# Remotion Rule: Extract Frames

> Remotion skill rule: Extract frames from videos at specific timestamps using Mediabunny. Part of the official Remotion Agent Skill for programmatic video in React.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

```bash
npx skills add remotion-dev/skills
```

This rule activates automatically when working with extract frames in a Remotion project.

---

## Intro

Extract frames from videos at specific timestamps using Mediabunny. Part of the [Remotion AI Skill](https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/57997ead-c8fa-409c-916f-28bbc0adc8d9) — the official Agent Skill for programmatic video creation in React.

**Best for**: Developers using Remotion for extract frames
**Works with**: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor

---

## Rule Content

# Extracting frames from videos

Use Mediabunny to extract frames from videos at specific timestamps. This is useful for generating thumbnails, filmstrips, or processing individual frames.

## The `extractFrames()` function

This function can be copy-pasted into any project.

```tsx
import {
  ALL_FORMATS,
  Input,
  UrlSource,
  VideoSample,
  VideoSampleSink,
} from "mediabunny";

type Options = {
  track: { width: number; height: number };
  container: string;
  durationInSeconds: number | null;
};

export type ExtractFramesTimestampsInSecondsFn = (
  options: Options,
) => Promise<number[]> | number[];

export type ExtractFramesProps = {
  src: string;
  timestampsInSeconds: number[] | ExtractFramesTimestampsInSecondsFn;
  onVideoSample: (sample: VideoSample) => void;
  signal?: AbortSignal;
};

export async function extractFrames({
  src,
  timestampsInSeconds,
  onVideoSample,
  signal,
}: ExtractFramesProps): Promise<void> {
  using input = new Input({
    formats: ALL_FORMATS,
    source: new UrlSource(src),
  });

  const [durationInSeconds, format, videoTrack] = await Promise.all([
    input.computeDuration(),
    input.getFormat(),
    input.getPrimaryVideoTrack(),
  ]);

  if (!videoTrack) {
    throw new Error("No video track found in the input");
  }

  if (signal?.aborted) {
    throw new Error("Aborted");
  }

  const timestamps =
    typeof timestampsInSeconds === "function"
      ? await timestampsInSeconds({
          track: {
            width: videoTrack.displayWidth,
            height: videoTrack.displayHeight,
          },
          container: format.name,
          durationInSeconds,
        })
      : timestampsInSeconds;

  if (timestamps.length === 0) {
    return;
  }

  if (signal?.aborted) {
    throw new Error("Aborted");
  }

  const sink = new VideoSampleSink(videoTrack);

  for await (using videoSample of sink.samplesAtTimestamps(timestamps)) {
    if (signal?.aborted) {
      break;
    }

    if (!videoSample) {
      continue;
    }

    onVideoSample(videoSample);
  }
}
```

## Basic usage

Extract frames at specific timestamps:

```tsx
await extractFrames({
  src: "https://remotion.media/video.mp4",
  timestampsInSeconds: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4],
  onVideoSample: (sample) => {
    const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
    canvas.width = sample.displayWidth;
    canvas.height = sample.displayHeight;
    const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
    sample.draw(ctx!, 0, 0);
  },
});
```

## Creating a filmstrip

Use a callback function to dynamically calculate timestamps based on video metadata:

```tsx
const canvasWidth = 500;
const canvasHeight = 80;
const fromSeconds = 0;
const toSeconds = 10;

await extractFrames({
  src: "https://remotion.media/video.mp4",
  timestampsInSeconds: async ({ track, durationInSeconds }) => {
    const aspectRatio = track.width / track.height;
    const amountOfFramesFit = Math.ceil(
      canvasWidth / (canvasHeight * aspectRatio),
    );
    const segmentDuration = toSeconds - fromSeconds;
    const timestamps: number[] = [];

    for (let i = 0; i < amountOfFramesFit; i++) {
      timestamps.push(
        fromSeconds + (segmentDuration / amountOfFramesFit) * (i + 0.5),
      );
    }

    return timestamps;
  },
  onVideoSample: (sample) => {
    console.log(`Frame at ${sample.timestamp}s`);

    const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
    canvas.width = sample.displayWidth;
    canvas.height = sample.displayHeight;
    const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
    sample.draw(ctx!, 0, 0);
  },
});
```

## Cancellation with AbortSignal

Cancel frame extraction after a timeout:

```tsx
const controller = new AbortController();

setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);

try {
  await extractFrames({
    src: "https://remotion.media/video.mp4",
    timestampsInSeconds: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4],
    onVideoSample: (sample) => {
      using frame = sample;
      const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
      canvas.width = frame.displayWidth;
      canvas

---

## Source & Thanks

> Created by [Remotion](https://github.com/remotion-dev). Licensed under MIT.
> [remotion-dev/skills](https://github.com/remotion-dev/skills) — Rule: `extract-frames`

Part of the [Remotion AI Skill](https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/57997ead-c8fa-409c-916f-28bbc0adc8d9) collection on TokRepo.

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/79efb497-1545-4cdd-8db6-b492cdd5e23f
Author: Skill Factory