro and your own recordings need no key, so you can make a whole video without one. The outside services are optional. A paid voice needs an ElevenLabs or Cartesia key, and one OpenRouter key makes AI images and AI clips. Posting needs a sign-in to YouTube or Buffer, or a Blotato key. explainroo connect <service> sets each one up, and the connected services page lists them all.

What does a video cost?

explainroo itself costs nothing. Your coding agent is a separate service. Its work counts toward your plan or bill with that provider, and it sees what you tell it about the topic. Kokoro and your own recordings cost nothing to process.

AI images are optional. They cost about 7 to 13 cents each on your OpenRouter account. AI clips are paid per second, and clip --dry-run shows the price before anything is spent. A budget in video.json limits what all the clips of a video may cost. ElevenLabs and Cartesia narration costs money on your account with them, and explainroo voice reports the characters used. explainroo history shows what a project has spent.

Does it need a graphics card?

No. The voice model, the speech check and the drawing all run on the processor.

Which languages can the voice speak?

English, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. English has American and British voices. Kokoro needs espeak-ng for most other languages, and Python with misaki for Japanese and Chinese. German works with a paid voice or your own recording, because Kokoro has no German voice. The paid voices and recordings need neither program. See voices and languages.

Can explainroo make filmed footage?

explainroo does not film anything. It can buy short AI video clips through OpenRouter on your own key, with explainroo clip. They work for shots of the real world, like a street or food, and they get text and diagrams wrong. See AI video clips. You can add footage or screen recordings you already have with s.clip. You can also capture a live website and rebuild its screens with s.ui. See product demos and the scene reference.

Can I use my own voice?

Yes. Record the script in a quiet room and put the file in assets/. Use one take for the whole video, or one file per scene. The voices and languages page explains how to set it up.

Can I change a video myself?

Yes. Edit script.md or scenes.js and run explainroo preview to see the change. Or ask your agent, for example “make the second scene shorter” or “use the chalk look”.

Can I use the videos for my business?

explainroo is MIT licensed. The voice model Kokoro has an Apache 2.0 license, the Lucide icons have an ISC license and the fonts have the SIL Open Font License. All of them allow commercial use. explainroo makes the built-in music and sound effects itself. There are no recordings from other people in them. Files you add yourself have their own licenses, like a music file or a font, so check those. ElevenLabs and Cartesia voices follow your account’s terms with them. Check those before using their narration for your business.

Why is there a watermark?

Every video has a small “explainroo.com” in the bottom right corner. You can turn it off with "watermark": false in the video’s video.json. You can also put your own text there instead. A TikTok package has no watermark, because TikTok’s rules don’t allow apps to add one.

I’d ask you to keep it if you can. It helps other people find this free project, and it is a way to give something back.

What if explainroo says another run is busy?

explainroo holds a lock while it buys something or posts, so two runs at the same time never do it twice. These locks only work within one computer. So don’t run explainroo on one project from two computers at once, like through a synced folder or a network drive.

When explainroo says another run is busy and nothing else is running, for example after a crash, the message names the lock folder. A project keeps its locks in history/locks/, and sign-ins keep theirs next to your settings file. Move that folder away only while no explainroo command runs.

Where can I report a bug or ask for a feature?

Open an issue on GitHub. The script and scenes of the example videos are in the examples folder. They also come with explainroo, and explainroo doctor prints their folder.