How-to guides

Build Slopcamera from source

Record the commit, install locked dependencies, build the SDK and CLI, and define the slopcamera command.

A source checkout gives you the complete Slopcamera capability set: the portable SDK, the canonical slopcamera CLI, and the matching Agent Skill, all built from one recorded commit. If you only need the released command set, install the verified v3.2.6 archive instead and skip this page:

bun add --global https://github.com/hraness/slopcamera/releases/download/v3.2.6/hraness-slopcamera-3.2.6.tgz

The rest of this page is the contributor path. You need Git and Bun 1.3.14 or newer.

Check out the source and record the commit

Clone into a new directory, record the exact commit, and install its locked dependencies:

git clone --branch main https://github.com/hraness/slopcamera.git slopcamera-source
cd slopcamera-source
git rev-parse HEAD > ../slopcamera-source-commit.txt
bun install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts

Keep slopcamera-source-commit.txt with your work: the main branch can advance while a source build retains the same package version, so the recorded commit is what ties your outputs to exact source.

Build the SDK and CLI

bun run build:sdk
bun run build:desktop:cli

These build the portable SDK and the source-backed CLI entrypoint at apps/desktop/dist/cli/main.js. They do not build the desktop app, provision a native engine, or run a scene.

Define the slopcamera command

In the shell you will work in, bind slopcamera to that exact checkout:

export SLOPCAMERA_SOURCE_ROOT="$PWD"
slopcamera() { bun "$SLOPCAMERA_SOURCE_ROOT/apps/desktop/dist/cli/main.js" "$@"; }
slopcamera --help
slopcamera doctor --json

The function works only in this shell. A program that launches a child process, such as Vercel, cannot execute a shell function; give it the built entrypoint instead:

vercel env run -- bun "$SLOPCAMERA_SOURCE_ROOT/apps/desktop/dist/cli/main.js" ai models list --type image --json

That example needs an already linked Vercel workspace, and its injected credentials belong to that one child invocation. Generate images, video, and narration explains the credential model.

Install the matching Agent Skill

The skill ships in the same checkout, so its guidance matches the CLI you built:

bun apps/desktop/dist/cli/main.js skill install --target agents
# For Claude Code:
bun apps/desktop/dist/cli/main.js skill install --target claude

Omit --target for the Codex form. Start a new agent session after installing so the skill loads.

Keep work outside the checkout

Create your production workspace outside the source tree and keep the shell open:

mkdir ../slopcamera-production
cd ../slopcamera-production

The function keeps using the built CLI while recordings, projects, and generated media land in the caller's working directory. Save the checkout path and the recorded commit so a later shell can restore the same function. Do not replace the checkout, its dependencies, or its generated build during an active durable run: resume checks the runtime identity.

Install native tools separately

The portable source build provides no native engines, no operating-system capture permissions, and no GPU. Install only what your workflow needs: the first native film tutorial uses a specific local Blender installation, and author a native film covers Blender, CadQuery, and Manim. The capability reference names each workflow's additional runtime requirements.

The repository maintains the canonical version of this procedure at https://github.com/hraness/slopcamera/blob/main/docs/how-to/use-current-source.md.