Alibaba Cloud Video Forge

One-stop video processing through Alibaba Cloud Media Processing Service (MPS), including cover generation, multi-resolution transcoding, content moderation, and more.

Prerequisites

> Pre-check: Aliyun CLI >= 3.3.3 required

> Run aliyun version to verify >= 3.3.3. If not installed or version too low,

> run curl -fsSL https://aliyuncli.alicdn.com/setup.sh | bash to update,

> or see references/cli-installation-guide.md for installation instructions.

> Pre-check: Aliyun CLI plugin update required

> [MUST] run aliyun configure set --auto-plugin-install true to enable automatic plugin installation.

> [MUST] run aliyun plugin update to ensure that any existing plugins are always up-to-date.

> Pre-check: AI-Mode Configuration required

> [MUST] Before using aliyun CLI commands, configure AI-Mode:

• aliyun configure ai-mode enable
• aliyun configure ai-mode set-user-agent --user-agent "AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-video-forge"
• aliyun configure ai-mode disable

> Pre-check: Python >= 3.10 required

> Run python3 --version to verify.

> Pre-check: Alibaba Cloud Credentials Required

>

> Run aliyun configure list to check credential status. If no valid profile, configure via aliyun configure.

> See references/security-guidelines.md for credential security rules.

🚀 Quick Start

Easiest Way - One-click video processing:

# Method 1: Use end-to-end workflow script (Recommended)
python scripts/video_workflow.py --input /path/to/video.mp4

# Method 2: Check environment first
python scripts/health_check.py

# Method 3: Execute steps manually
python scripts/oss_upload.py --local-file video.mp4 --oss-key input/video.mp4
python scripts/mps_transcode.py --oss-object input/video.mp4 --preset multi
python scripts/mps_audit.py --oss-object input/video.mp4

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Bilibili Video Publishing

python scripts/video_workflow.py \
  --input my_video.mov \
  --preset 720p \
  --generate-cover \
  --scenes porn terrorism ad

Scenario 2: UGC Content Moderation

python scripts/mps_audit.py --oss-object /input/user_uploaded.mp4

Scenario 3: Multi-Resolution Transcoding

python scripts/mps_transcode.py \
  --oss-object /input/course_video.mp4 \
  --preset multi \
  --output-prefix output/course_2024/

Scenario Description

This skill supports video distribution scenarios:

1. Transcoding — Multi-resolution transcoding with Narrowband HD compression
2. Content Moderation — Auto-detect sensitive content (pornography, terrorism, advertising)
3. Snapshot — Generate cover images and sprite sheets
4. Anti-piracy — Configure encryption for content protection

Architecture

OSS Bucket + MPS Pipeline + Transcoding Templates + Moderation Service

Components:

• OSS: Store videos and outputs
• MPS Pipeline: Task queue management
• Transcoding Templates: Narrowband HD, Standard presets
• Moderation: Auto content safety checks

Target Users: Video platforms, content creators, corporate training, education platforms

Capability Overview

See references/capability-overview.md for detailed feature tree and automatic pipeline management.

Environment Variables

Required environment variables:

• ALIBABA_CLOUD_REGION - Service region (default: cn-shanghai)
• ALIBABA_CLOUD_OSS_BUCKET - OSS Bucket name
• ALIBABA_CLOUD_OSS_ENDPOINT - OSS endpoint
• ALIBABA_CLOUD_MPS_PIPELINE_ID - MPS Pipeline ID (optional, auto-selected if not set)

> Security Note: Credentials are managed via the Alibaba Cloud default credential chain. Configure credentials using aliyun configure command. NEVER handle AK/SK directly in scripts or commands.

🔒 Security Guidelines

See references/security-guidelines.md for complete security guidelines and credential management best practices.

SDK Installation

See references/sdk-installation.md for detailed installation guide and troubleshooting.

> Run python3 --version to verify. Some scripts may fail with older Python versions.

RAM Permissions

> [MUST] RAM Permission Pre-check: Verify that the current user has the following RAM permissions before execution.

> See references/ram-policies.md for complete permission list and details.

> [MUST] Permission Failure Handling: When any command or API call fails due to permission errors at any point during execution, follow this process:

> 1. Read references/ram-policies.md to get the full list of permissions required by this SKILL

> 2. Use ram-permission-diagnose skill to guide the user through requesting the necessary permissions

> 3. Pause and wait until the user confirms that the required permissions have been granted

Parameter Confirmation

> IMPORTANT: Parameter Confirmation — Before executing any command or API call,

> ALL user-customizable parameters (e.g., input video path, output bucket, template ID, etc.)

> MUST be confirmed with the user. Do NOT assume or use default values without explicit user approval.

Core Workflow

Scenario 1: One-stop Video Standardization

Complete workflow: User provides video → Upload to OSS → Media info probe → Cover generation (snapshot) → Multi-resolution transcoding → Content moderation → Summary results (with download links)

Step 0: Automatic Pipeline Selection (Optional)

This skill supports automatic pipeline management, typically no manual Pipeline ID configuration needed. Scripts automatically select appropriate pipelines based on task type.

To manually specify:

# Method 1: Set environment variable (highest priority)
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_MPS_PIPELINE_ID="your-pipeline-id"

# Method 2: Command line parameter
python scripts/mps_transcode.py --oss-object /input/video.mp4 --pipeline-id your-pipeline-id

# Method 3: Use script auto-selection
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_MPS_PIPELINE_ID=$(python scripts/mps_pipeline.py --select)

Step 1: Upload Video to OSS

source .venv/bin/activate
python scripts/oss_upload.py --local-file /path/to/video.mp4 --oss-key input/video.mp4

Step 2: Media Info Probe

python scripts/mps_mediainfo.py --oss-object /input/video.mp4

Step 3: Cover Generation (Snapshot)

Use snapshot function to generate video cover at specified time:

python scripts/mps_snapshot.py --oss-object /input/video.mp4 --mode normal --time 5000

Step 4: Adaptive Transcoding (Auto-select best resolution and Narrowband HD template)

# Adaptive mode: Auto-detect source video resolution, select best quality, use Narrowband HD template
python scripts/mps_transcode.py --oss-object /input/video.mp4

# Or manually specify multi-stream transcoding
python scripts/mps_transcode.py \
  --oss-object /input/video.mp4 \
  --preset multi

Step 5: Content Moderation

python scripts/mps_audit.py --oss-object /input/video.mp4

Step 6: Poll Task Status

python scripts/poll_task.py --job-id <job-id-from-step-4> --job-type transcode --region cn-shanghai

Complete Example

# 1. Activate virtual environment
source .venv/bin/activate

# 2. Upload video
python scripts/oss_upload.py --local-file ./my_video.mp4 --oss-key input/my_video.mp4

# 3. Get media info
python scripts/mps_mediainfo.py --oss-object /input/my_video.mp4

# 4. Cover generation (snapshot at 5 seconds)
python scripts/mps_snapshot.py --oss-object /input/my_video.mp4 --mode normal --time 5000

# 5. Submit transcoding job (adaptive mode: auto-select best resolution)
python scripts/mps_transcode.py \
  --oss-object /input/my_video.mp4
# Save the returned job-id

# 6. Poll transcoding job status
python scripts/poll_task.py --job-id <job-id> --job-type transcode --region cn-shanghai --interval 10

# 7. Content moderation
python scripts/mps_audit.py --oss-object /input/my_video.mp4

# 8. Download processed video to local
python scripts/oss_download.py --oss-key output/transcode/transcoded.mp4 --local-file ./output_video.mp4

Other Scenarios

Scenario 2: Transcoding Only

Execute transcoding only, without snapshot and moderation:

source .venv/bin/activate
python scripts/mps_transcode.py \
  --oss-object /input/video.mp4 \
  --preset 1080p \
  --template-id "your-template-id"

Scenario 3: Content Moderation

Execute content moderation only:

source .venv/bin/activate
python scripts/mps_audit.py \
  --oss-object /input/video.mp4 \
  --scenes porn terrorism ad

Success Verification

After video processing, check results:

1. Script exit code is 0
2. Output contains processed media info (OSS path)
3. Transcoding job status is "Success"
4. Content moderation shows no violations
5. Artifacts downloaded locally (using oss_download.py)

Notes on Artifact Retrieval:

• OSS files require signing for online access, direct URL access returns 403 error
• Recommend using oss_download.py to download results locally
• For online preview, use --sign-url parameter to generate temporary pre-signed URL

# Verify transcoding success
python scripts/poll_task.py --job-id <job-id> --job-type transcode --region cn-shanghai
# Expected output: Status: Success

# Verify moderation result
python scripts/mps_audit.py --query-job-id <audit-job-id>
# Expected output: Moderation passed, no violations

Troubleshooting

See references/troubleshooting.md for comprehensive troubleshooting guide.

Cleanup

Intermediate files and output files from this skill are stored in OSS. To clean up:

# Delete single file
python scripts/oss_delete.py --oss-key output/transcode/video.mp4

# Delete all files under directory (recursive delete)
python scripts/oss_delete.py --prefix output/ --recursive

# Force delete (skip confirmation, for script automation)
python scripts/oss_delete.py --oss-key output/video.mp4 --force

# Preview mode (view files to be deleted without actually deleting)
python scripts/oss_delete.py --prefix output/ --recursive --dry-run

> Note: Delete operations are irreversible. Confirm before executing. Use --dry-run to preview first.

Available Scripts

Best Practices

1. Always check environment variables first — Run python scripts/load_env.py --check-only at the start of each session
2. Use polling instead of waiting — Use poll_task.py to auto-poll status after submitting jobs
3. Choose resolutions wisely — Select appropriate transcoding resolutions based on target user devices
4. Enable content moderation — For UGC content, always enable automatic moderation
5. Use virtual environment — Ensure dependency isolation to avoid version conflicts
6. Automatic pipeline management — No need to manually configure Pipeline ID, scripts auto-select appropriate pipelines based on task type

Reference Documentation

AI-Mode Configuration

> [MUST] AI-Mode Setup for Aliyun CLI — Before using aliyun CLI commands, you must configure AI-Mode to enable proper tracking and plugin management.

Enable AI-Mode

Enable AI-Mode for enhanced functionality:

aliyun configure ai-mode enable

Configure User-Agent

Set the User-Agent for proper skill identification:

aliyun configure ai-mode set-user-agent --user-agent "AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-video-forge"

Disable AI-Mode

Disable AI-Mode when no longer needed:

aliyun configure ai-mode disable

> Note: AI-Mode must be enabled before executing any aliyun CLI commands to ensure proper functionality tracking and plugin compatibility.

CLI Command Standards

> Important: User-Agent is automatically applied via AI-Mode configuration. After running aliyun configure ai-mode set-user-agent --user-agent "AlibabaCloud-Agent-Skills/alibabacloud-video-forge", all subsequent aliyun CLI commands will include the correct User-Agent automatically. No need to add --user-agent parameter to each command.