Nyxera0x/cutaway

What it does

Cutaway is a Claude Code skill that takes a single reference image of a robotic animal, machine or device and rebuilds it as a code-defined three.js object: every shell, gear and fang is written as code rather than imported as an asset. The object then takes itself apart on film — a cursor presses a button, a part detaches under its own camera, and finally the whole model explodes and snaps back together. It is aimed at people who want stills or short animated films of a mechanical object without modelling it by hand.

The workflow is review-driven. Claude reads the picture, generates a 10–12 line checklist for that specific image, and grades each line yes/partial/no every round. Two measurable checks — share of dark mechanism and proportions — are compared against the picture. Claude stops after round 2 with a still and waits for approval before anything is filmed.

Quick start

Requirements: Node.js 20 or newer; ffmpeg for video output and Python 3 for sound.

1. Install the skill globally for Claude Code:

   npx skills add Nyxera0x/cutaway -g -a claude-code
   

2. In the installed folder, install dependencies and the Chromium used for capture:

   npm install && npx playwright install chromium
   

3. Give Claude Code an image and a plain-language request, for example: "Here is a robotic mantis. Build it as a 3D object I can take apart, and stop at the still so I can check it." Approve the still, then ask for the film.

To see output without an image of your own, build one of the bundled examples:

node sims/build.mjs tarantula-film

This bundles the object into a single self-contained HTML file at cutaway-out/dist/tarantula-film.html. piranha-film and wasp-film work the same way. The prompt that generated the examples is in docs/PROMPTS.md.

Files and pipeline

SKILL.md holds the order of work, visual rules and review loop Claude follows. docs/JOB_DESCRIPTION.md is the brief read before each object, and corrections are meant to be folded into it. The docs/ folder also contains CHECKLIST.md, PROMPTS.md and LESSONS.md.

Each example lives under sims/ as -shared (the object), -film (full film) and -demo (10-second version). Runtime, stage and shader warm-up are in sims/kit/; sims/green/ holds the page and green look plus three review tools (leftover-colour probe, camera track, part anchors). sims/build.mjs inlines three.js and fonts, while sims/capture.mjs renders frame by frame to a 60 fps mp4 or review sheets. Procedural sound in sfx/ and run_sfx.py is mastered to −14 LUFS.

Constraints

• Video output needs ffmpeg; sound generation needs Python 3.
• Rendering relies on Playwright's Chromium, which must be installed separately.
• The method is image-specific: Claude does not import the reference picture, so fidelity depends on the generated checklist and measurable checks, not automated image matching.
• The project is MIT licensed. Its runtime, frame capture, sound engine and review rules come from claude-motion (MIT); recorded samples are CC0 from Freesound, credited in sfx/samples/SOURCES.md.

HotRepo's take

The project was tracked on the JavaScript "new" list on 2026-11-08, showing 103 stars and 19 forks with 3 stars and 1 fork added over the recorded one-hour window. That is a tiny sample and it never appeared in the all-language daily ranking, so the data says little about traction. The more interesting design choice is the approval gate: stopping after two rounds at a still means the expensive film render only happens after a human checks the model against the reference.

Project source and documentation