Stockfilm MCP Server

Search and license 217,000+ authentic vintage home movie clips from the 1930s-1980s.

Stockfilm is the largest curated archive of restored vintage home-movie footage available for licensing. This MCP server lets AI agents discover, preview, and license archival clips directly through the Model Context Protocol.

Every clip is real 8mm, Super 8, or 16mm film shot by ordinary families across the United States and around the world. Professionally scanned, digitally restored (dust/scratch removal, stabilization, color correction), and cataloged with metadata including shot year, location, and descriptive tags. No AI-generated content. Every frame is real archival film.

Quick Start

Claude Code (one command)

claude mcp add --transport http stockfilm https://api.stockfilm.com/mcp

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stockfilm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://api.stockfilm.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / Windsurf / Other MCP Clients

Server URL: https://api.stockfilm.com/mcp
Transport:  Streamable HTTP
Auth:       None required

What's in the Archive

217,000+ clips across all categories. Most footage is from the United States, with significant international coverage from Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Why This Footage Matters

• Irreplaceable - These are one-of-a-kind family films that cannot be recreated

• Authentic - Real film grain, period color, original aspect ratios preserved

• Restored - Professional 4K scanning with digital restoration

• Cataloged - Metadata includes shot year, location, and descriptive tags

• Licensed - Royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license per clip

Available Tools

The MCP server exposes 6 tools:

search_vintage_footage (Free)

Search the archive by text query with optional year range and location filters.

"Find 1960s California family barbecue footage"
"Christmas morning clips from the 1950s"
"Beach vacation footage, 1940s to 1960s"

Parameters:

• query (required) - Natural language search. Be descriptive for best results.

• limit (optional) - Number of results, 1-50. Default: 10.

• year_from (optional) - Earliest year filter (e.g., 1950).

• year_to (optional) - Latest year filter (e.g., 1969).

• location (optional) - Location filter (city, state, or country).

get_clip_details (Free)

Get full metadata for a specific clip: title, description, duration, tags, thumbnail URL, pricing, and license URL.

Parameters:

• clip_id (required) - The clip ID from search results.

find_similar_footage (Free)

Find visually similar clips by providing a clip ID. Uses visual similarity matching to find footage with similar content, color palette, or scene composition.

Parameters:

• clip_id (required) - Clip ID to find similar footage for.

• limit (optional) - Number of results, 1-25. Default: 10.

build_rough_cut (Free)

Auto-assemble a timed sequence of vintage clips into a video timeline based on a natural language description. Returns an ordered list of clips with durations. Great for creating edit lists, storyboards, or mood reels.

Parameters:

• query (required) - Description of the video sequence (e.g., "american road trip summer vacation 1960s").

• target_seconds (optional) - Target timeline length in seconds, 20-600. Default: 60.

• pace (optional) - Editing pace: "slow" (4-8s/clip), "balanced" (3-6s/clip), "fast" (2-4s/clip). Default: "balanced".

• year_from / year_to (optional) - Year range filters.

check_clip_rights (Free)

Verify that a clip is eligible for a specific intended use before licensing.

Parameters:

• clip_id (required) - The clip ID to check.

• intended_use (optional) - One of: "commercial", "editorial", "broadcast", "digital", "ai_training". Default: "commercial".

license_clip ($10 USD)

License a clip for download. Returns the x402 protocol endpoint for payment. Payment is handled via x402 using USDC on Solana or Base.

Parameters:

• clip_id (required) - The clip ID to license.

Pricing

License terms: Royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, one-time purchase. Use in commercial projects, documentaries, editorial content, digital media, and AI training datasets.

x402 Protocol Integration

The licensing endpoint uses the x402 protocol (V2) for instant, trustless payments. Any x402-compatible agent or wallet can license clips without API keys or sign-up.

How It Works

1. Agent calls GET /x402/clip/{clip_id}/license

2. Server returns HTTP 402 with PAYMENT-REQUIRED header

3. Agent's x402 client signs a USDC payment authorization

4. Agent retries with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE header

5. Server verifies and settles via facilitator, returns license + download URL

Supported Networks

Direct x402 Endpoints (No MCP Required)

# Search (free, no auth)
curl "https://api.stockfilm.com/x402/search?q=beach+1960s&limit=5"

# Clip details (free)
curl "https://api.stockfilm.com/x402/clip/120818702"

# Rights check (free)
curl "https://api.stockfilm.com/x402/clip/120818702/rights?intended_use=commercial"

# License (returns 402 with payment instructions)
curl "https://api.stockfilm.com/x402/clip/120818702/license"

Architecture

This MCP server is a remote Streamable HTTP server embedded in the Stockfilm Agent API (Rust/Axum). It does not require local installation -- agents connect directly over HTTPS.

Agent (Claude, GPT, etc.)
  |
  | MCP Streamable HTTP
  v
api.stockfilm.com/mcp
  |
  | Internal API calls
  v
Stockfilm Agent API (Rust/Axum)
  |
  +-- Search (PostgreSQL full-text + visual embeddings)
  +-- Rights verification
  +-- x402 payment processing (facilitator-mediated)
  +-- License management
  +-- Download token generation

Discovery Endpoints

Full Agent API

Beyond MCP, Stockfilm offers a complete agent-native API with HMAC-SHA256 request signing, multi-step licensing workflows, webhooks, and TypeScript/Python SDKs:

• API Base: https://api.stockfilm.com

• Auth: API key + HMAC-SHA256 signing for mutations

• Payment Rails: Solana USDC, Solana SOL, Lightning BTC

• Docs: stockfilm.com/for-ai-agents

About Stockfilm

Stockfilm specializes in authentic archival home-movie footage -- the kind of footage that cannot be recreated by AI or restaged in a studio. Every reel was shot on real film by real families, capturing genuine moments from mid-20th-century life.

The archive includes footage from across the United States and around the world: suburban neighborhoods, family vacations, holiday celebrations, school events, road trips, city streets, and everyday life from an era that exists only on film.

Website: stockfilm.com Browse Clips: stockfilm.com/browse Popular Clips: stockfilm.com/popular Curated Collections: stockfilm.com/curated Agent Docs: stockfilm.com/for-ai-agents Contact: stockfilm.com/contact

License

The MCP server wrapper is open source under the MIT License.

The archival footage itself is proprietary content licensed per-clip through Stockfilm. Each clip purchase grants a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license for the specified use.