SkyReels: video generator — what it does and what you need to run it

SkyReels is an open-source video generator from Skywork AI. The authors position it as the first open model tailored to creating videos with people. The tool can work from both a text description and an image.

What it does

• Generates video from text (t2v) and from an image (i2v).
• Creates clips with a focus on people — the authors call the model a "human-centric video foundation model."
• According to the repository, on a single RTX 4090 with full VRAM optimization, peak consumption is 18.5 GB. In this mode, you can generate a 4-second video at 544x960 pixels and 97 frames.
• At maximum VRAM usage, generating a 12-second video at 544x960 pixels and 289 frames is possible. The --sequence_batch parameter is used for this. Generation time on a single RTX 4090 is about an hour and a half; adding more GPUs, according to the developers, significantly speeds up the process.

What you need to run it

• Platform: CUDA. The authors recommend version 12.2.
• Language: Python, version 3.10 (developer recommendation).
• VRAM: as described by the author, peak consumption is 18.5 GB. For maximum video length, you will need the full available memory on an accelerator of the RTX 4090 class.
• Code license: Apache 2.0. Free to use, modify and distribute, including for commercial purposes. When distributing, you must include a copy of the license, state changes in modified files and retain authorship notices. Parts derived from Tencent Hunyuan are additionally subject to the Tencent Hunyuan Community License Agreement.
• Repository: github.com/SkyworkAI/SkyReels-V1. Last code change — March 10, 2025.
• Project website: www.skyreels.ai.

Who it suits

The tool is aimed at those who work with video on local hardware and are ready to deal with manual installation. It suits researchers and developers who need an open model with a focus on filming people. The availability of open source allows you to study the architecture and fine-tune the model for your own tasks.

It is not suitable for those who do not have a GPU with 18.5 GB of VRAM or more. Generating long clips takes considerable time even on a powerful accelerator, so for streaming work without a cluster of several cards, the tool may prove impractical. Also keep in mind the Apache 2.0 license: commercial use is permitted, but when distributing you must include a copy of the license, state changes in modified files and retain authorship notices.

SkyReels is a highly specialized open-source video generator with high VRAM requirements. The authors focus on scenes with people and provide code for self-assembly, but the actual quality metrics on third-party data remain the user's responsibility.