The keyword guessing game
Your script says "the economy cracked under pressure." You type "economy" into Pexels and get smiling businessmen shaking hands. Wrong scene. Wrong emotion. Twenty minutes gone.
Free & open source · Desktop app for YouTube creators
Your script is done.
Your script is done.
Your b-roll hunt shouldn't take all night.
StockFinder AI is a free, open-source desktop app. Paste your script, and it breaks your narration into visual beats, searches Pexels with intent, and downloads an organized asset pack to your machine — while you make coffee. No subscription. No vendor lock-in. Read the code on GitHub.
$0
App license — forever
Paste
Your full script
Folder
Ready for your editor
Beat 3 of 7
"For decades, scientists believed the deep ocean was a lifeless void..."
video
photo
video
Beat 4 — searching
"Until a single expedition changed everything we thought we knew."
What is StockFinder AI?
StockFinder AI is a free, open-source desktop application for YouTube creators and video editors. It reads your narration script, splits it into visual beats with AI-driven search queries, finds matching Pexels stock photos and videos, and downloads an organized asset pack to your machine — with manifest.json and photographer attribution included.
The real bottleneck
You didn't become a creator to become a stock librarian.
Writing the script is the creative part. Hunting b-roll is the part that steals your evening, kills your momentum, and still leaves you with footage that doesn't quite match what you wrote.
Tab archaeology
Script in one window. Pexels in another. Downloads folder in a third. Notes app with photographer names you'll forget to credit. Every video repeats the same chaotic workflow.
The folder graveyard
pexels_download(3).mp4. stock_video_new.mp4. final_broll_2.mp4. When you sit down to edit, you can't remember which clip matched which line — or where you saved it.
Deadline math that never works
"Script's done, I'll grab b-roll tonight." Three hours later you're still scrolling. Upload slips. The part viewers never see becomes the part that decides whether you ship on time.
Tone mismatch
Cinematic documentary script. Stock results look like corporate training videos. You settle because you're tired — and the video feels cheaper than your writing deserves.
Attribution anxiety
Pexels is free to use, but you're still responsible for crediting photographers. Scrambling in the description box at 1 AM is not a workflow — it's a liability waiting to happen.
Same pain, every upload
Faceless channel. Explainer series. Weekly Shorts. The script changes but the b-roll hunt doesn't get faster — because nothing remembers what worked last time.
Creative drain before edit
By the time footage is gathered, you're too drained to care about pacing and cuts. The search phase burns the energy you needed for the part that actually makes videos good.
Platform whiplash
YouTube wants 16:9. Shorts wants vertical. You find perfect horizontal b-roll, then realize half your script beats need a different orientation — and you start over.
"I can write a 12-minute script in an afternoon. Finding stock that actually matches it? That's the part that makes me dread publishing."— Every solo creator who's ever had 38 Pexels tabs open at midnight
2–4 hrs
Typical manual b-roll time per video (creator workflow estimates)
12+
Search queries per script on average
0
Videos where stock search feels "fast"
100%
Of time you could spend editing instead
Same script. Different Tuesday night.
Manual search vs. one agent run
This isn't about replacing your taste. It's about skipping the hours of mechanical searching so you can reject, refine, and edit with a full folder already on your desk.
sentiment_dissatisfied
Manual Pexels workflow
- 45m Read script line by line, guess search terms per section
- 60m Scroll results, open tabs, preview clips that almost work
- 30m Download files one by one, rename nothing, lose context
- 25m Hunt for attribution, copy URLs into a doc you'll misplace
- 20m Re-search beats where footage didn't match the narration
Total
~3 hours
bolt
StockFinder AI workflow
- 30s Paste script, pick platform (YouTube, Shorts, TikTok, Reels) and visual style
- Auto Agent parses script into beats with visual prompts per section
- Auto AI searches Pexels photos and videos, selects candidates per beat
- Auto Downloads to organized folders with manifest and attribution built in
- 10m Review in Media Library, approve or reject, open folder in your editor
Your active time
~10 minutes
StockFinder AI vs manual Pexels search
| Factor | Manual Pexels workflow | StockFinder AI |
|---|---|---|
| Time per video | 2–4 hours of active searching | ~10 minutes active review time |
| Search method | Manual keyword guessing per line | AI beat mapping with intent-based queries |
| File organization | Scattered downloads, unclear naming | Project folders with manifest.json |
| Pexels attribution | Copied manually, easy to miss | Built into Media Library and exports |
| Cost | Free Pexels + your time | Free app + cents per LLM API run |
| Privacy | Browser-based tab workflow | Runs 100% locally on your machine |
The fix
Paste a script. Pick a style.
Paste a script. Pick a style.
Get a useful asset pack.
StockFinder AI is open source — the full agent, UI, and download pipeline are on GitHub for anyone to inspect, fork, or improve. It runs locally on your machine, reads your narration, queries Pexels with intent, and delivers a project folder your editor can actually use — with paths, metadata, and credits included.
How it works
Four steps. Zero stock-site spelunking.
01
Paste your script
Drop in your full YouTube narration, title the project, and choose your target platform and visual mood — cinematic, documentary, tech, nature, and more.
02
Agent maps visual beats
Your LLM breaks the script into beats, each with a visual direction and targeted search queries — not generic one-word guesses.
03
Pexels search and select
The agent searches photos and videos, rejects off-topic results, and queues downloads. Enable human approval if you want to review before anything saves.
04
Edit from a real folder
Open your project folder: photos/, videos/, thumbnails/, manifest.json, and full Pexels attribution. Drag into Premiere, DaVinci, or CapCut and go.
Built for creators who ship
Everything the manual workflow forgot to organize
Not a video editor. Not a cloud subscription. Not a walled garden. A focused, open-source tool that does one job extremely well: get the right stock on your hard drive, fast.
Free and fully open source
The entire app lives on GitHub — agent logic, Pexels integration, download sandbox, and UI. No hidden servers. No telemetry. Star the repo, open an issue, submit a PR, or fork it for your own workflow. You pay only for the LLM API calls you choose to make.
Looping AI agent with live progress
Watch beats parse, searches run, and downloads queue in real time. Full agent console with tool calls, token usage, and cost estimates — no black box.
MIT licensed
Free forever under the MIT license. Read the code, fork it, or ship your own build — no strings attached.
Pexels-native
Official API integration with rate-limit awareness, search caching, and required photographer attribution in exports.
Your LLM, your keys
OpenAI, Gemini, or OpenRouter. Bring the model you already pay for. Keys stored locally in your OS keychain.
Human approval mode
Pause before downloads. Approve or reject each asset. Nothing hits your disk without your sign-off.
Download sandbox
URL validation blocks private networks and unauthorized hosts. Candidates must match verified Pexels search results.
Platform and style controls
Target YouTube, Shorts, TikTok, or Reels. Set visual style, asset mix (video only, photos only, or both), and per-beat download limits.
Manifest you can hand to anyone
Every run exports manifest.json with script beats, queries, file paths, source URLs, and license notes. Editor-ready documentation, not chaos.
Pause, resume, rerun
Life happens. Pause a run, close the app, resume later. State persists across restarts.
Safety toggles
Skip explicit queries. Avoid people and faces in results. Control concurrency, timeouts, and max agent iterations.
Runs on your machine
No cloud accounts. No upload of your script to our servers. Your script, your keys, your files — local by design.
Who it's for
Same pain. Different channel.
If your workflow starts with a script and ends with stock footage scattered across your desktop, StockFinder AI was built for you.
Faceless YouTube
Explainer and documentary channels
"Every video is 8–15 minutes of narration. I need 40+ clips that match the story arc, not random office b-roll."
check_circle Agent maps narrative beats to cinematic or documentary-style searches, downloads a full pack per video.
Short-form editor
Shorts, TikTok, Reels
"I rewrite hooks weekly but I'm still manually hunting vertical-friendly clips at midnight before a batch upload."
check_circle Select Shorts or Reels as target platform. Tighter beat limits, faster runs, organized folders per project.
Freelance editor
Client scripts, tight turnarounds
"Client sends a script Friday. They want a rough cut Monday. I can't bill 3 hours of stock scrolling."
check_circle Export manifest with attribution for client records. Hand off folders with clear beat-to-clip mapping.
Why "just search Pexels" fails
The problem isn't stock quality. It's translation.
Pexels has millions of clips. Your script speaks in story, emotion, and metaphor. The gap between those two languages is where creators lose hours — and settle for footage that weakens the final cut.
Scripts speak in metaphor
"The market froze overnight" isn't a literal ice search. A human (or AI) has to translate narrative intent into visual language Pexels can return — that's the hard part.
Volume without structure
Downloading 30 clips is easy. Knowing which clip supports line 47 of your script — and having it in a folder named for that project — is the work StockFinder automates.
Context switching kills flow
Creative flow lives in the edit. Every minute in a stock site is a minute not spent on pacing, music, and the cuts that actually retain viewers.
Common questions
How creators find b-roll faster
StockFinder AI addresses the stock-footage problems YouTube editors search for most often — from keyword guessing to attribution and platform-specific crops.
How to find b-roll for YouTube videos
Start from your script, not from generic stock keywords. StockFinder AI parses each narration beat, generates visual search queries that match story intent, and downloads Pexels clips organized by scene — so you edit from a folder that mirrors your timeline structure.
Best free stock footage workflow for editors
Pexels offers free stock photos and videos, but manual searching costs hours per upload. StockFinder AI automates Pexels API searches locally on your desktop, exports attribution in manifest.json, and keeps assets named and grouped per project — no SaaS subscription required.
AI tools for YouTube b-roll (without cloud lock-in)
Most AI video tools run in the browser and charge monthly fees. StockFinder AI is MIT-licensed open source: bring your own OpenAI, Gemini, or OpenRouter key, keep scripts on your machine, and audit every line of the agent on GitHub.
Pexels attribution for YouTube descriptions
Pexels requires crediting photographers and linking back to Pexels. StockFinder includes attribution in the Media Library and exports a complete credits block in manifest.json — so you paste accurate credits into your YouTube description instead of reconstructing them at 1 AM.
Questions
Before you download
Is StockFinder AI a video editor?
No. It finds, downloads, and organizes stock assets. You still edit in Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut, CapCut, or whatever you already use. Think of it as the research assistant that runs before your timeline.
Do I need a Pexels API key?
Yes. Pexels offers free API access for developers. StockFinder uses your key to search and download on your behalf. The key stays encrypted in your local system keychain — never sent to us.
Which AI models are supported?
OpenAI, Google Gemini, and OpenRouter (which unlocks Claude, Qwen, and many others). You provide your own API key and model ID. The agent uses tool calling to search Pexels and manage downloads.
Is my script uploaded anywhere?
Your script is sent to whichever LLM provider you configure — that's how the agent analyzes beats. It is not sent to StockFinder servers because there are no StockFinder servers. The app runs entirely on your desktop.
Can I review assets before they download?
Yes. Enable "require approval before download" in Settings. The agent pauses, shows candidates per beat, and you approve or reject each one before anything hits your disk.
What about Pexels attribution?
Pexels requires crediting photographers and linking back to Pexels. StockFinder includes attribution in the Media Library and exports a full attribution block in manifest.json so you're not reconstructing credits from memory.
Does it work on Mac and Linux?
Build targets include Windows, macOS, and Linux. Check the GitHub releases page for installers for your platform.
How much does it cost?
The app is free and open source — download it, use it, fork it. You pay only for your own LLM API usage (typically cents per script run). Pexels API access is free within their rate limits. No StockFinder subscription. Ever.
What does open source mean for me?
Every line of code is public on GitHub. You can verify the app never uploads your script to us (there is no “us” — no StockFinder servers). You can build it yourself, audit the download sandbox, contribute fixes, or fork it if your team needs custom behavior. Releases are published on GitHub for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Free · Open source · Yours to keep
Your next video deserves b-roll
Your next video deserves b-roll
that matches the script.
Download the app for free. Star the repo if it saves you a night of stock scrolling. Paste your script tonight — open a folder tomorrow that's ready for your timeline.
Open source on GitHub · Windows, macOS, and Linux · Your keys, your files, your machine