Andy Hafell's open-source YouTube content app, packaged to install with Claude Code on Mac, Windows or Linux. Ideas, keyword research, thumbnails, publishing and a browser video editor, in one local tab you own.
What you build
| Part | What it is | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ideas | An idea board and feed | Captures video ideas, including from X accounts you track |
| Research | A keyword research tab on the YouTube API | Scores search phrases for interest, launch waves and competition |
| Judge | The /good-idea Claude Code skill | Verdicts a raw idea against your LESSONS.md and stores it |
| Packaging | Thumbnail editor and generator | Builds thumbnails, with Gemini when you add a key |
| Editor | Browser video editor, an OpenCut fork | Rough-cuts and final cuts clips straight from your disk |
| Publishing | Factory and publishing feed | Moves a card from idea to published post |
Where this comes from
CreatorGrowth was built by Anders "Andy" Hafell to run his own YouTube channel, and he released it under the MIT License so anyone can run a private copy. This pack is his app, with his code unchanged, plus a setup layer for the AI Auto Base community: a start page, a troubleshooting sheet from a real install, and Claude Code prompts for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Full credit goes to Andy. If you want to learn from him directly, and get his other apps as he ships them, join his Skool community, AI Mate.
What you build
The table above lists the parts. When it runs, it is one browser tab at http://localhost:5050. Ideas go in on one side. A thumbnail, a script and a published post come out on the other. Every step in between lives on your machine and in your own SQLite file.
What it deliberately does not do: it does not host anything for you, it sends no email (the login code shows on screen), and it does not come with anyone's API keys. Each feature turns on when you add your own key.
Do you need this? Be honest first
It is for people who publish on YouTube every week and want their idea list, research, thumbnails and publishing in one place they own.
If you post once a month, a notebook and the YouTube Studio app will do. If you have never opened a terminal, start with an easier pack first. This one installs Python, Node and Bun.
What you need
- The machine. A Mac, a Linux box, or Windows 11 with WSL2. About 3 GB of free disk for the Python and editor dependencies.
- The accounts. Claude Code (Pro, Max or Team) to run the install. Optional: a free YouTube Data API key for the Research tab, and a Gemini key for thumbnails.
- The time. About 45 minutes for the first install, most of it downloads.
What is in the zip
creatorgrowth-pack/
START-HERE.md credit, the install prompt for your machine, the keys
CREDITS.md Andy's license, what was removed from his zip, and why
TROUBLESHOOTING.md every error we hit installing it, with the fix
creatorgrowth/ Andy's app, MIT License
INSTALL.md Andy's own install steps, written for Claude Code
app.py the Flask app
editor/ the browser video editor (an OpenCut fork, MIT)
skills/good-idea/ a Claude Code skill that scores video ideas
LESSONS.md your channel's rules, which the skill reads
What was verified and what was not
Verified on 2026-09-23, from this exact zip, in a clean Debian 13 container with nothing preinstalled:
- Python 3.12 through uv,
requirements.txtinstalled, the app booted on port 5050. - Email login with the on-screen code. The first account became user 1 and the admin, so nothing carries over from the author's copy.
- The dashboard, research, factory, feed and TV pages all load when signed in, and return 401 when signed out.
- The video editor installed with Bun and loads through http://localhost:5050/editor.
- Andy's test suite: 132 of 140 pass. The 8 failures are tests for his hosted Skool trial and for an S3 upload path the code no longer uses. None of them touch a self-hosted copy.
The same app has also been installed since 2026-08-05 on a Windows 11 machine under WSL2 Debian.
Not verified: the Mac install (Andy wrote INSTALL.md for macOS, we did not re-run it), and any feature that needs a key we did not add for the test (YouTube research, Gemini thumbnails, Blotato publishing, ElevenLabs, HeyGen). Those depend on your own accounts.
Read the prompt before you run it
Open creatorgrowth/INSTALL.md and read it before you paste anything. Then hand the prompt from START-HERE.md to Claude and ask what it is about to install. Compare its answer with the file. A prompt costs a minute to fix. A wrong install costs an afternoon.
