The latest articles on DEV Community by snipforge (@snipforge). https://dev.to/snipforge https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3953436%2F3820fef0-c3f0-499e-87a0-8b1ab1b36de1.jpg https://dev.to/snipforge en snipforge Wed, 27 May 2026 02:49:17 +0000 https://dev.to/snipforge/how-i-built-a-28-tool-ai-video-saas-solo-with-python-flask-and-openai-2iml https://dev.to/snipforge/how-i-built-a-28-tool-ai-video-saas-solo-with-python-flask-and-openai-2iml <p>I built SnipForge.video completely solo.No co-founder. No team. No VC money.Just Python, Flask, FFmpeg and OpenAI APIs.</p> <p>Here is exactly how I did it and what I learned.</p> <h2> The Stack </h2> <ul> <li>Python 3 and Flask for backend</li> <li>FFmpeg for all video processing</li> <li>OpenAI Whisper for AI transcription</li> <li>GPT-4 for smart content generation</li> <li>Stripe for payments</li> <li>SQLite for database</li> <li>Vanilla HTML CSS JavaScript for frontend</li> </ul> <p>The entire product runs in a single Python file. Backend, frontend, database, API routes and HTML templates all in one place.</p> <h2> The 28 Tools </h2> <p>Every tool follows the same pattern. Receive <br> parameters, run FFmpeg or AI API, save output, <br> update job status.</p> <p>Tools include trim, compress, convert, crop, <br> rotate, stabilize, watermark, add captions, <br> transcribe, extract audio, remove background, <br> create GIFs, merge videos and more.</p> <h2> The Hardest Part </h2> <p>Auto captions was the most complex feature.</p> <p>It uses three systems in sequence. FFmpeg extracts audio. Whisper transcribes it with timestamps. Then a custom ASS subtitle file <br> gets burned back into the video with FFmpeg.</p> <p>Supporting 20 languages and 4 caption styles while keeping it fast was the real challenge.</p> <h2> Background Job Processing </h2> <p>Every tool runs as a background thread so the browser never waits. The job ID is returned immediately and the browser polls <br> every 1.5 seconds for progress updates.</p> <p>This was critical for large file processing.</p> <h2> What I Would Do Differently </h2> <p>Start with fewer tools. I built 28 tools before getting my first user. In hindsight 5 great tools would have been better than <br> 28 average ones at launch.</p> <h2> Try It </h2> <p>Free plan includes 3 videos.Pro is $5 per month for unlimited.</p> <p>snipforge.video</p> <p>Use code LAUNCH for 1 month free.</p> <p>Happy to answer any questions about the technical implementation in the comments.</p> ai webdev python showdev