FilmCraft MCP

An MCP server that lets Claude, Cursor or any MCP client drive FilmCraft. You describe the edit in plain words, and the AI inspects your project, imports media, runs any FilmCraft command, renders frames and exports the sequence, either inside the running FilmCraft app or headless against a project file.

Requirements

• FilmCraft installed. The server looks for filmcraft-cli in C:\Program Files\FilmCraft\, in /Applications/FilmCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/, then on your PATH

• Node.js 20.19+

• An MCP client: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, …

Related MCP server: Shotcut MCP

Install

git clone https://github.com/glorybnat/filmcraft-mcp.git
cd filmcraft-mcp
npm install
npm run build

This produces the server at dist/filmcraft-index.js.

Connect your AI client

Claude Code

claude mcp add filmcraft --scope user -- node C:/path/to/filmcraft-mcp/dist/filmcraft-index.js

Start a new Claude Code session afterwards. Tools only load in sessions that start after the server is added.

Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code: add this to the client's MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filmcraft": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/path/to/filmcraft-mcp/dist/filmcraft-index.js"],
      "env": { "FILMCRAFT_PROJECT": "C:/Users/you/Videos/my-edit.fcproj" }
    }
  }
}

Ask your AI to "inspect my FilmCraft project". If it answers with your bins and sequences, you're connected.

Edit live in the FilmCraft app

By default every call runs headless against a project file. To watch the edits happen in the GUI instead, start FilmCraft with its control socket and point the server at it:

filmcraft --control 7778

"args": ["C:/path/to/filmcraft-mcp/dist/filmcraft-index.js", "--bridge-addr", "127.0.0.1:7778"]

Try saying

• "What's in the open project? List the sequences and how many clips are on each track."

• "Import everything in ~/Footage/day1 into the project."

• "Find the command that splits a clip and razor the timeline at 00:12."

• "Render a PNG of the frame at 42 seconds so I can check the grade."

• "Probe interview.mov and tell me its codec, frame rate and audio tracks."

• "Export the in/out range as ProRes, then a half-resolution H.264 preview."

What it can do

Every tool name starts with fc_.

fc_exec runs any FilmCraft command ID listed by fc_list_commands, for anything without a dedicated tool. Use fc_describe first to see the parameters a command takes.

How it works

Each MCP tool call runs filmcraft-cli once with the matching subcommand (inspect, exec, import, export, render, probe, …) and returns its JSON output. In bridge mode the CLI forwards the command to the running FilmCraft app; in headless mode it opens the project file itself, and saves it only when you ask for --save or --save-as.

Every option can be passed as a flag after the server path or as an environment variable:

Project layout

src/
├── filmcraft-index.ts         entry point, flags and env parsing
├── filmcraft-server.ts        MCP server, tool and resource registration
├── bridge/
│   └── filmcraft-bridge.ts    finds filmcraft-cli and runs each command
└── tools/
    └── filmcraft-core.ts      the nine fc_* tools

Troubleshooting

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial community project and is not affiliated with the makers of FilmCraft. The FilmCraft name and owl logo belong to their respective owners.

License

MIT