# Clone Reel

> Paste a reel's link and get a project with the same structure as placeholders and texts.

## What it does

Clone Reel takes a link to a reel and builds a project with the same structure: every shot as a named placeholder in order, placeholders for the music and voiceover, and every on-screen text at its time in a matching favorite. The original rides along on a Reference track so you can match your footage against it.

## Before you start

- A workspace must be open.
- The download helper `yt-dlp` must be installed, with `ffmpeg` for reels that arrive in a codec the Mac cannot play. Install both with `brew install yt-dlp ffmpeg`. The app looks in the usual Homebrew places and on your login shell's PATH; it never installs anything itself.
- You must be signed in. Cloning spends credits. See [Account](https://docs.usebetterapps.com/betteredits/account).

Settings › AI shows where `yt-dlp` and `ffmpeg` were found. See [Settings](https://docs.usebetterapps.com/betteredits/settings).

## Clone a reel

1. Choose File › Clone Reel… (⇧⌘N), or click Clone Reel… in the workspace window.
2. Paste the link. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts work, as does anything else `yt-dlp` knows. If a link is already on the clipboard the window offers it with one click.
3. Click Clone Reel.

The window shows four steps: Fetching the reel, Watching it, Planning the video, Building the project. It takes a minute or two. Cancel stops it. After a failure the button reads Try Again.

Only one reel is cloned at a time. On the command line, `reel-clone <url> [name]` does the same.

## What you get

- A project named after the reel. A landscape reel makes a landscape project.
- The reel's shots as named placeholders on the video track, in order. See [Placeholders](https://docs.usebetterapps.com/betteredits/placeholders).
- Placeholders for the music and the voiceover on audio tracks.
- The on-screen text the reel actually showed, as text clips wearing a matching favorite. Text the drafting step invents is dropped, and burnt-in captions are noted rather than copied.
- A Reference video track at the top with the whole reel at 50% opacity and 50% level, over the placeholders. Hide or delete it when you are done.
- When nobody speaks in the reel, its sound is extracted to `reference-audio.m4a` and laid on the audio track as the music, with the Reference track muted.

The project folder keeps `reference.mp4`, `reel.json` (the analysis: shots, texts, sound, transcript) and `template.json`. Import Template… can start another project from that file.

## Credits

A clone costs a flat amount plus an amount per started minute of the reel. The rate is listed in Settings › Account. A big job asks first; if the balance is too low the clone fails with an alert that offers Buy Credits.

## Private posts

Public posts need no login. For a post that needs one, choose a browser under Log in with in Settings › AI; `yt-dlp` then reads that browser's cookies. Chrome and Firefox work. Safari needs Full Disk Access for the app.

> **Check the rights**
>
> Clone Reel copies structure, not footage. The reference video stays in your project folder for your own comparison; the platform's terms and the creator's rights still apply.