Turn images and videos into printer and instant-camera animations — locally, without an API key.
中文说明 · Gallery · Full configuration · Troubleshooting
| Modern printer | Retro printer · snowflake collage | Instant camera |
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View all effects and runnable examples →
| Mode | Look and sequence |
|---|---|
| Modern printer | Clean case, centered tray, gradual paper feed |
| Retro printer | Vintage case, warm colors, mechanical printing |
| Instant camera | Photorealistic unbranded camera, shutter click, flash, blank film ejection, development |
Choose 4:3, 9:16, 1:1, 3:4 or 16:9. End with a hold, row, flyout, stack, grid or snowflake photo collage. Videos stay frozen while printing, then play. Instant cameras include pink, matcha, white and pale blue, plus ivory. Printing flashes green; completion turns red.
Download the release ZIP and extract it, or download this repository through GitHub Code → Download ZIP. Open a terminal inside the extracted printer-effect directory. You need Python 3.10+, Node.js 22+ with npm, FFmpeg and ffprobe, available on PATH.
macOS / Linux:
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python scripts/cli.py setup
python scripts/cli.py doctor
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/modern-flyout.json --output output/first-videoWindows PowerShell (activation is not required):
py -3 -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt
.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts/cli.py setup
.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts/cli.py doctor
.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts/cli.py render --config examples/modern-flyout.json --output output/first-videoOpen output/first-video/renders/printer-effect.mp4. The example image is included. The same folder contains cover.jpg; the project includes editable settings and diagnostic logs. In the commands below, python means the virtual-environment Python above.
Initial setup/render needs internet access to download npm packages and potentially the browser runtime. This is local rendering, not an offline installer. No image-generation account, API key or paid rendering service is required for the bundled modes.
# Modern printer, 4:3
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/modern-flyout.json --output output/modern
# Retro printer, several photos, 9:16, snowflake collage
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/retro-snowflake.json --output output/retro
# Pale-blue instant camera, 4:3, 90% camera width, 18 seconds
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/instant-blue-landscape.json --output output/blue
# Pink instant camera, portrait
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/instant-pink-portrait.json --output output/pinkAlso included: matcha camera, white camera, grid, stack. See the gallery for output frames and reproduction commands.
python scripts/cli.py render "my photo.heic" --style instant --color matcha --aspect 9:16 --camera-width 90% --duration 18 --ending flyout --output output/my-photo
python scripts/cli.py render "photos/" --style retro --color cream --aspect 9:16 --ending snowflake --output output/my-album
python scripts/cli.py render "clip.mp4" --style modern --aspect 4:3 --source-audio --ending flyout --output output/my-videoImages: PNG, JPEG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, TIFF. Videos: MP4, MOV, M4V. Folder input uses natural filename ordering, without recursion. Use --cover "photos/cover.jpg" to move an included file to the front. Add --silent to mute shutter/motor; omit --source-audio to keep source-video audio off. Videos play a three-second excerpt by default; set per-file play_seconds and media_start in JSON for more control.
--aspect 4:3sets the output canvas, not the photo crop. 4:3 exports 1920×1440; 9:16 exports 1440×2560 at 30 fps by default.--camera-width 90%controls the instant-camera body only. Proportions stay fixed. Portrait default is 90%; landscape default is smaller unless explicitly overridden.--width 90%is the photo content-box target. Actual photo size also depends on the output slot, image ratio and available space. Readlayout-report.jsonfor the measured width.- A large single instant camera moves upward while ejecting if necessary, keeping the film wide and proportional. Part of the camera leaves the frame intentionally; the photo remains complete. Multi-photo layouts do not use this single-photo lift.
containpreserves the complete picture.--fit coverexplicitly permits cropping.flyoutenlarges the finished print for display.
Photo-real instant camera: ivory, white / 白色, pink / 粉色, matcha / 抹茶, light-blue / 淡蓝色. Other palettes (cream, mint, black, silver, red) and custom #RRGGBB use the rendered camera design. blue is an alias for the pale-blue palette. Modern/retro support all palettes.
| Ending | Behavior |
|---|---|
| hold | Keep one completed print |
| row | Park several prints below the machine |
| flyout | Lift and enlarge each photograph in turn |
| stack | Overlapping photo stack |
| grid | Readable regular arrangement |
| snowflake | Radial scattered photo collage; not falling snow particles |
Above 12 photos, row/stack/snowflake switch to paginated grid with a note. Up to 100 inputs are accepted; large batches need longer durations. Impossible durations are rejected rather than silently cutting scenes.
python scripts/cli.py build --config examples/instant-blue-landscape.json --output output/editable
python scripts/cli.py preview --config examples/instant-blue-landscape.json --output output/preview
python scripts/cli.py render --config output/blue/printer-config.json --color pink --duration 20 --output output/blue --revisionbuild creates a project without a video; preview creates/checks a project and opens the local timeline; render creates/checks/exports. Existing output folders are protected; --revision creates a numbered sibling. For direct edits to generated HTML, run its pinned npm run check and npm run render inside the generated project. The main CLI builds from settings and does not preserve manual HTML edits.
For development time, flash, custom resolution, sound and per-file video options, see the full configuration reference. CLI flags override JSON; media paths in JSON resolve relative to the JSON file.
Copy the complete project folder to ~/.codex/skills/printer-effect (or $CODEX_HOME/skills/printer-effect), run setup there, and start a fresh Codex session. Do not copy only SKILL.md. Keep assets, scripts, package files and references together. Windows uses the corresponding directory under your user profile.
Try:
Use $printer-effect: pale-blue instant camera, 4:3, camera width 90%, 18 seconds. Use the attached photo and finish with a flyout.
打印机效果，复古奶油色，9:16，按附件顺序打印，最后雪花拼贴。
The CLI also works without Codex. Other agent-host integrations are not verified.
This repository includes synthetic fixtures, contributor-approved travel demo images and AI-generated, unbranded camera visualizations. Cameras are not photographs of actual branded products. Original shutter/motor audio is synthesized locally. Only the explicitly approved travel examples are included; unrelated personal media is excluded. See sample media terms. Generated projects contain copies of input media: review before sharing. npm/HyperFrames have their own network and telemetry behavior; this project's code does not upload media or publish repositories.
Source and synthetic fixtures: MIT. Third-party dependencies retain their licenses, including GSAP; see notices. Tested locally on macOS Apple Silicon. CI is configured for Python checks on macOS/Linux/Windows and a Linux render smoke test; configured CI is not a claim that remote runs have passed.
python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
python scripts/package_release.py --output dist/printer-effect.zipSee contributing, changelog, and troubleshooting. The release archive excludes virtual environments, node_modules, caches and private output projects. Extracted releases still require the setup steps above.
Both printers and instant cameras add a postal-style date/time mark by default. A new run captures Beijing date and time (seconds), fixed UTC+8 regardless of host timezone; no timezone label is printed once; preview and render use the same value. Saved configs preserve it for reproducible revisions. Remove timestamp_text from a saved config to capture a new time. --no-timestamp or JSON timestamp:false disables it. JSON timestamp_text accepts up to 100 characters, with | separating two display lines. This is a decorative printed-at time, not the original photo capture date or an official postal mark.
打印机和拍立得默认添加邮戳式日期时间：本次生成时的北京时间日期和时分秒（固定东八区，不受电脑时区影响，画面不显示UTC）。预览与导出固定一致；旧配置保留原值，删除timestamp_text后可获取新时间。--no-timestamp或JSON timestamp:false可关闭。timestamp_text最多100字符，使用|分成两行。它表示生成时间，不是照片拍摄时间，也不是官方邮戳。
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/travel-poster.json --output output/poster
python scripts/cli.py render --config examples/travel-snowflake.json --output output/album