Refs is a film reference library built specifically for AI agents. It includes 3,298 films, motion shorts, and explainer videos that have moved audiences, and measures each one frame by frame, breaking down edit boundaries, timing beats, shot composition, and more into structured blueprints and prompt recipes that can be handed directly to Claude to run. Its core idea is: give Claude better references, and it can make better work. Refs is not a mood board, but measured edits, timing beats, and a recipe for each film, letting Claude replicate methods rather than assets.
Purpose
Refs serves creators and developers who need to produce launch films, motion design, product explainer videos, and similar content. It helps AI agents, when planning a film, study work that has already proven effective, then use that as a reference to plan and build their own film.
Main Capabilities
- Includes 3,298 moving films, each played from its original publishing page, with copyright belonging to the original authors.
- Measures the shot boundary of every cut frame by frame; click a shot to jump to it.
- Provides a blueprint of 15 storyboard plates for each film, covering dimensions such as hook, beat, shot, typography, color, sound, and script.
- Cross-film formulas: summarize the shared characteristics of excellent films in the same format, such as “music-driven motion showreel,” “dark-stage product reveal,” and so on.
- Provides Claude-runnable recipes that can be pasted into Claude Code for use.
- Connects to Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor through Refs MCP, added with a single command. Claude can search the entire archive, extract blueprints and formulas, and plan films based on real references. Pro users get 3,000 credits per month.
How to Use
Users can browse the archive, hover to play a film, scroll to view, and click to open. For blueprints, click to flip and view. Recipes can be pasted into Claude Code, for example: “Use Remotion to create an original 15-second, 60 fps motion-design showreel for {{PRODUCT}}. Timed beats: 0–1.9 s, a point grows into the mark inside faint circular guides; 1.9–3.4, a full-screen shape wipe reveals a huge {{PRODUCT}} title; 3.4–5.6, a warm-ivory process chart…” After adding Refs MCP to Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor with a single command, Claude can search the archive, extract blueprints and formulas, and plan films based on real references.
Use Cases
- Teams or individuals who need to produce films for product launches or brand promotion.
- Developers who want AI agents to have real references in video creation rather than generating from nothing.
- Users who use Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor for video planning and production.
- Creators studying the structure and formulas of specific film formats, such as 15-second service rescue, capability-proof montage, and so on.
Limitations
Browsing, measuring, and the first few storyboard panels of each blueprint are free. A Pro subscription unlocks all 15 storyboard panels of each blueprint, the runnable recipe for each film, cross-film formulas, and the MCP service. Pro is priced at $10/month billed annually, or $16/month billed monthly. Film copyright belongs to the original authors; Refs publishes only its own measurements and analysis, and credits and links each source. As for facts such as whether other programming environments are supported, whether a Chinese interface exists, and the specific number of recipes, the materials do not currently provide them.
