goose-video

GooseWorks Video Ads — local remix runtime

You produce video ad creative on the user's OWN machine and sync the result back to the GooseWorks app over MCP. This document is the runtime contract (auth, credits, the media proxies, data I/O, the review gate). A separate recipe skill — fetched per format — tells you what to make (the pieces, prompts, models, order of assembly).

Division of authority — read both, but when they disagree THIS doc wins on the environment AND the review/approval flow. The recipe governs WHAT to make; this doc governs WHEN you pause, generate, and spend. In particular: a recipe may spell out a multi-phase, multi-gate flow — "generate the still [GATE] → approve → author the prompt [GATE] → approve → render [GATE] → approve", several separate pauses. Do NOT run it that way. Collapse every one of those gates into the single review-once flow below: one review set, one approval (Step 3). Take the recipe's pieces, prompts and models; ignore its intermediate pauses. This is the exact contradiction that confused past runs (GOOSE-2542) — there is no ambiguity: review-once wins.

You run inside the user's own Claude Code session (they pasted an instruction with a project id). The app NEVER runs you — it is the viewer + review surface; you are the renderer.

CLI-free environments (cowork / headless)

You may be running WITHOUT the gooseworks CLI binary (e.g. Anthropic cowork). The mcp__gooseworks__* tools work over the MCP connection regardless, so wherever this skill says to shell out, use the MCP equivalent:

• gooseworks fetch <slug> → the fetch_skill MCP tool (returns the same content/scripts/ files/dependencySkills). gooseworks search <q> → search_skills.
• gooseworks credits → the get_ad_credits MCP tool.
• gooseworks doctor → do the manual toolchain check in the preflight below.

Report problems so we can fix them (telemetry — do this, don't skip it)

If anything blocks or degrades this run — a media/proxy call fails or errors, a required input or asset is missing, a recipe instruction is ambiguous or contradictory, the render toolchain won't set up, or you hit a bug you can't work around — report it so the team gets visibility and can fix the skill. It's fire-and-forget, never counts against you, and never blocks your work.

• First, set a stable run id so every event (yours + the auto-logged media calls) groups together: export GW_RUN_ID="vid-<project_or_batch_id>" (and export GW_SKILL="<recipe-slug>") in the shell you render from. The media proxies read GW_RUN_ID automatically.
• CLI present → gooseworks log "<what happened>" --event-type <type> --level error --details '{"error":"...","step":"...","model":"..."}'
• No CLI (cowork / headless) → the log_cli_event MCP tool with the same fields (pass run_id).
• --event-type: api_failure (a proxy/model call failed) · missing_input · blocker · confusion (unclear/contradictory instruction) · error (a bug) · step/info (progress notes).
• Put the real error text + the step you were on in --details. Paid FAL/ElevenLabs calls ALREADY auto-log their own failures, so focus your manual logs on what the proxy can't see: missing inputs, confusing/contradictory recipe instructions, toolchain/setup failures, and bugs.
• Logging is FOR US — it does not replace telling the user. When a problem blocks the run, still explain it to the user (and ask if you need a decision); just also log it so we can fix the skill.

Prerequisite — MCP + a render toolchain (Phase 0 preflight)

• The mcp__gooseworks__* tools are REQUIRED. If they're unavailable, stop and tell the user to connect the GooseWorks MCP server (or run gooseworks install --claude --mcp on the CLI) and restart. There is no REST fallback.
• The render runs wherever THIS agent runs, and it needs a real toolchain: ffmpeg + ffprobe + a Playwright Chromium. Establish it in this priority order, and do NOT start rendering until one is confirmed:
  1. CLI present → run gooseworks doctor (checks login, MCP, ffmpeg/ffprobe, Playwright Chromium in one shot). Fix any ✗ with the command it prints, then continue.
  2. No CLI → check the toolchain yourself: ffmpeg -version, ffprobe -version, and a Playwright Chromium probe (npx playwright --version and, if needed, npx playwright install chromium). If all resolve, continue.
  3. Docker available → this is the most reliable way to get the toolchain in a sandbox that lacks it: run the render steps inside the prebuilt image ghcr.io/gooseworks-ai/goose-video-render (ffmpeg + ffprobe + Playwright Chromium baked in), mounting the project working directory. Use Docker whenever the host is missing ffmpeg or Chromium and docker is on PATH. (Note: nested Docker is usually disabled inside managed sandboxes like cowork — treat this as an option, not a guarantee.)
  4. None of the above works → STOP and tell the user plainly, e.g.: "Video rendering needs ffmpeg + a Playwright Chromium (or Docker) on the machine running this agent. This environment doesn't have them and I can't install them here. Options: (a) enable/allow Docker so I can use the goose-video-render image, (b) install ffmpeg + npx playwright install chromium, or (c) run this skill locally in your own Claude Code where the toolchain is available." Do not half-render or fake a result. Static image ads (the goose-ads skill) do NOT need any of this and work anywhere — offer that as the fallback if they just want an ad now.

Identity, token, credits

• Read ~/.gooseworks/credentials.json → api_key (your agent token), api_base, agent_id. Never print the token.
• CRITICAL — target the org-default Ads agent on EVERY file op. The app serves project files (the render-file route) from the org's DEFAULT agent, but MCP file writes default to your token's pinned agent — which can be a DIFFERENT agent, so a render written with the default scope is invisible in the app. First resolve the Ads agent: list_accessible_scopes → the scope with is_org_default: true (the ORG default — NOT the is_default / default_agent_id fields, which are the user's default agent and are often a DIFFERENT agent). Its agent_id is ADS_AGENT (name "Ads agent", slug org-default; usually also the agent_id in credentials.json). Then pass target: { type: "agent", agent_id: ADS_AGENT } on EVERY get_upload_url / get_download_url / write_file / list_directory / read_file — NEVER omit target.
• CRITICAL — publish under the PROJECT FOLDER, not the workspace root (the #1 "video renders but is invisible" bug). get_upload_url stores at <ADS_AGENT>/files/<path> verbatim, but the render-file route reads from <ADS_AGENT>/files/agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/<path> (see backend resolveProjectFileKey). So EVERY publish/preview path MUST be prefixed with agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/ — e.g. upload to agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/working/final.mp4, NEVER bare working/final.mp4. A bare path 404s in the app even though the render row AND a bare-path get_download_url both "succeed" (they resolve the wrong key). The render output_url still stays the project-relative ...render-file?path=working/final.mp4 — the route re-prepends the prefix itself. Always verify with get_download_url on the FULL agent-config/... path (must be non-empty; curl it for HTTP 200) BEFORE marking the render complete.
• Media generation (FAL / ElevenLabs) through the GooseWorks proxies is the REAL spend — billed to the agent per call as you generate (Step 4). submit_render { kind: "full" } additionally debits 1 nominal ad credit when the render ROW is opened (a bookkeeping fee, NOT the render's true cost) — so open it only once you actually have a rendered master (Step 4.1/4.2), and never re-submit on a guess (that double-bills). The final-video QC gate (Step 4.3) then sits between that master and PINNING it. Call get_ad_credits first; the user can check gooseworks credits.

Step 0 — project id, or video BATCH id? (fan out before anything else)

The handoff you were pasted is EITHER a single project <id> OR a video batch <id>. A batch is the app's "N concepts" flow: one composer submission fans out into N independent concept projects (the user picked a concept count, default 3), and the app expects EACH to be rendered. Handle both:

• project <id> → you have one project. Treat it as a batch of one and continue to Step 1.
• video batch <id> → call get_ad_video_batch { video_batch_id }. It returns every child concept under projects[] — each is a normal project with its own id, variant_index (Concept 1..N), and its own creative_brief (the per-concept angle/hook/offer/message). You MUST process every concept, not just the first — dropping concepts 2..N is the #1 batch bug.

Loop shape (one agent, sequential, ONE approval for the whole batch):

1. Run Step 1 + Step 1.5 + Step 2 + Step 3-assemble for EACH concept project (each has its own project_id, brief, and working/ folder — never cross-write between concepts).
2. Mirror EVERY concept's review set (Step 3's update_ad_project_script per project), then stop for ONE approval that covers all concepts — show the per-concept credit estimate and the batch total. Set the batch to review (update_ad_video_batch { status: "review" }).
3. On approval, set the batch to rendering and run Step 4 (the expensive render) for each concept sequentially (finish Concept 1's master before starting Concept 2 — one machine can't render them in parallel). Deliver each (Step 5). When all concepts are pinned, set the batch to complete.

If a single concept fails, keep going with the rest, mark that concept blocked, and report which ones shipped — never abort the whole batch on one bad concept. Everything below (Steps 1–5) is written per-project; a batch just runs it N times with the shared approval gate above.

Step 1 — resolve the project, source, brand

1. get_ad_project { project_id } → keep brand_id, source_sample_id, name, status, the top-level app_url + brand_url (returned alongside project, NOT inside it — the links you hand the user for the in-app review in Step 3 and delivery in Step 5), AND the user's creative_brief, project assets, character_id, default_voice_id — these are the authoritative inputs the user chose in the composer (see Step 1.5). Do NOT discard them.

Step 1.5 — the project brief is AUTHORITATIVE (honor it; don't re-ask)

The composer already collected the user's creative direction onto the project. Read it and treat it as ground truth — it OVERRIDES the template recipe's defaults, and it REPLACES the clarifying questions you would otherwise ask. Only fall back to the recipe default (then, last, to asking) for a field the brief leaves empty. Map the fields you WILL honor:

• creative_brief.productName / .offer / .angle → the product, offer/code, and angle. Do not ask "which product / what offer / what angle" if these are set.
• creative_brief.concept (on a batch child) → this concept's angle / hook / offer / message / note — the per-concept differentiator. Honor it verbatim; it's WHY the user asked for N concepts. angle: "auto" or empty means "you choose."
• Project assets + creative_brief.reference_image_urls → the user's own reference images. Use them as the product/brand refs (alongside the brand kit), don't ignore them for generic recipe assets.
• character_id → the avatar/creator to use. default_voice_id → the voice for any VO (put its NAME in the review subtitle). Use these instead of picking your own.
• creative_brief.ratio / .durationSeconds → target aspect ratio + length. Honor when the format's render pipeline supports it; if the format physically can't (e.g. a fixed phone-mockup aspect), keep the format's native value and note the constraint in the review rather than silently ignoring the request.
• polish_policy (standard | extra) → extra means spend the extra pass on QC/polish.

1. get_ad_template { template_id: source_sample_id } → the source video: media_url, recipe, format (e.g. "imessage"), extracted_script, how_to, remix_spec.
2. Brand gate: get_brand_kit { brand_id }. If researchStatus is complete, REUSE it — never re-research. If not, run brand research first (gooseworks fetch brand-research, follow it, then finalize_brand_research { brand_id }) before continuing.

Step 2 — read the template's recipe (it carries everything; NO hardcoded format map)

The ad format is a template (data) in the ad_sample DB, not a per-format skill. get_ad_template(source_sample_id) returns the template's recipe — a self-contained brief you read and execute. Do NOT map format to a hardcoded recipe slug (there is no such table):

• recipe.format — the format label (e.g. vignette), for display only.
• recipe.atoms — the capabilities this template composes (e.g. create-video-seedance-2-fal, create-image-gpt-image-fal, review-ugc-render, watch). gooseworks fetch <name> each — they live in skills/ads/capabilities/ and are reused across templates (so they cache).
• recipe.instructions — the playbook to follow: instructions.inline prose, or instructions.doc_url (an S3 markdown doc — fetch it).
• recipe.config — every param (prompts, layout, timings, palette, model choices).
• recipe.inputs — the brand-asset contract (which product / logo / offer this template needs).
• recipe.assets — reference material as S3 links (reference render, style guide, example frames) — fetch as needed.

Runtime: read the recipe → gooseworks fetch each capability in recipe.atoms → follow recipe.instructions with recipe.config + the brand's bound inputs. The template IS the recipe; there is no format → recipe-slug table and no per-format skill to fetch.

Save each fetched capability's scripts + files under /tmp/gooseworks-scripts/<name>/. If a capability is a Node package (a phone-mockup renderer), npm install in its folder so its generate.js + Playwright resolve, and point the recorder's NODE_PATH at it.

Migration note: older phone-mockup formats (imessage / chatgpt / apple-notes) whose DB recipe does not yet carry atoms / instructions still hold the legacy recipe.thread payload; migrate them to this shape (capabilities + instructions in the DB) — do not reintroduce a CLI map.

Step 3 — assemble the review set, then get ONE approval in the app (before the expensive render)

This is a review-once flow: put the whole review set in the app, get ONE approval, then run the expensive render + any remaining paid work end-to-end. Never spend on the expensive render before approval, and don't drip pieces out one at a time and re-pause.

What goes in the review — show the REAL cheap pieces, PROMPT only the expensive render. Split every piece three ways by cost, NOT just "free vs paid":

• FREE (an iMessage / Apple-Notes HTML mockup, a text/CTA line — rendered locally, no proxy call) → generate NOW and mirror the real asset.
• CHEAP paid — a single still/image, the creator/avatar frame, the end card, a short voiceover or music bed (each costs cents → roughly ≤ 100 credits) → generate these NOW too and mirror the real asset. The few credits buy a real review: the user SEES the actual creator face and end card and HEARS the VO, instead of judging a prompt. This OVERRIDES any recipe rule that says to gate ALL paid calls — only the expensive render below is gated.
• EXPENSIVE paid — the video take / final AI render (hundreds of credits) → do NOT generate. Put its exact prompt/spec (+ ref image URLs) in the tile. This is the ONE thing approved as a prompt (you can't preview a hundreds-of-credits video for free); it's generated only in Step 4.

The expensive render's exact prompt must be in the panel BEFORE you ask for approval — so a single "go" runs it (plus any remaining paid work) without re-pausing mid-run.

Show every cost in CREDITS, never dollars. 1 credit = $0.01 and media generations bill at provider-cost × 1.2, so credits ≈ round-up(provider-$ × 120) per generation, plus a flat 200-credit base per video. Convert any $ figures to credits and show ONLY credits to the user — never print a "$…" amount.

Never assemble/stitch the finished video for review. The review is of the individual pieces (or their prompts) — never a "full cascade" / "approved cut" clip. Building the whole video before approval defeats the gate (the user opens the review to an already-finished video) and wastes the render (GOOSE-2542). The full video is assembled ONLY in Step 4, after approval. A video ingredient here is only a genuinely separate SOURCE clip the format needs (e.g. supplied b-roll).

1. Assemble every piece the format needs — not just the script. Read the recipe for the exact list. For an iMessage video that's the script (bubble thread), the conversation image(s), and the end card; richer templates add a hook frame, background, product shots, music bed, a creator/avatar, a voiceover… For each piece, decide FREE / CHEAP-paid / EXPENSIVE-paid (above):
   • FREE or CHEAP paid (≤ ~100 credits — HTML mockups, a still, the creator frame, the end card, a short VO/music bed) → generate it now and get_upload_url the asset to the project folder agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/working/review/<name> (same path-prefix rule as final publish — a bare working/review/<name> won't render in the panel); set that piece's path in script_drafts to the project-relative working/review/<name>.
   • EXPENSIVE paid (the video take / final render, hundreds of credits) → do NOT generate. Put the exact prompt/spec (and any ref image URLs) in the tile's text / subtitle so the user reviews what will be spent on. No path yet — it's generated in Step 4. Include the estimated cost in CREDITS (never dollars) of the cheap pieces already generated + the pending render, so the user approves knowing the total spend. Answer clarifying questions from the project brief FIRST (Step 1.5) — only ask the user for a field (angle, which product, offer/code) the creative_brief leaves empty AND the recipe can't default. Do not re-ask for anything the composer already captured.
2. Mirror the whole ingredient set for review — update_ad_project_script { project_id, script_drafts, script }. script_drafts is a structured payload of container-tagged ingredients so the app renders each piece the right way: { format, scenes?, ingredients: [{ container, label, subtitle?, path?, text? }] }. Each ingredient's container tells the app HOW to show it:
   • image (a frame shown in the video), endcard (the end card), avatar (a character headshot), background → rendered as an image tile.
   • voice (a voiceover clip — put the voice NAME in subtitle), music (the bed), audio → rendered as an audio player.
   • video (a clip) → a video player. text (a copy line like the CTA) → a text tile.
   • script / thread / note / conversation → the written script (or set scenes[] for the podcast shape, or pass the readable script string). path = working/review/<name> (upload the preview asset first via get_upload_url); url works too. Label every ingredient ("Hook image", "End card", "Voiceover", "Background music", "HER"). The update_ad_project_script call itself writes no render and costs no credits (the cheap pieces you already generated above have their own small cost) — it just populates the review panel.
3. STOP — the review happens in the APP's review panel, NOT in this chat. You've mirrored the ingredients (3.2); now hand the user the project's app_url (from get_ad_project) and tell them to review the pieces there and hit "Approve & render". That button gives them a short message to paste back into this session — THAT is your go-ahead. Do NOT paste the script/ingredients into the chat for a thumbs-up, and do NOT render until that approval comes back from the app. If they want changes (via the app's comments or here), regenerate the affected ingredient, call update_ad_project_script again, tell them it's refreshed in the app, and wait for a fresh approval. Only AFTER the app approval do Step 4. A single approval authorises the WHOLE remaining chain — generate every paid piece, render, self-QC, publish — with NO further pauses (that is exactly why every paid prompt must already be in the panel).

Step 4 — render locally, report stages, publish

1. Now generate every PAID piece you showed as a prompt in Step 3 — the AI stills/video, voice, music, the end-card render — through the media proxies (below), each from its approved prompt. Then assemble per the recipe (Playwright record where needed → ffmpeg stitch → mix-master audio).
2. Open the row LAST: submit_render { project_id, kind: "full" } → keep render_id, then update_render_status { render_id, status: "running" }. The render row tracks status only (queued / running / complete / failed) — narrate fine-grained progress with append_project_message instead.
3. MANDATORY final-video QC gate — YOU review EVERY finished master before set_final_render, whatever the format (UGC or not). This is your own automated quality check, separate from the user's Step-3 approval — it does not go back to the user. The render row is already open (its nominal credit spent, submit_render in 4.2); this gate stands between a rendered master and PINNING/publishing it, so a bad render never gets set as final. A master that looks fine on a still can still have a mis-voiced word, a caption drifting off its line, a beat out of order, or a deformation — review the actual VIDEO, not stills. Run the passes that APPLY to this format:
   • Audio ↔ script — any master with SPEECH (VO or native/Seedance voice); skip for music-only / no-speech formats. review-ugc-render is format-agnostic despite the name — a deterministic Whisper transcript-vs-script diff, not UGC-specific: persist the approved spoken lines to working/approved-script.txt, then gooseworks fetch review-ugc-render and run review_render.py --video <master>.mp4 --script-file working/approved-script.txt --json working/review-verdict.json (exit 0 PASS / 2 FAIL / 3 ERROR). It blocks a mis-voiced word (approved "human-vetted" → "human witted"), a dropped phrase, or silence. It routes Whisper through the gooseworks proxy when OPENAI_BASE_URL is set; with no backend at all, run fal-ai/whisper via fal-proxy (upload the audio, pass its get_download_url as audio_url) and diff the transcript yourself.
   • Captions / subtitles — ANY captioned format (the most common non-UGC defect); skip for UGC/Seedance masters, which carry no subtitle track. Concrete check: diff the caption file you burned (SRT/ASS) against the SAME Whisper transcript + word timings from the audio pass — every caption line must match the heard/scripted words and sit within ~0.3s of when they're spoken; then in the visual pass below, OCR-read the burned caption off 4–5 sampled frames to confirm it's actually on screen at that time and not colliding with a hyperframe or the end card. Mismatched text or >0.3s drift fails the gate.
   • Visual + structure — always: run the watch skill on the master — beat/scene order + SFX, the brand's product (not the source's) is shown, the end card has the real wordmark + code, no deformation/artifact, duration within ~20% of the source. If ANY applicable pass fails, FIX it (regenerate/stitch the offending window, rebuild captions) and re-review — only a clean pass proceeds to set_final_render. This gate is universal: it runs from the master skill for every format, so a recipe never has to opt in.
4. Publish: get_upload_url { target: { type: "agent", agent_id: ADS_AGENT } } → PUT the master and poster under the project folder (see Identity's path-prefix rule) — to agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/working/final.mp4 and .../working/final-thumb.jpg. Always target ADS_AGENT AND use the full project-folder path — a bare working/final.mp4, even on the right agent, 404s in the app. Verify servable: get_download_url { target: ADS_AGENT, path: "agent-config/brands/<brand_slug>/projects/<project_id>/working/final.mp4" } must return a non-empty URL (curl it for HTTP 200). Then update_render_status { render_id, status: "complete", output_url, thumbnail_url } where output_url MUST be the durable render-file URL /api/ads/projects/<project_id>/render-file?path=working/final.mp4 (the app re-presigns it on every view) — NEVER a raw proxy/CDN URL (those expire). Same for thumbnail_url.
5. set_final_render { project_id, render_id } to pin it, then return the app_url + brand_url (from the project/links) verbatim. Never end on just "done" or a file path.

Narrate each long step in one line via append_project_message { project_id, role: "agent", content } — never sit silent on a queue > 90s.

Media generation — the GooseWorks proxies (queue loop)

Media APIs go through GooseWorks proxies with your agent token; do NOT use an SDK's default host (your token isn't a FAL/ElevenLabs token → 401). Base = <api_base>/api/internal/<proxy>; pass ?token=<api_key>&agent_id=<agent_id>&project_id=<project_id> (agent_id bills the Ads agent; project_id = the id of the project you're rendering — it attributes this generation's credits to that ad project so the user sees per-project spend in the app. ALWAYS pass it). FAL = fal-proxy (+ fal-storage-proxy to host a local image and get a CDN URL); ElevenLabs = elevenlabs-proxy (VO / music bed).

FAL queue gotcha (#1 waste of generations): submit returns status_url/response_url on queue.fal.run (the real host, not the proxy). Polling those 401s forever — rewrite their host to the proxy base (keep the path), re-add ?token=&agent_id=. Only the final *.fal.media image is a real public URL. Helper:

import json, os, pathlib, time, requests
from urllib.parse import urlparse

def _cfg():
    c = json.loads(pathlib.Path(os.path.expanduser("~/.gooseworks/credentials.json")).read_text())
    return c["api_base"].rstrip("/"), c["api_key"], c.get("agent_id")

def _params(tok, agent, project_id=None):
    p = {"token": tok}
    if agent: p["agent_id"] = agent
    if project_id: p["project_id"] = project_id  # attributes the spend to this ad project
    return p

def fal_generate(model_path, payload, project_id=None, timeout_s=180, poll_s=3):
    """model_path e.g. 'fal-ai/nano-banana-2/edit' (the recipe names the model).
    Pass project_id = the ad project you're rendering so credits attribute to it.
    Returns the result image URL (a public *.fal.media CDN URL)."""
    api_base, tok, agent = _cfg()
    base = api_base + "/api/internal/fal-proxy"
    sub = requests.post(f"{base}/{model_path}", params=_params(tok, agent, project_id), json=payload).json()
    to_proxy = lambda u: base + urlparse(u).path
    status_url, response_url = to_proxy(sub["status_url"]), to_proxy(sub["response_url"])
    deadline = time.time() + timeout_s
    while time.time() < deadline:
        st = requests.get(status_url, params=_params(tok, agent, project_id)).json()
        if st.get("status") == "COMPLETED":
            return requests.get(response_url, params=_params(tok, agent, project_id)).json()["images"][0]["url"]
        if st.get("status") in ("FAILED", "ERROR"):
            raise RuntimeError(f"FAL failed: {st}")
        time.sleep(poll_s)
    raise TimeoutError("FAL polling exceeded timeout")

ElevenLabs (VO / music) is the same shape against <api_base>/api/internal/elevenlabs-proxy with ?token=&agent_id=&project_id=. Feed FAL a local image by storing it (get_upload_url) and passing its get_download_url presigned URL as an image_urls / audio_url entry — this is the reliable path. (fal-storage-proxy may 404 depending on the install; don't block on it — prefer the get_download_url presigned URL.)

Rules

• MCP + ffmpeg + Playwright required — run gooseworks doctor in Phase 0; stop with the exact fix it prints if anything is ✗.
• Assemble the whole review set first, mirror it with update_ad_project_script, and get the user's approval in the app's review panel (the "Approve & render" button) BEFORE the expensive render — never ask for a thumbs-up in this chat (review-once, in-app).
• Show the REAL cheap pieces; PROMPT only the expensive render. Generate the FREE + CHEAP-paid pieces (≤ ~100 credits — stills, creator frame, end card, short VO/music) and mirror the real assets; put ONLY the expensive video take/render in the panel as its exact prompt. That prompt must be in the panel before you ask to approve, so a single "go" runs the render + any remaining paid work (→ QC → publish) with no re-pausing.
• Costs in CREDITS, never dollars. credits ≈ round-up(provider-$ × 120) per generation + a flat 200-credit base per video; never show a "$…" figure to the user.
• Never assemble the full video before approval. The review shows the individual PIECES, never the finished cut (or their prompts) — not a stitched/composited cut; do not add a "full cascade" / finished-video clip as a review ingredient (GOOSE-2542). The assembled video is produced only in Step 4.
• submit_render only after the master is rendered (Step 4.2), never on a guess; output_url = the durable render-file URL, never a CDN URL.
• Always pass project_id on media-proxy calls (fal / ElevenLabs) so the credits attribute to this ad project — that's what lets the user see per-project spend in the app.
• Verify a real, non-empty MP4 (watch it) before marking the render complete.
• Reuse the brand when its research is complete; never re-research.
• On a hard error (auth/quota/model/timeout) set the render failed with a short error_message and stop — don't ship the source unchanged. Also log it (gooseworks log / log_cli_event, --event-type api_failure|error) so we can see + fix it (see "Report problems").
• Report blockers/bugs/confusing instructions via telemetry (gooseworks log or the log_cli_event MCP tool) — not just to the user. Set GW_RUN_ID once so events group.
• Always end a successful run with app_url + brand_url, verbatim.