---
title: How do I write or generate a script, and use the teleprompter?
question: write or generate a script
area: video
audience: beginner
surface: desktop
keywords: [script, write script, generate script, teleprompter, voiceover, talking head, what to say, variants, versions, beats, read to camera, spoken words]
related: [how-do-i-record-footage, what-can-the-video-editor-do, how-do-i-brief-the-video-team, who-is-on-the-video-agent-team]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# How do I write or generate a script, and use the teleprompter?

Open the project and click the **Script** tab. You can write the spoken script yourself, or ask the team to draft one for you, grounded in the real facts and in your voice. When it is ready, switch to the **Teleprompter** view, click **Copy**, and read it back from your own teleprompter while you record. The **Script** tab is for talking-head and narrated videos, so a pure screen demo may not need it.

## Before you start

- Open a project in the **video** tab and click the **Script** sub-tab.
- Decide whether you are writing it yourself or having the team draft it. You can do both, and keep several versions side by side.

## Writing one yourself

1. On the **Script** tab, click **+ Write the first script** (or **+ New variant** if you already have one).
2. Give it a **Label** so you can tell versions apart later, for example "short cut" or "angle B".
3. Type the script in the big box as you would say it to camera. Hook first, sign-off last.
4. Click **Save**, or press Command and Return together (the hint reads "⌘⏎ saves").

## Having the team draft one

Click **Run team** and ask for a script, or record with automatic editing on and let the team shape one. The **Story** specialist writes it into this tab, sticking to real facts and matching how you speak. See [How do I run the video team?](how-do-i-run-the-video-team.md).

## Keeping several versions

All your versions live in the rail on the left, under **Variants**. A blue dot marks the **Active** one, which is the version the edit uses. On any version you can:

- **Make active.** Point the edit at this version.
- **Edit**, **Duplicate**, **Delete.** The usual housekeeping. Duplicate is a handy starting point for an alternative angle.

## Reading it from a teleprompter

If the script has beat markers (short bracketed labels the team adds, like a time and a cue), you get two views above the text:

- **Annotated** shows the full script with those markers.
- **Teleprompter** shows only the words to speak, with the markers stripped out, so a voice-following teleprompter does not stumble on them.

To read it while recording:

1. Switch to the **Teleprompter** view.
2. Click **Copy**. It copies the spoken words only, ready to paste.
3. Paste it into your teleprompter app, position that window near your camera, and record. See [How do I record footage for a video?](how-do-i-record-footage.md).

codus does not put a teleprompter over the recording itself, so use whatever prompter app you like alongside it.

## The extra panels

Below the script you may see:

- **Beats.** The moments the script is built around, each with a rough time, a label and the line.
- **Grounded facts.** The real numbers and facts the script leans on, each with where it came from, so nothing is invented.
- A **target** duration near the top, if one is set.

## How do I know it worked?

Your script shows in the **Script** tab, the version you want is marked **Active**, and the **Teleprompter** view shows clean spoken text with no bracketed markers.

## Common problems

**"There is no script and the tab is nearly empty."** Nothing has been written yet. Click **+ Write the first script**, or run the team and ask for one.

**"I copied the script and it has bracketed cue lines in it."** You copied from the **Annotated** view. Switch to **Teleprompter** first, then **Copy**, and those lines are left out.

**"I wrote a new version but the edit still uses the old one."** Saving a new version does not change which one is active. Open the version you want and click **Make active**.