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Start a project

During the beta use npm create vfrey@beta my-channel. npx create-vfrey my-channel does the same. The package is @vfrey/vfrey and the command is vfrey. create-vfrey installs it in the project folder, so run npx vfrey ... from that folder or any folder inside it. In a folder you already have, run npx @vfrey/vfrey init. To run vfrey ... from anywhere, install it once with npm i -g @vfrey/vfrey. Never npm i vfrey: that name is not this package. See Projects.

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Requirements

npx vfrey doctor checks Node, the data folder, Chrome, the voice, CREDENTIALS_KEY, and the skill. The skill check looks in every agent’s skills folder and passes when any copy is current. See Your agent. It exits non-zero when a check fails. npx vfrey doctor --json always exits 0, so read .ok. npx vfrey doctor --rules also prints the variation and compliance checklists.

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What is installed

In a project: On the machine desk (outside a project), the database is ~/.vfrey/pipeline.sqlite and renders are in ~/.vfrey/renders/. ~/.vfrey/projects.json is the list of your projects.

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Where the data lives

The data folder is chosen in this order: DATA_DIR, then VFREY_HOME, then the nearest project’s .vfrey/ folder (found by walking up from where you run the command), then ~/.vfrey, the machine desk. Each project keeps its own database, so a video or a job in one project does not show up in another project’s dashboard. Outside a project, commands work on ~/.vfrey, and tell you so on stderr: Not in a vfrey project; using the machine desk ~/.vfrey. Start one: npm create vfrey@latest my-channel.
VFREY_HOME also moves the machine-wide folder that holds projects.json. Videos made before projects are on the machine desk. To bring them into a project, see Projects.

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Secrets

Secrets are sealed with CREDENTIALS_KEY, a 32-byte base64 value. They are read back only as present or missing. CREDENTIALS_KEY is optional. You only need it to save platform keys or other secrets in the dashboard. Leave it unset if you only make videos. npx vfrey doctor reports it as not set, and that is fine. To set it, make a key and export it in the shell where you run vfrey:
Or put one line in a .env file in the folder where you run vfrey. npx vfrey loads that file when it exists:
Keep the same key. If you change it, secrets you already saved can no longer be read, and you have to set them again.