Kdenlive MCP

Local-first video editing through the Model Context Protocol. Kdenlive MCP keeps a versioned JSON project as the source of truth, applies revision-checked timeline edits, compiles deterministic MLT, queues renders, generates previews, and verifies outputs using the Kdenlive/MLT and FFmpeg installation already on your computer.

This is a fork of AMMIROSOH/Kdenlive-mcp that uses Bun instead of pnpm for dependency management and scripts. The server itself still runs on Node.js.

Public preview: Milestones 0-4, 6, and 7 are implemented. Local AI analysis (Milestone 5) remains planned and unavailable.

What works

• Canonical projects with atomic revisions, checkpoints, undo, and redo.

• Media ingest with allowed-root containment and managed/external modes.

• Clip placement, linked A/V, ripple edits, properties, keyframes, effects, transitions, text, captions, and markers.

• Every Kdenlive video and audio effect (blur, keying and masks, transform, stylize, audio EQ and dynamics, and more) on clips, tracks, and the master output, with effect zones. See the effects guide.

• Color correction and grading with all of Kdenlive's Color and Image Correction effects (lift/gamma/gain, curves, levels, white balance, 3D LUTs, HSL, and more) on clips, tracks, and the master output, plus color scopes and measurements. See the color grading guide.

• Durable preview/export jobs, progress, cancellation, restart recovery, and bounded artifacts.

• Output duration, stream, A/V sync, loudness, clipping, black, and freeze checks.

• MCP over stdio or authenticated loopback Streamable HTTP.

• Automatic Kdenlive/MLT/FFmpeg discovery and an actionable doctor command.

• Editable Kdenlive 26.04.x and OTIO 0.18.1 export, plus reviewed import plans.

• Versioned editing recipes and advisory, durable timeline diagnostics.

Related MCP server: mcpCut

Quick start

Requirements: Node.js 22+, Bun 1.3+, and Kdenlive or separate MLT/FFmpeg tools.

Powershell:

git clone https://github.com/felixkarevo/kdenlive-mcp.git
cd kdenlive-mcp
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass
.\scripts\install.ps1 -AddToPath
kdenlive-mcp --doctor

Linux:

git clone https://github.com/felixkarevo/kdenlive-mcp.git
cd kdenlive-mcp
./scripts/install.sh
~/.local/share/kdenlive-mcp/kdenlive-mcp-*/kdenlive-mcp --doctor

Then add the stdio command to your MCP client with an absolute allowed root:

kdenlive-mcp --root /path/to/video-workspace --client-id my-mcp-client

See the complete installation and client configuration guide.

Safety model

• Files are limited to configured roots; symlink/traversal escapes are rejected.

• Mutations require the exact current revision and remain undoable per client.

• Render processes use argument arrays, no shell, bounded output/time, and a restricted environment.

• HTTP binds only to loopback and requires a generated bearer token.

• Kdenlive, MLT, and FFmpeg binaries are not redistributed by this repository.

Read the threat model and security policy before exposing the server to additional software.

Documentation

• Installation

• Tutorial

• MCP reference

• Architecture and data ownership

• Runtime support

• Troubleshooting

• Roadmap

• Contributing

Development

bun install --frozen-lockfile
bun run check
bun run doctor
bun run render:acceptance
bun run mcp:acceptance
bun run docs:check
bun run sbom
bun run release:acceptance --platform windows

License

Apache-2.0 for this repository. External Kdenlive/MLT/FFmpeg installations retain their own licenses; see third-party notices.

For AI assistants

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