---
name: revid-news-to-daily-short
description: Generate a daily news short on a topic Revid researches itself. Use for a recurring "news of the day in <niche>" channel — the user only supplies the topic; Revid fetches fresh news, writes the script, and produces the video. Calls the Revid MCP server (render_video → get_project_status).
metadata: {"openclaw":{"requires":{"config":["REVID_API_KEY"]}}}
---

# Topic / niche → daily news short

> Calls the **Revid MCP server** (`https://www.revid.ai/api/mcp`). Install once — see [`revid-api-foundations`](../revid-api-foundations/SKILL.md#install-the-revid-mcp-server).

Recurring use case: feed a topic ("AI tools this week", "F1 race results",
"crypto headlines") and let Revid fetch live news, summarize it, and produce a
short. This is the right skill for *automated daily channels*.

## When to use this skill

- The user wants a **recurring daily short** on a topic — they don't have a
  specific URL.
- They are happy with whatever Revid surfaces from the news for that topic.
- For a known article URL use [`revid-article-to-short`](../revid-article-to-short/SKILL.md).
- For a custom angle / angle the news doesn't cover use
  [`revid-prompt-to-video`](../revid-prompt-to-video/SKILL.md).

## Inputs

| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `prompt` | yes | The topic / niche |
| `aspectRatio` | no | Default `9:16` |
| `targetDuration` | no | Default 45 (s) |
| Cron / scheduling | external | This skill renders one video; loop externally for daily delivery. |

## Step-by-step

1. Build the payload (note: `options.fetchNews: true` is the magic switch).
2. Call MCP tool `render_video` with the payload below — returns `data.pid`.
   Then poll MCP tool `get_project_status` with that `pid` every 5–8 s until
   `data.status === "ready"`. Optionally call `export_video` for a freshly named mp4.
3. For a daily channel, schedule this in cron / GitHub Actions / Vercel Cron
   and post the resulting `videoUrl` to the target social account. Use the
   `publish_now` MCP tool if your Revid account has the relevant socials
   connected.

## `render_video` arguments

```json
{
  "workflow": "article-to-video",
  "source": {
    "prompt": "{TOPIC_OR_NICHE}"
  },
  "aspectRatio": "9:16",
  "voice":    { "enabled": true, "stability": 0.6, "speed": 1.0, "language": "en-US" },
  "captions": { "enabled": true, "position": "middle", "autoCrop": true },
  "music":    { "enabled": true, "syncWith": "beats", "trackName": "news-upbeat" },
  "media": {
    "type": "stock-video",
    "density": "medium",
    "animation": "soft",
    "quality": "pro",
    "videoModel": "pro",
    "imageModel": "good"
  },
  "options": {
    "fetchNews": true,
    "targetDuration": 45,
    "summarizationPreference": "summarize",
    "soundEffects": true,
    "hasToGenerateCover": true,
    "coverTextType": "headline"
  },
  "render": { "resolution": "1080p", "frameRate": 30 }
}
```

`options.fetchNews: true` tells Revid to crawl fresh news for the prompt
instead of using the prompt as the script directly.

## Daily automation example

Run this every morning from a scheduled agent task ("every day at 06:00, make today's
short about AI tools this week"). Call `render_video` with:

```json
{
  "workflow": "article-to-video",
  "source": { "prompt": "AI tools this week" },
  "aspectRatio": "9:16",
  "voice": { "enabled": true, "stability": 0.6 },
  "captions": { "enabled": true },
  "music": { "enabled": true, "syncWith": "beats" },
  "media": { "type": "stock-video", "density": "medium", "quality": "pro", "videoModel": "pro" },
  "options": { "fetchNews": true, "targetDuration": 45, "summarizationPreference": "summarize", "hasToGenerateCover": true },
  "render": { "resolution": "1080p" }
}
```

Then poll `get_project_status` and post with `schedule_publish` or `publish_now`. For a
cron job without an agent, see [`examples/run.sh`](examples/run.sh).

## Polling

Call `get_project_status` with the `pid` returned by `render_video`. Stop when
`data.status === "ready"`; fail when `data.status === "failed"`. Cadence:
5 s, then 8 s once `progress > 30`. Full pseudocode:
[`revid-api-foundations` § Polling](../revid-api-foundations/SKILL.md#polling).

## Examples

- [`examples/ai-tools-news.json`](examples/ai-tools-news.json) — copy-paste body
  for `render_video` *(also a valid POST body for the direct HTTPS fallback)*.
- [`examples/run.sh`](examples/run.sh) — bash smoke test using the **direct
  HTTPS fallback** (`POST /api/public/v3/render` → `GET /status`). Useful when
  you don't have an MCP client at hand.

## Failure modes

| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| News for niche topic is sparse / off-topic | Make the prompt more specific (e.g. `"AI coding tools released this week"`) and consider switching to [`revid-article-to-short`](../revid-article-to-short/SKILL.md) with a hand-picked URL. |
| Same news repeats day-over-day | Track `pid` history client-side and add a date phrase to the prompt: `"AI tools — week of 2026-04-26"`. |
| Tone too neutral / dry for the niche | Add `voice.voiceId` matching a known persona, and pass `source.stylePrompt: "Punchy, opinionated, end with a take."` |
| `ok: false`, `error: "insufficient_credits"` | Drop `media.quality` to `"standard"` or `render.resolution` to `"720p"`, or call `buy_credit_pack`. |

## See also

- [`revid-article-to-short`](../revid-article-to-short/SKILL.md) for known URLs.
- [`revid-prompt-to-video`](../revid-prompt-to-video/SKILL.md) for ideas Revid
  shouldn't research live.