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Product Hunt launch video: what it needs and how to make one

The Product Hunt launch form takes an optional video as a YouTube link, two gallery images and a square thumbnail. How to make each with a coding agent.

For
Makers preparing a Product Hunt launch
Written for
Claude CodeCodexCursorGitHub CopilotGemini CLIOpenCodeAny agent that reads SKILL.md folders
Time
7 min read · updated Nov 8, 2026

The short answer

  1. Product Hunt’s launch form has a video field, and it is optional. Product Hunt says about 53% of products that reached Product of the Day since 2021 include a video, so most makers add one.
  2. The video goes in as a YouTube link: upload it to YouTube, make sure it isn’t private, and paste the full URL, not a shortened one. Product Hunt gives no advice on length.
  3. A coding agent with a video skill can render the film to MP4 on your machine from your real screens, and the same FFmpeg it uses cuts the gallery images and thumbnail from it.
Jump to:What Product Hunt asks forHow long the video can beMake the launch video with a coding agentWhich skill for which piece

This guide covers the visual parts of a Product Hunt launch: the video, the gallery and the thumbnail. It lists what Product Hunt’s own launch guide asks for, then how to make each piece with a coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor and a Lookbk video skill.

What Product Hunt asks for

The visual fields of the Product Hunt launch form, from Product Hunt’s “Preparing for launch” guide
FieldWhat Product Hunt asksTip
VideoOptional. YouTube links only; the video must not be private, and the full URL is needed because shortened links will not loadPaste the youtube.com/watch?v= address from the browser bar, not a share link
Gallery imagesTwo required, 1270×760 recommended; animated GIFs are allowedCut them from frames of your launch film so the gallery and the video match
ThumbnailRequired, square, 240×240 recommended, under 3MB. A GIF thumbnail doesn’t autoplay, so its first frame has to work as a stillUse your logo on a plain ground, and check it still reads at 240 pixels
First commentImages, videos and GIFs are welcomeA short clip of one feature, or the vertical teaser, fits here

Product Hunt doesn’t say how long the video should be. If you have no budget for a high-end video, its guide suggests a quick demo made with a screen-recording tool such as Loom. The rest of this guide is for a finished launch film made without a video team.

How long the video can be

Since Product Hunt sets no length, pick it by what you need to show. These are the lengths the Lookbk launch skills render:

Lengths and formats of the Lookbk skills that fit a Product Hunt launch
SkillLengthFormatMusic
Launch Scene Kit30–90 s16:9, 1080p or 4KNone ships; bring a track you may use
Launch Film: Porcelain60–90 s16:9, 1080p or 4KNone ships; bring a track you may use
Launch Film: After Hours60–90 s16:9, 1080p or 4KNone ships; bring a track you may use
Clay Crew Launch Film40 s16:9, 1080p or 4KAn original soundtrack, written by code
Pixel Quest Promo20 s16:9, 1080pNone; it writes a cue sheet for adding chiptune
Countdown Teaser6 s9:16 or 16:9None
Kinetic Title Drop6 s16:9, 1080pNone

Make the launch video with a coding agent

A video skill doesn’t generate footage with a video model. Your agent writes each scene as HTML and CSS, captures your real screens with Chrome where the skill uses them, and HyperFrames records the page frame by frame into an MP4 on your machine. Text stays sharp and spelled right, and there are no render credits.

  1. Step 1: Install a skill and brief your agent

    Install the skill (see Install a skill in any agent) and tell your agent what you are launching, the three to five features to show and the URL for the end card. The launch films need Node.js 22 or newer, FFmpeg and Chrome; Kinetic Title Drop, Countdown Teaser and Pixel Quest Promo need Node.js 22 or newer and FFmpeg.

  2. Step 2: Check the storyboard and stills

    The agent writes a storyboard, checks every line fits and takes a still per scene. Look at the stills before the render, and make sure no screen shows real customer data. Make a product launch video with an AI agent walks through this step in detail.

  3. Step 3: Render the MP4

    Render 1080p first; 4K takes several times longer. Watch the draft with the sound on if you added a track.

  4. Step 4: Upload it to YouTube as public

    Upload the MP4 to YouTube and set it to Public; Product Hunt says the video must not be private. Then copy the full address from the browser bar and paste it into the Video field. A shortened link will not load.

Which skill for which piece

The parts of a Product Hunt launch and the Lookbk skill for each
PieceSkillWhy
The main filmLaunch Scene Kit, Launch Film: Porcelain, Launch Film: After Hours or Clay Crew Launch FilmThey show your real screens: Scene Kit picks from 25 scenes, Porcelain is light and calm, After Hours is dark, and Clay Crew is the playful one with its own soundtrack
A teaser in the days before launchCountdown TeaserA six-second 3-2-1 that can end on your launch date, in 9:16 for Stories and Reels or 16:9 for X
An opener for the film or a launch-day postKinetic Title Drop, freeThree lines of kinetic type in six seconds
A playful promoPixel Quest Promo, freeEach of three features is a stage an 8-bit hero runs through, in 20 seconds
The thumbnailLogo StingRenders a 1080×1080 logo animation from your SVG logo; its last frame, scaled down, is a square thumbnail

Kinetic Title Drop and Pixel Quest Promo are free; the others are Pro. Clay Crew Launch Film also comes in felt, crochet and pool-toy crews with the same show.

None of the skills exports Product Hunt’s 1270×760 directly, and that size is a little narrower than a 16:9 film. FFmpeg, which every video skill here already needs, takes a frame, scales it to 760 pixels high and crops the sides. Pick moments where a screen or a feature is fully built, not mid-transition:

Terminal
ffmpeg -ss 00:00:12 -i renders/launch-film.mp4 -frames:v 1 \
  -vf "scale=-2:760,crop=1270:760" gallery-1.png

Animated GIFs are allowed in the gallery. This turns four seconds of the film into a GIF at the same size, with a palette built from those frames:

Terminal
ffmpeg -ss 12 -t 4 -i renders/launch-film.mp4 \
  -vf "fps=15,scale=-2:760,crop=1270:760,split[a][b];[a]palettegen[p];[b][p]paletteuse" \
  gallery-2.gif

For the thumbnail, render Logo Sting in the square format with end set to hold, so the lockup stays on screen to the last frame, then take that frame at 240×240:

Terminal
ffmpeg -sseof -0.1 -i renders/logo-sting.mp4 -frames:v 1 -vf scale=240:240 thumbnail.png
Before you schedule the launch
Launch Scene Kit: an example of what it makes
video
Launch Scene KitClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents
Launch Film: Porcelain: an example of what it makes
video
Launch Film: PorcelainClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents
Clay Crew Launch Film: an example of what it makes
video
Clay Crew Launch FilmClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents
Countdown Teaser: an example of what it makes
video
Countdown TeaserClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents
Kinetic Title Drop: an example of what it makes
Free
video
Kinetic Title DropClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents
Pixel Quest Promo: an example of what it makes
Free
video
Pixel Quest PromoClaude CodeCodexCursor+3 more agents

Common questions

Does a Product Hunt launch need a video?
No. The Video field is optional. Product Hunt’s launch guide says about 53% of products that reached Product of the Day since 2021 include one.
Can I upload an MP4 to Product Hunt?
Not as the launch video. Product Hunt’s guide says only YouTube links are supported, so upload the MP4 to YouTube, set it so it isn’t private, and paste the full URL. You can add images, videos and GIFs in your first comment.
How long should a Product Hunt video be?
Product Hunt’s launch guide gives no length. The Lookbk launch films run 30 to 90 seconds, Clay Crew Launch Film is 40 seconds and Pixel Quest Promo is 20, so pick by how much of the product you need to show.
Why doesn’t my YouTube video show on Product Hunt?
Product Hunt says shortened links will not load and the video must not be private. Paste the full youtube.com/watch?v= address and check the video’s visibility in YouTube.
What size are Product Hunt gallery images and the thumbnail?
Product Hunt recommends 1270×760 for the two required gallery images and 240×240 for the square thumbnail, which must be under 3MB. Animated GIFs are allowed, but a GIF thumbnail doesn’t autoplay.
Can I make the video for free?
Kinetic Title Drop and Pixel Quest Promo are free and render on your machine; the full launch films are Pro. None of them charges for rendering.

Sources

What this guide says about other companies’ tools comes from their own documentation, checked on Nov 8, 2026.

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