Premiere Pro MCP for Claude Code

Make Claude a real operator for Adobe Premiere Pro 2025 — not a chatbot that talks about Premiere, but an MCP server that actually opens projects, imports media, builds sequences, keyframes motion, color-grades, cuts footage to the beat, and renders fully automatic cinematic intros in four broadcast-grade styles.

A Model Context Protocol server (Node/TypeScript, stdio) with 59 tools, packaged as a one-click .mcpb desktop extension. Built and verified live against Premiere Pro 2025 (v25.5.0) on Windows.

⚠️ Independent open-source project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Adobe. "Adobe" and "Premiere Pro" are trademarks of Adobe Inc.

Why this exists

Premiere has no official REST API, no usable CLI, and no local database to drive it. The strongest automation surface is its ExtendScript DOM, reachable only from inside the app. So this project ships a tiny CEP bridge panel that runs a local HTTP server inside Premiere and forwards calls to ExtendScript — the same proven pattern used by tools like pymiere. On top of that sits a Node MCP server with file/registry access, process control, a UI-automation fallback, and a creative engine (Remotion-rendered visuals + synthesized sound design) for one-call cinematic intros.

Claude (Code / Desktop)
        │  MCP (stdio)
        ▼
  premiere-mcp  (Node/TypeScript server — this repo)
        │ HTTP 127.0.0.1:3030   │ file/registry        │ process + UI       │ Remotion + ffmpeg + numpy
        ▼                       ▼                       ▼                    ▼
  CEP Bridge Panel        recent/logs/prefs/        launch/quit/         cinematic intro visuals,
  (inside Premiere)       .prproj inspect           screenshot           SFX beds, beat detection
        │ CSInterface.evalScript
        ▼
  ExtendScript host ($._PPRO_MCP)  ──►  Premiere DOM + QE DOM

Related MCP server: DaVinci Resolve MCP Server

Highlights

• 🎬 One-call cinematic intros — premiere_create_brand_intro renders a parameterized Remotion visual, synthesizes a timed sound-design bed, composites it in Premiere and exports 16:9 and 9:16 with audio.

• 🎨 4 polished style presets — neural, stadium (broadcast god-rays + lens-flare logo), datagrid (HUD control-room), glass (glassmorphism) — each with its own palette, color grade, logo treatment and sound design.

• ✂️ Beat-cut short-video mode — premiere_beat_cut_video: footage folder + music → detect beats → cut shots exactly on the beat → export.

• 🎛️ Real timeline control — silent sequence creation, trimmed clip placement, titles via Motion Graphics Templates (.mogrt) with dynamic text, audio, transitions, effects, keyframes with Bézier easing, overlays with blend modes.

• 🗂️ Works even when Premiere is closed — read recent projects, logs, preferences, inspect .prproj (gzipped XML), back up projects, list auto-saves.

• 🛡️ Safe by design — read-only by default, confirmation gates on destructive ops, dry-run, auto-backup before overwrite, write-allowlist, hard timeouts, audit log, secret redaction.

• 📦 One-click install — ships as a .mcpb bundle (server + bridge panel + assets).

Requirements

• Windows + Adobe Premiere Pro 2025 (host id PPRO, CEP 12).

• Node.js 18+.

• For the intro/cut features (optional): ffmpeg, Python 3 + numpy, and Remotion (installed in the bundled remotion-intro/ project — npm install there). Chromium is fetched by Remotion on first render.

• Adobe Media Encoder is not required — exports use Premiere's built-in direct exporter.

Install

Option A — One-click .mcpb (recommended)

npm install
npm run build
npm run build:mcpb        # -> build/premiere-mcp.mcpb

1. In Claude Desktop: Settings → Extensions → "Install Extension" → pick build/premiere-mcp.mcpb.

2. Ask Claude to run premiere_install_bridge_panel (sets the registry flag + copies the panel — no admin).

3. Restart Premiere, open Window → Extensions → Premiere MCP Bridge.

4. Verify: ask Claude to run premiere_status.

Option B — Manual (dev)

npm install
npm run build
npm run install-extension   # installs the CEP bridge panel + sets PlayerDebugMode

Add to your Claude config (claude-config-example.json has a template):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\Premiere-MCP\\dist\\index.js"],
      "env": { "PREMIERE_MCP_BRIDGE_PORT": "3030" }
    }
  }
}

• Claude Desktop: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

• Claude Code (CLI): claude mcp add premiere -- node "C:\path\to\Premiere-MCP\dist\index.js"

Full step-by-step in INSTALL.md.

Tool catalog (59)

premiere_bridge_panel_status · premiere_install_bridge_panel · premiere_status · premiere_launch · premiere_quit · premiere_restart

premiere_get_app_info · premiere_get_project_info · premiere_get_preferences · premiere_open_project · premiere_new_project · premiere_save_project · premiere_save_project_as · premiere_close_project

premiere_import_files · premiere_create_bin · premiere_list_project_items · premiere_find_project_item · premiere_remove_project_item

premiere_list_sequence_presets · premiere_list_sequences · premiere_get_active_sequence · premiere_create_sequence · premiere_new_sequence (silent) · premiere_set_active_sequence · premiere_get_sequence_tracks · premiere_add_marker · premiere_list_markers

premiere_place_clip · premiere_add_title (MOGRT + dynamic text) · premiere_add_audio · premiere_add_transition · premiere_add_effect · premiere_keyframe (Bézier) · premiere_add_overlay (blend modes) · premiere_apply_lumetri

premiere_build_video (assemble from a JSON edit-spec) · premiere_create_intro · premiere_create_brand_intro (the flagship) · premiere_detect_beats · premiere_add_beat_markers · premiere_beat_cut_video

premiere_list_export_presets · premiere_export_sequence (direct, no AME)

premiere_list_recent_projects · premiere_get_logs · premiere_get_preference_files · premiere_inspect_project_file · premiere_backup_project · premiere_list_autosaves

premiere_screenshot · premiere_focus_window · premiere_ui_describe · premiere_send_shortcut · premiere_get_capabilities · premiere_run_extendscript (guarded) · premiere_run_menu_command · premiere_generate_report · premiere_bridge_selftest

The creative engine

Premiere is the compositor/exporter; the heavy animation lives in the render layer (Remotion). This is the reliable path to broadcast-grade quality — speed curves, glow, grading and kinetic type are deterministic in Remotion, while Premiere does compositing, sound and export.

Cinematic intro — one call

premiere_create_brand_intro {
  "title": "M.P",
  "subtitle": "AI · AUTOMATION · VIDEO",
  "style": "stadium",        // neural | stadium | datagrid | glass
  "aspect": "both",          // 16:9 and 9:16
  "logoPath": "C:\\…\\logo.png",   // optional; defaults to the bundled brand logo
  "musicPath": "C:\\…\\track.wav", // optional; a synthesized SFX bed is added either way
  "outputDir": "C:\\…\\out"
}

Each style brings its own palette, color grade (grade: neon / teal-orange / mono, with gradeStrength), title treatment (titleStyle: stack / spread / minimal), logo treatment (stadium lens-flare, datagrid HUD frame, glass card) and sound-design bed (stadium crowd-whoosh + big impact, datagrid UI-bleeps + riser, glass chime + shimmer). Every parameter is overridable.

Build any video from an edit-spec

premiere_build_video {
  "sequence": { "name": "My Short", "presetPath": "…/HD 1080p 25 fps.sqpreset" },
  "video":  [ { "path": "a.mp4", "track": 1, "at": 0, "in": 2, "out": 5 } ],
  "titles": [ { "text": "Hello", "track": 2, "at": 0.5, "duration": 3 } ],
  "audio":  [ { "path": "music.wav", "track": 2, "at": 0 } ],
  "transitions": [ { "name": "Cross Dissolve", "videoTrack": 1, "clipIndex": 0 } ],
  "export": { "outputPath": "C:\\…\\short.mp4", "confirm": true }
}

Beat-cut a reel

premiere_beat_cut_video {
  "footageDir": "C:\\…\\footage",
  "musicPath": "C:\\…\\track.mp3",
  "beatsPerCut": 2,          // 1 = cut on every beat
  "order": "shuffle",
  "aspect": "16:9",
  "outputPath": "C:\\…\\reel.mp4"
}

Times are seconds, tracks are 1-based (V1/A1 lowest), all paths absolute.

Configuration (environment variables)

Safety model

• Read-only by default — all get/list/inspect/find/report tools are non-destructive.

• Confirmation gates — destructive actions require confirm: true (quit/restart, close-without-save, overwrite a project/export output, delete a bin, raw ExtendScript, QE menu command).

• Dry-run — premiere_run_extendscript defaults to dryRun: true.

• Auto-backup — overwriting a .prproj writes a timestamped .bak-… first.

• Write allowlist — writes/deletes are confined to configured roots.

• Hard timeouts — a modal Premiere dialog can freeze ExtendScript; every bridge call times out with an actionable message instead of hanging.

• Audit log + secret redaction — every tool call is logged (stderr + file); tokens/passwords are redacted. stdout is reserved for the MCP protocol.

Capability matrix (what's reliable vs render-layer)

Project structure

Premiere-MCP/
├── src/                      MCP server (TypeScript)
│   ├── index.ts              entry: registers all tools over stdio
│   ├── config.ts             paths/ports/allowlist (env-overridable)
│   ├── bridge.ts             HTTP client to the in-app panel
│   ├── safety.ts             allowlist, confirm/dry-run, backups
│   ├── exec.ts logger.ts     PowerShell exec + stderr/file logging
│   └── tools/                the 59 tools, grouped by domain
├── bridge-extension/com.mp.premiere.mcp/   the CEP panel (installed into Premiere)
│   ├── CSXS/manifest.xml     CEP 12 manifest (PPRO 25, Node enabled)
│   ├── client/               panel UI + Node HTTP server + CSInterface
│   └── host/index.jsx        ES3 ExtendScript host ($._PPRO_MCP) + JSON serializer
├── remotion-intro/           parameterized cinematic intro renderer (Remotion)
│   └── src/                  BrandIntro, styles (4 presets), overlay loops
├── assets/
│   ├── sfx/generate_sfx.py   synthesized sound-design kit + per-style beds
│   ├── audio/detect_beats.py beat/onset detector (ffmpeg + numpy)
│   └── overlays/             light-leak / grain loops
├── scripts/                  install / uninstall / build-mcpb (PowerShell)
├── mcpb/manifest.json        Desktop Extension manifest
└── test/                     mock bridge + stdio integration test

Run the offline tests any time (no Premiere needed): npm run build && npm run test:server.

Building the .mcpb

npm run build:mcpb     # bundles server + deps + bridge panel + assets -> build/premiere-mcp.mcpb

The packer writes ZIP entries with forward slashes (Windows Compress-Archive uses backslashes, which breaks the loader).

Troubleshooting

Acknowledgements

• The CEP bridge pattern follows the lineage of pymiere and the Adobe-CEP samples.

• Built with the MCP TypeScript SDK and Remotion.

License

MIT © Maurice Putinas