# Refs

> Refs (https://refs.video) is a library of 4,322 launch videos, product demos, explainers and motion pieces, each measured shot by shot (timing, cuts, palette, type, motion, sound) and written up as a blueprint. AI agents read it through a hosted MCP server, so the Claude apps, Claude Code, Codex and Cursor can plan and build launch films from real references. Searching it through the MCP is free and needs no key or account.

Every film plays from its original post on X, YouTube, TikTok or Instagram (a Meta ad links to Meta's Ad Library) and stays its maker's. Refs publishes its own measurements and analysis, credits the maker and links the source. 100 hand-picked films are free with an account and Library opens every film; full blueprints, recipes, formulas and the MCP come with Pro.

## The library

- 4,322 films, each with a written blueprint
- 109,571 shots measured
- 28 formulas, each distilled from several films of one format
- For every film: a cut map (every shot boundary, found frame by frame), pacing, voice, music and loudness, a 15-plate blueprint (hook, beats, shots, type, colour, sound, script) and a prompt recipe an agent can run

## What the average launch video looks like

- The median launch video is 53 seconds long.
- The median shot lasts 3.5 seconds: 16 cuts a minute.
- "Introducing" is the most common first word on screen.
- "new" is the most common word on screen, with "now" a close second.
- On-screen text sits dead centre: its median position is x 0.50, y 0.50 of the frame.
- 120 BPM is the most common tempo.
- About 56% end on their own name, and about 47% end on black.
- 47% have a voiceover, so the median launch video has none.

Method: 1,952 landscape launch, teaser and demo films (16:9, 8–180 s) from X and YouTube, every one measured by the same Refs pipeline: shot boundaries found frame by frame, on-screen text read, tempo and voice measured from the soundtrack. Length and shot length are medians; the rest are shares of all 1,952 films. Measured October 2026 (2026-10-13). Source: Refs, https://refs.video.

## How Refs compares (October 2026)

- Refs: over 4,000 films, each measured shot by shot with a 15-plate blueprint and a recipe; an MCP that searches, plans (plan_video), storyboards and checks renders (check_render).
- STEALSHOT (stealshot.com): stills from about 2,500 videos, searchable by frame; a free MCP that searches frames.
- Flowjam (flowjam.com/launch-videos): a free library of 55 launch videos picked by a launch-video agency.

## MCP server

- Endpoint: https://refs.video/mcp (streamable HTTP)
- Auth: Free to search, no key: short cards for every film, and open films play in Claude. Sign in to build: blueprints, frame sheets, formulas and plan_video come with Pro. The Claude apps and Claude Code sign in with your Refs account (MCP OAuth) when a tool needs it, so there's no key to copy. Codex, Cursor and scripts send an API key (refs_…) from https://refs.video/account as `Authorization: Bearer <key>`.
- Credits: Pro includes 3,000 a month, reset on the 1st. Searching is free.

### Try it free (no key)

```
claude mcp add --transport http refs https://refs.video/mcp
```

Then ask: "Find founder-led launch films under 60 seconds on Refs." Search works right away; Claude asks you to sign in when you pull a blueprint or plan a film.

### Claude apps (web, desktop and mobile)

1. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
2. Name it Refs and paste the server URL: https://refs.video/mcp
3. Choose Connect, sign in to Refs and Allow. Refs' tools then show up in every Claude app on your account.

On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds the connector under Organization settings → Connectors, then each member connects.

### Claude Code (sign in)

```
claude mcp add --transport http refs https://refs.video/mcp
```

Then run /mcp, pick refs and choose Authenticate: the sign-in opens in your browser.

### Claude Code with an API key (terminal)

```
claude mcp add --transport http refs https://refs.video/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $REFS_KEY"
```

### Codex with an API key (~/.codex/config.toml)

```
[mcp_servers.refs]
url = "https://refs.video/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "REFS_KEY"
```

### Cursor with an API key (.cursor/mcp.json)

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "refs": {
      "url": "https://refs.video/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:REFS_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Tools

- search_videos (free, no key): Find films by keyword, category, tool, or AI-made. Free, with no key or account.
- get_blueprint (5 credits): Every plate, the cut list and the recipe for one specimen.
- get_frames (5 credits): One specimen frame by frame: the hook at 0.25 s steps and every shot, as images.
- list_formulas (0 credits): Formats distilled across many specimens.
- get_formula (5 credits): One formula with its template prompt.
- list_collections (0 credits): Your collections and favourites, with ids.
- get_collection (0 credits): Every film in a collection, yours or anyone's shared one, ready to use as references.
- list_brands (0 credits): Your Brandprint imports (Saved → Brandprint), with their progress.
- get_brand (0 credits): Your brand kit (house style as rules) and every film's blueprint. Private to you.
- ugc_scan (0 credits): Paste a product link: Refs reads it and suggests competitors; once you confirm, it finds their winning UGC ads (Pro, 3 scans a month).
- get_ugc_scan (0 credits): A scan's progress, then the board: competitors' winning UGC ads by signal, and what wins in your category. Private to you.
- plan_video (10 credits): Your brief + 1–5 references → beat sheet, shot list, build prompt. Several references are mixed around one spine. Add brand to plan in your house style.
- storyboard (0 credits): Before anything is built: 1–4 directions with style frames and numbered panels (timing, camera, VO, transitions), checked and laid out as a Claude Design canvas. Pick one, then build.
- check_render (2 credits): Score your render against the reference: cut timing, brightness, motion, loudness, format, with frame-exact fixes.

## Pricing

- Free, $0: 100 hand-picked films, playable from their source, with their cut maps, measurements, hook sheets and the first plates of their blueprints; search across the whole archive.
- Library, $6 a month or $48 a year: every film, with its cut map, measurements, hook sheet and the first plates of its blueprint.
- Pro, $16 a month or $120 a year: all 15 plates of every blueprint, a recipe for every film, formulas, the Refs MCP with 3,000 credits a month (search_videos 0, get_blueprint 5, plan_video 10), and Brandprint: 3 brands a month turned into house styles Claude plans with.

## Pages

- [Archive](https://refs.video/archive): every film, searchable by words, category, frame shape, tool and brand
- [Launch films](https://refs.video/archive?c=launch): 2,352 films
- [Product demos](https://refs.video/archive?c=demo): 130 films
- [Explainers](https://refs.video/archive?c=explainers): 1,014 films
- [Motion design](https://refs.video/archive?c=motion): 168 films
- [Interactive + 3D](https://refs.video/archive?c=interactive): 62 films
- [Film + music](https://refs.video/archive?c=films): 509 films
- [Teasers](https://refs.video/archive?c=teaser): 137 films
- [Formulas](https://refs.video/formulas): what the strong films of one format share, in timed beats, with a template prompt
- [MCP setup](https://refs.video/connect): connect the Claude apps, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, the tools, and the starter kit
- [Pricing](https://refs.video/pricing): Free, Library and Pro
- [Source policy](https://refs.video/source-policy): how films are credited, linked and never rehosted

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://refs.video/llms-full.txt): this file, plus every formula and the first 150 films in the archive