Checks

A check is an automatic test on a stage's finished output, such as "the script is between 60 and 90 words" or "the video is at most 30 seconds long". If a check fails, Reelcraft makes the stage try again, telling it what went wrong, instead of passing a bad result to the next stage.

Checks are free: they run inside Reelcraft and never call an AI service. For a judgement a test can't make, such as "is this script funny?", use quality control as well.

Add a check

1. Open the stage and go to Checks & Quality control → Checks.
2. Select + Add builtin check or + Add script check.
3. Fill it in, as described below.

Select Remove check to delete one. A stage can have as many checks as you like, and all of them must pass.

Builtin checks

Choose the check under Select a builtin check…, then fill in its settings. Most checks look at a path: where in the output to look. Leave the path empty to check the whole output. See Paths.

Check	What it tests	Settings
non_empty	The value isn't empty: not blank text, an empty list or an empty object	path (optional)
word_count	The number of words in some text	path, min, max
regex_match	The text matches a pattern	pattern, flags, path
regex_absent	The text does not match a pattern, such as a banned word	pattern, flags, path
numeric_range	A number is between a minimum and a maximum	path (required), min, max
array_length	A list has between a minimum and a maximum number of items	path (required), min, max
duration_range	A video's or audio's length, in seconds	min, max
media_format	A media file's container (such as mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2) and/or codec (such as h264)	container, codec
wpm	Speaking pace: the words of a Generate Speech output spoken per minute	min, max

A min or max you leave empty isn't checked. See Built-in checks for each one in detail.

Checking text

Text checks (non_empty, word_count, regex_match, regex_absent, wpm) work on a text output without a path. For a data output, give a path to a text field, such as script.

Checking speech pace

wpm is for Generate Speech stages. Reelcraft keeps the words it spoke with the audio, divides by the audio's length, and compares the result to your min and max. On any other kind of output it fails, and the blueprint warns you: wpm measures speaking pace and needs a Generate Speech (media.audio) output.

Data outputs are always checked against their schema

For a data output, Reelcraft first checks that the output matches its schema. If it doesn't, that's the only failure reported, and your other checks don't run.

Script checks

When no builtin does what you need, write a script check: a short piece of JavaScript.

1. Select + Add script check.
2. Give it a Name, shown in results.
3. Write the script in the code box. Write it as the body of a function: it ends with return.
4. Optionally add refs with + add ref: extra values to read alongside the output, connected like slots. Give each a name.

A script can read two things:

• artifact: the output. It has kind, data and, for media, probe. A text output's text is artifact.data.text, and a data output's fields are in artifact.data.
• refs: your refs, by name.

It must return an object with pass (true or false) and, optionally, a message to show:

const scenes = artifact.data.scenes;
if (scenes.length < 3) {
  return { pass: false, message: `Only ${scenes.length} scenes, need at least 3` };
}
return { pass: true };

Scripts run in a small, locked-down sandbox. They can't read files, use the network or see anything besides artifact and refs, and they're stopped if they run longer than a fraction of a second or use too much memory. Keep them simple and quick.

A script that doesn't compile is reported as an error when you save the blueprint. One that crashes, runs out of time or returns the wrong shape counts as a failed check.

Test a check

You can try a check against an existing output before running anything. Under the check, paste an output's artifact id and select Test. You see Result: pass or Result: fail and the message.

When a check fails

1. The stage's attempt is marked as failed on its checks.
2. The stage tries again. The messages of the checks that failed are added to the new attempt's prompt (see Prompts).
3. After Max check attempts failures, the stage fails and the run stops. The default is 3. The box appears once the stage has at least one check, and you can change it.

Each failed attempt is paid for, so keep checks reasonable and set a sensible maximum.

A check that is broken, such as a script with an error or bad settings, is reported as an authoring problem. Asking the model again can't fix it, so fix the check.

Look at a failed check on the run page, under the stage's Attempts. See also When a stage fails.