Melies CLI

AI filmmaking from the command line. 148 AI actors, 220+ visual styles, 50+ models. Generate images, videos, posters, and YouTube thumbnails without prompt engineering.

Built for AI agents, filmmakers, and content creators.

Install

npm install -g melies

Setup

Sign up at melies.co, then authenticate:

# Browser login (opens melies.co, authenticates automatically)
melies login

# Or use an API token (for CI/agents)
melies login --token YOUR_TOKEN

# Or set as environment variable
export MELIES_TOKEN=your_token

Generate an API token at melies.co > Settings > API.

Quick Start

# Generate an image with an AI actor
melies image "portrait in a café" --actor mei --art-style ghibli --lighting golden --sync

# Generate a movie poster
melies poster "Midnight Protocol" --actor dante --actor elena --style anime --sync

# Image to video pipeline in one command
melies pipeline "tracking shot through neon Tokyo" --actor hailey --best --sync

# Generate 4 YouTube thumbnails
melies thumbnail "shocked face reacting to AI news" --actor aria -n 4 --sync

# Preview cost before generating
melies image "sunset" --quality --actor hailey --dry-run

Smart Model Selection

Use quality presets instead of model names:

Flag	Image Model	Video Model
--fast (default)	flux-schnell (2cr)	kling-v2 (30cr)
--quality	flux-pro (8cr)	kling-v3-pro (100cr)
--best	seedream-3 (6cr)	veo-3.1 (400cr)

Override with -m <model>. Run melies models to list all available models.

AI Actors

148 built-in characters with identity consistency across every generation.

melies actors                              # List all actors
melies actors --gender female --age 20s    # Filter
melies actors search "asian"               # Search

# Use in any command
melies image "walking in park" --actor hailey --sync

# Create a custom actor from any face
melies ref create "jean-pierre" -i photo-of-jean-pierre.jpg

Visual Style Flags

Add to any image, video, thumbnail, or pipeline command:

Flag	Examples
--art-style	ghibli, anime, noir, oil, watercolor, concept
--lighting	golden, neon, noir, rembrandt, backlit, soft
--camera	eye-level, high, low, overhead, dutch
--shot	close-up, medium, cowboy, wide, full-body
--expression	smile, surprised, serious, villain-smirk
--mood	romantic, mysterious, tense, ethereal, epic
--color-grade	teal-orange, mono, warm, cool, filmic
--era	victorian, 1920s, 1980s, modern, dystopian

Flags combine freely:

melies image "woman in a café" --lighting golden --mood romantic --art-style ghibli --sync

Commands

Image Generation

melies image "sunset over mountains" --quality --sync
melies image "portrait" --actor mei --lighting golden -a 16:9 --sync
melies image "cyberpunk city" --art-style neo-noir -n 4 --sync

Video Generation

melies video "drone shot over forest" --quality --sync
melies video "walking down the street" --actor mei --camera low --sync
melies video "zoom into product" -i https://example.com/product.jpg --sync

Image to Video Pipeline

melies pipeline "warrior on a cliff at sunset" --actor mei --best --sync

Movie Posters

melies poster "Neon Shadows" --style noir --actor james --sync
melies poster "Blood Moon" -l "A detective under a blood moon" -g horror --sync

YouTube Thumbnails

melies thumbnail "shocked face reacting to AI news" --actor aria -n 4 --sync

Upscale and Background Removal

melies upscale --imageUrl photo.webp --sync
melies remove-bg --imageUrl photo.webp --sync

Utility Commands

melies credits                    # Check balance
melies models                     # List all models
melies models -t image            # Image models only
melies status <assetId>           # Check generation status
melies assets                     # List your assets
melies styles search "cyberpunk"  # Browse style references

For AI Agents

This CLI is designed for AI agents. Structured JSON output, predictable flags, and a SKILL.md file that any agent can read.

See SKILL.md for the full agent reference.

Quick Reference

melies image "prompt" --actor <name> --art-style <style> --quality --sync
melies video "prompt" --actor <name> --lighting <light> --best --sync
melies poster "title" --style <preset> -g <genre> --sync
melies thumbnail "prompt" --actor <name> -n 4 --sync
melies pipeline "prompt" --actor <name> --best --sync
melies upscale --imageUrl <url> --sync
melies remove-bg --imageUrl <url> --sync
melies actors search "query"
melies styles search "keyword"
melies credits
melies models

Links

• Melies Agent Page
• Documentation
• agentskill.sh
• ClawHub