FAQ

#Does anything leave the machine?

Scenes, frames, renders, and sounds stay in the project folder. Agent sessions talk to Claude, as Claude Code does. GitHub is contacted only to install a style that isn't local.

#Do I need Claude Code to render?

No. rapid render, still, sheet, check, join, mix, mux, phone, and the style and format commands run without the daemon or an agent. rapid video --review none on a project whose storyboard and scenes exist runs no agent. Agents write storyboards, build scenes, and review them.

#The CLI says no daemon is running.

rapid: No rapid daemon is running at http://127.0.0.1:4317. Start one with `rapid serve`. Run rapid daemon ensure (background) or rapid serve (foreground), or press Start daemon in the pane. rapid video, rapid open, and the MCP tools start one themselves. On another port, set RAPID_PORT or RAPID_URL.

#A scene rendered nothing.

Any problem fails the whole render: an uncaught error, a throwing frame callback, an asset or font that didn't load. rapid render names the first and its time. See when a render fails.

#The same frame differs between renders.

Something draws from state instead of time: a counter bumped per frame, a timer chain, motion started after load. Chunks seek out of order; compute from t in rapid.frame, or use GSAP timelines, CSS, or Web Animations made at load. See determinism.

#Can a scene load a font or library from the web?

No. A scene reaches nothing outside its folder (a project's scene: the project). Put the font beside it, use an installed face, or use a style that ships its faces (poster). Libraries are the pinned ones: rapid:lib/gsap@3.15.0 and rapid's own, each @1.

#An element moving off the edge is marked.

It shouldn't be: placement checks hold only elements at rest, and an element wholly off the frame isn't seen. If it is marked, it is at rest past the edge; hide it once it has gone.

#A check marks my background as outside the safe area.

Give full-frame fields data-role="texture"; textures aren't held to the safe area or keep-outs.

#A check says nothing moves.

The dead check marks any span over 0.8 s where nothing on screen moves. Add secondary motion (rapid:lib/motion@1), or list the span in the meta's holds when the stillness is the point.

#How do I change one scene without re-rendering the video?

Edit scenes/<id>.html, then rapid redo <render node>. Only what depends on it runs again: its checks, sheet, review, then the join, mix, mux, and phone copy. See fingerprints. With a finished video, rapid revise <job> --scene <id> --note "…" does the build for you.

#How do I tell a builder what to change?

rapid redo <build node> --note "…", Redo with a note in the pane or the screening page, or rapid revise. Every note on a node goes into the agent's prompt.

#How do I make it cheaper, or the machine less busy?

Lower slots in $RAPID_HOME/config.json: think for agents, web for Chrome. See lanes. --keys off and --director none drop the key-frame and direction passes.

#Where are installed styles?

$RAPID_HOME/styles/<name>/<version>/ (~/.rapid by default), read-only. A project pins what it uses in rapid.lock.

#Do I need Blender or uv?

Only for the feature each serves: uv for a video cut to a track, Blender for product shots. Everything else runs without them.

#A font fails the check.

A style names its faces and allowed substitutes. A face you lack, with no allowed substitute present, fails by name. Install the face, or use a style whose faces you have.

#Is there a length limit?

No. The built-in formats have no maximum; the phone copy drops to 720p after 120 s to stay under its cap.

#Is the machine ready?

rapid setup --check, or /rapid setup in Claude Code. See install.

#An agent can't sign in.

Agents use Claude Code's sign-in. Run claude, then /login, or set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY for the daemon.

#A command failed with one line.

Every failure prints one line, rapid: <what went wrong>, and exits 1. RAPID_DEBUG=1 prints the whole error.

#My scene looks the same in every style.

It sets its own colours, faces, or sizes. Link rapid:style, use the kit and the --rapid-* properties, and keep your own CSS to layout.