Ethanfel
6bfbefb058
- Document cross-dissolve transitions and blend methods - Add RIFE auto-download instructions - Document per-folder trim and per-transition overlap - Add file structure diagram - Update installation requirements - Expand supported formats list Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
145 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
145 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
# Video Montage Linker
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A PyQt6 application for creating sequenced symlinks from image folders with advanced cross-dissolve transitions. Perfect for preparing image sequences for video editing, time-lapse assembly, or montage creation.
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## Features
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### Source Folder Management
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- Add multiple source folders to merge images from different locations
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- Drag & drop folders directly onto the window
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- Alternating folder types: odd positions = **Main**, even positions = **Transition**
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- Override folder types via right-click context menu
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- Reorder folders with up/down buttons
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- Per-folder trim settings (exclude frames from start/end)
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### Cross-Dissolve Transitions
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Smooth blending between folder boundaries with three blend methods:
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| Method | Description | Quality | Speed |
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|--------|-------------|---------|-------|
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| **Cross-Dissolve** | Simple alpha blend | Good | Fastest |
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| **Optical Flow** | Motion-compensated blend using OpenCV Farneback | Better | Medium |
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| **RIFE (AI)** | Neural network frame interpolation | Best | Fast (GPU) |
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- **Asymmetric overlap**: Set different frame counts for each side of a transition
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- **Blend curves**: Linear, Ease In, Ease Out, Ease In/Out
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- **Output formats**: PNG, JPEG (with quality), WebP (lossless with method setting)
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- **RIFE auto-download**: Automatically downloads rife-ncnn-vulkan binary
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### Preview
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- **Video Preview**: Play video files from source folders
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- **Image Sequence Preview**: Browse frames with zoom (scroll wheel) and pan (drag)
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- **Sequence Table**: 2-column view showing Main/Transition frame pairing
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- **Trim Slider**: Visual frame range selection per folder
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### Dual Export Destinations
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- **Sequence destination**: Regular symlinks only
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- **Transition destination**: Symlinks + blended transition frames
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### Session Persistence
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- SQLite database tracks all sessions and settings
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- Resume previous session by selecting the same destination folder
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- Restores: source folders, trim settings, folder types, transition settings, per-transition overlaps
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## Installation
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### Requirements
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- Python 3.10+
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- PyQt6
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- Pillow
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- NumPy
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- OpenCV (optional, for Optical Flow)
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```bash
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pip install PyQt6 Pillow numpy opencv-python
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```
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### RIFE (Optional)
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For AI-powered frame interpolation, the app can auto-download [rife-ncnn-vulkan](https://github.com/nihui/rife-ncnn-vulkan) or you can install it manually:
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- Select **RIFE (AI)** as the blend method
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- Click **Download** to fetch the latest release
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- Or specify a custom binary path
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## Usage
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### GUI Mode
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```bash
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python symlink.py # Launch GUI (default)
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python symlink.py --gui # Explicit GUI launch
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```
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**Workflow:**
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1. Add source folders (drag & drop or click "Add Folder")
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2. Adjust trim settings per folder if needed (right-click or use trim slider)
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3. Set destination folder(s)
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4. Enable transitions and configure blend method/settings
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5. Click **Export Sequence** or **Export with Transitions**
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### CLI Mode
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```bash
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# Create symlinks from source folders
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python symlink.py --src /path/to/folder1 --src /path/to/folder2 --dst /path/to/dest
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# List all tracked sessions
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python symlink.py --list
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# Clean up symlinks and remove session
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python symlink.py --clean /path/to/dest
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```
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## File Structure
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```
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video-montage-linker/
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├── symlink.py # Entry point, CLI
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├── config.py # Constants, paths
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├── core/
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│ ├── models.py # Enums, dataclasses
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│ ├── database.py # SQLite session management
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│ ├── blender.py # Image blending, RIFE downloader
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│ └── manager.py # Symlink operations
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└── ui/
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├── widgets.py # TrimSlider, custom widgets
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└── main_window.py # Main application window
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```
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## Supported Formats
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**Images:** PNG, WEBP, JPG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, EXR
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**Videos (preview only):** MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WEBM
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## Database
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Session data stored at: `~/.config/video-montage-linker/symlinks.db`
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## System Installation (Linux)
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```bash
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# Make executable
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chmod +x symlink.py
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# Add to PATH
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ln -s /full/path/to/symlink.py ~/.local/bin/video-montage-linker
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# Create desktop entry
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cat > ~/.local/share/applications/video-montage-linker.desktop << 'EOF'
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[Desktop Entry]
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Name=Video Montage Linker
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Comment=Create sequenced symlinks with cross-dissolve transitions
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Exec=/full/path/to/symlink.py
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Icon=emblem-symbolic-link
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Terminal=false
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Type=Application
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Categories=Utility;Graphics;AudioVideo;
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EOF
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update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/
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```
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## License
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MIT
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