Make an animated explainer video with explainroo, a free, open-source tool, without paying for video-making software. It uses an AI coding agent, a service that writes and runs code from your instructions, to turn a topic or product brief into a narrated MP4 video.
Tell the agent what video you want and request changes through prompts instead of using drag-and-drop controls. explainroo charges nothing per video, but the coding agent has separate pricing.
How explainroo creates animated explainers
explainroo turns a written brief into a sequence of illustrated scenes with narration. An AI coding agent creates a script and scene instructions; explainroo then produces the video on your computer. This workflow suits creators who want to generate an explainer from a prompt and are comfortable asking an agent to revise it.
To get started, paste this prompt into a coding agent that can run shell commands, replacing the bracketed text with your topic:
Make me a short explainer video about [your topic]. Use explainroo for it: clone the explainroo repository, read its AGENTS.md, and follow the steps.
explainroo works with Claude Code, Codex, Pi, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, and other coding agents that can run shell commands. It works best with Claude Code. The agent sets up explainroo, makes the video, checks it, and gives you the MP4.
The agent writes script.md for the spoken narration and scenes.js for JavaScript drawing instructions for each scene. You can set a drawing to appear at a specific word in the script, so the visuals follow the narration. explainroo uses Whisper to identify when each word is spoken and time the pictures to match.
explainroo costs and Animaker free-plan limits
explainroo is a free, open-source kit under the MIT license, a license that allows people to use and modify the code. The kit itself costs nothing per video. Optional AI illustrations cost money per image, and the coding agent has its own pricing. The kit includes voice generation and timing, as well as drawing, sound, and MP4 assembly, with no per-video charge for any of them.
Animaker’s plans are separate from explainroo’s offer. Before comparing the cost of a finished video, check Animaker’s current free-plan terms, especially limits on creation features and exported videos. Include the coding agent’s price when comparing explainroo, and Animaker’s free-plan limits when comparing Animaker.
What free access includes
With explainroo, the included workflow covers narration, scene drawing, timing, sound, and assembly. Kokoro, an open voice model, reads the script using a choice of American and British English voices. Narration is English only, and it requires no account or API key.
explainroo also makes background music for each video, adds small sound effects, and lowers the music while the narration plays. Chrome draws the frames on an HTML canvas in the background, and ffmpeg combines them into an MP4. Optional AI illustrations through OpenRouter are the paid exception to the included video-making features.
Exports and plan limits
explainroo produces an MP4 file. It does not edit existing camera footage, generate talking avatars, or create live-action video. It also has no drag-and-drop editor, so changes come through requests to the coding agent.
Install a recent version of Node.js for explainroo. You’ll also need ffmpeg and Chrome or Chromium. explainroo downloads its voice and timing models once. It needs no graphics card. The finished video is saved in the project’s videos/<name>/out/video.mp4 folder. The project was developed and tested on Linux, with less testing on macOS and Windows.
explainroo vs. Animaker workflows
The main difference is how you direct the video’s creation. explainroo uses an AI coding agent to write scene instructions and build the video on your computer. Choose explainroo if you can describe the result you want and refine it through prompts. If you need to arrange scenes with drag-and-drop controls or edit existing footage, explainroo does not support those tasks.
Visual styles and assets
explainroo offers five looks: paper, clean, chalk, blueprint, and midnight. You choose a look with one setting in video.json. Scenes can include charts, code, and your own screenshots. Lines can have a hand-drawn appearance, and a large icon library provides visual elements.
It also supports product demos. Tell the agent which product to show and where its code or website is. The agent rebuilds screens to match the product’s colors and fonts, reproducing its button labels, then adds a mouse pointer that clicks through screens and types into fields as the narration explains them.
Editing and narration
The agent creates the narration in script.md and the scene drawings in scenes.js. You can ask it to revise those files and make another video. The pace setting in video.json controls the speed of the voice, pauses, and animations.
explainroo offers wide videos for YouTube and tall videos for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. It also offers portrait videos for Instagram and LinkedIn posts, plus square videos. Tall, portrait, and square formats include captions that light up one word at a time. The tall format keeps text clear of the areas where those apps place buttons.
An agent cannot watch a finished video. explainroo provides other checks: still images of scenes, a contact sheet of small frames, a layout check for cut-off or overlapping text, and a speech check for mispronounced words. Review these checks and the final MP4 before publishing.
When to choose explainroo vs. Animaker
Choose explainroo if you want a free, open-source way to produce narrated animations or product demos and are comfortable directing a coding agent. Start with a short topic, use the supplied prompt, then review the scene images and checks before asking for revisions. If you are comparing it with Animaker, confirm Animaker’s current plan restrictions before deciding which offer fits your budget and publishing needs.
Choose another approach if you need to edit camera footage, create talking avatars or live-action scenes, or arrange a video by dragging elements in an editor. explainroo is built for agent-directed animated explainers, with a local workflow and a clear MP4 output.
Key Takeaways
- Try explainroo for prompt-led explainers: Give a coding agent a topic and ask it to follow explainroo’s setup instructions.
- Separate the kit’s cost from the agent’s cost: explainroo is free per video; the coding agent is a separate service, and optional AI illustrations cost per image.
- Match the workflow to the project: explainroo supports illustrated explainers and product demos, but it does not edit existing camera footage or offer a drag-and-drop editor.
- Check before comparing plans: Verify Animaker’s current free-plan restrictions rather than assuming its features or export terms.
Conclusion
Creators can use explainroo’s AI coding agent to make narrated animated explainers and product demos with no per-video cost. It includes visual styles, video formats, visuals timed to spoken words, and checks of the rendered video. You revise videos through the agent. Narration is available only in English.
Compare the coding agent’s total cost with Animaker’s current free-plan limits, then choose the workflow that fits your video production and publishing needs.
