I Built a Video Converter with Claude Code in 3 Hours - From Google Veo3 to YouTube Shorts

#showdev #ai #webassembly #ffmpeg

Background

I've been experimenting with Google's AI video generator "Veo3" and wanted to upload the videos to YouTube. But I hit a problem:

Veo3 can't create vertical videos (shorts format)
I have zero video editing experience
I needed a quick solution

I didn't want to install video editing software just for cropping, so I came up with the idea of a simple tool that only does cropping.

🎬 Here's the Result:

I used Short Crop to convert a Veo3 video and uploaded it as a YouTube Short:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RKaaihBrj4Q

The Solution: Built Everything with Claude Opus 4

Instead of learning video editing software or setting up a complex backend, I decided to build a web-based converter with Claude Code. Here's what we created:

🎯 Short Crop - Browser-based Video Converter

https://short-crop.pages.dev/

Key Features:

No Backend Required - Everything runs in your browser using FFmpeg.wasm
Multiple Aspect Ratios - 9:16 (TikTok/Reels), 4:5 (Instagram), 1:1 (Square)
Crop Modes - Choose between fit (with black bars) or fill (cropped)
Multi-language Support - 13 languages to reach global users
Instant Deployment - Hosted on Cloudflare Pages with automatic CI/CD

What Claude Opus 4 Did:

Complete React Application - Set up with Vite, Tailwind CSS
FFmpeg.wasm Integration - Video processing without servers
Cloudflare Pages Deployment - GitHub Actions for automatic deployment
Internationalization - Full i18n support with react-i18next
Monetization - Integrated Adsterra ads for revenue

The Tech Stack Claude Chose:

{
  "frontend": "React + Vite",
  "styling": "Tailwind CSS v3",
  "video": "FFmpeg.wasm",
  "i18n": "react-i18next",
  "hosting": "Cloudflare Pages",
  "ads": "Adsterra",
  "analytics": "Google Analytics 4"
}

Monetization with Adsterra

Setting up Adsterra was surprisingly simple:

Registration - Quick approval process
Ad Types - Tried both popunder and native banner
Integration - Just paste the script code

Current Issues with Popunder Ads:

User Experience - Popunders are intrusive
Low CTR - Users tend to close them immediately
Looking for Alternatives - Any suggestions for better ad networks?

Lessons Learned

What Worked:

Claude Opus 4 is incredible - It handled everything from FFmpeg configuration to deployment scripts
3 hours from idea to production - This would have taken weeks manually
Adsterra registration is straightforward - Much easier than Google AdSense