DaVinci Resolve MCP Server

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A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants control DaVinci Resolve Studio through the official Scripting API. It provides full API coverage plus guarded workflow helpers for editing, media pool organization, render setup, review markers, grading, Fusion, Fairlight, project lifecycle tasks, extension authoring, and source-safe media analysis.

A local browser control panel ships with the server for inspecting Resolve state, running source-safe analysis, drilling into analyzed clips and shots, and editing analysis output inline. See the Control Panel Guide for the full tour.

Quick Start

npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup

Before connecting, open DaVinci Resolve Studio and set Preferences > General > External scripting using to Local. (On the free edition that preference does not help — see Free edition below.)

The npm launcher installs a managed copy under your user application-data directory, then runs the universal Python installer. The installer creates a virtual environment, detects Resolve paths, and can configure Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, Continue, Cline, Roo Code, OpenCode, Codex CLI, and JetBrains IDEs.

Source install

git clone https://github.com/ikislay/davinci-MCP.git
cd davinci-resolve-mcp
python install.py

For platform paths, client-specific config, and manual setup, see Installation and Configuration.

The installer and server check the latest GitHub release for MCP updates. Checks are best-effort and throttled; the server never blocks MCP startup. The installer can prompt, snooze, ignore a release, disable checks, or apply an opt-in safe auto-update for clean git checkouts.

Related MCP server: davinci-resolve-mcp

Free edition (in-app bridge)

Blackmagic gates external scripting to Studio: on the free edition scriptapp("Resolve") refuses a foreign process, whatever the preference says.

Through Resolve 21.0.x the Workspace ▸ Scripts menu was not gated — a script launched from it is handed the live resolve object (measured on free 21.0.3.7) — so the server can reach the free edition through a small script that runs inside Resolve and re-exports it over an authenticated loopback listener. Resolve 21.1 moved Python scripting to Studio. On free 21.1 the Scripts menu no longer lists .py files at all. Treat the bridge as a 21.0.x path until that is measured.

python scripts/install_resolve_bridge.py
# restart Resolve, open a project, then: Workspace > Scripts > resolve_bridge

The installer and MCP client use ~/.config/davinci-resolve-mcp/bridge.json by default. To keep the authenticated bridge config elsewhere, set DAVINCI_RESOLVE_BRIDGE_CONFIG while running the installer and in the MCP client environment; both sides will use that path.

Once that listener is running it is used automatically whenever external scripting is unavailable — no environment variable required. Setting DAVINCI_RESOLVE_BRIDGE=1 forces the bridge instead: it becomes the only transport tried, so a bridge that stops answering reports its own fault rather than quietly falling back to another transport. Use it when the bridge is the path you intend to depend on.

macOS Python setup

On macOS, Resolve looks for Python 3 in exactly two places: the PYTHON3HOME environment variable, then /usr/local/bin/python3. Homebrew, pyenv, uv and conda land in neither, so the script silently never appears in the menu. A python.org install works because its installer creates /usr/local/bin/python3 — but you do not need one: point Resolve at the interpreter you already have, no sudo required.

launchctl setenv PYTHON3HOME "$(python3 -c 'import sys; print(sys.prefix)')"

Use launchctl setenv, not export — Resolve is launched from the Dock and never sees your shell's environment. Restart Resolve afterwards.

Validated on free 21.0.3.7 and Studio 19.1.3.7, both macOS. Windows and Linux paths are confirmed via user reports. Linux installs to ~/.local/share/DaVinciResolve/Fusion/Scripts/Utility.

This is the documented in-app path, not a licence circumvention, but Blackmagic could close it — treat it as a supported-until-it-is-not tier. Loopback only, HMAC-signed requests, one-use nonces.

Local Control Panel

Launch the single-user local control panel from the repository root:

venv/bin/python -m src.control_panel

The command starts a loopback-only server and opens the control panel in your browser at a URL that carries a per-launch access token (http://127.0.0.1:8765/#token=…) — use that exact URL; the panel refuses requests without it.

Server Modes

The compound server is recommended unless you specifically need the granular one-tool-per-method surface.

Advanced server — beyond the scripting API (optional, Node)

The package also ships a second, optional MCP server: davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp (bin/davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp.mjs). Where the Python server drives a live Resolve over the sanctioned scripting API, the advanced server does what the API can't — it reads and edits Resolve files (.drp / .drt / .drx) and applies DB/XML-level changes with no Resolve running, so it runs cloud or local.

It includes 18 tools covering grade codec, offline grading/QC catalog, conform, color trace, fusion, audio plan, fairlight, audio, project read, project DB, pipeline, capabilities, deliverable, media, editorial, and provenance. It can also be consumed as a library (importable engine API), not just spawned as a server.

Add it alongside the live server (both ship in one npm install):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "davinci-resolve": { "command": "<python>", "args": ["<path>/src/server.py"] },
    "davinci-resolve-advanced": { "command": "node", "args": ["<path>/bin/davinci-resolve-advanced-mcp.mjs"] }
  }
}

install.py prints both entries. Unlike the Python server, this one has Node dependencies. npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup installs them into the managed install and then registers the bin. If that install could not run — offline, or npm unavailable — setup registers an npx command for the advanced server instead. To repair an existing install without re-running setup: npx davinci-resolve-mcp sync.

Bradford Post Assistant — managed application (closed beta)

The maintainers also build Bradford Post Assistant, a desktop application on top of this open foundation. Where the MCP servers give an agent hands, Post Assistant is the working copilot around them — an on-device AI assistant for post-production where client material never leaves the workstation.

It is currently in closed beta — you can request access at bradfordoperations.com/software/post-assistant. The open-source servers are complete and fully functional on their own.

What You Can Do

"List all projects and open the one called 'My Film'"
"Create a timeline called 'Assembly Cut' from all clips in the current bin"
"Build a multicam prep timeline from selected camera angles and preserve source media"
"Detect 2-pops or slate claps and suggest record offsets for sync prep"
"Publish analysis summaries, keywords, people, and slate hints into Resolve clip metadata"
"Probe this timeline for gaps, overlaps, missing media, and source frame ranges"
"Safely import this image sequence, organize it into bins, and normalize clip metadata"
"Build a ProRes 422 HQ render plan, validate the settings, and queue the job"
"Copy review markers from the timeline to the selected clip and export a review report"
"Snapshot this clip's grade, validate a CDL update, and export a temp LUT"
"Create a Fusion TextPlus overlay on the selected clip and verify graph connections"
"Report audio channel mappings, voice isolation availability, and subtitle support"
"Install this MCP-marked DCTL or script, classify refresh/restart needs, then remove it"

Core Capabilities

Operation envelope

Every compound tool return carries an _operation block beside its payload, so an agent reads one shape instead of a different key per tool: status (success / partial / blocked / failed), verification (with contradiction kept distinct — Resolve reported success and the readback disagreed), changes (the semantic delta), warnings, and an execution_id.

Source Media Safety

This project treats camera originals and source media as immutable. Analysis tools read source files and write reports only to sidecar, scratch, or project analysis directories; confirmed metadata publishing writes only to Resolve's project database. The server must not modify, transcode, proxy, or create derivatives of source media unless the user explicitly asks for that. See Media Analysis Guide for the detailed source-safe workflow.

Security Posture

The default server is a local stdio process launched by your MCP client; it does not expose a network listener or built-in multi-user auth surface. The two opt-in local HTTP surfaces — the control panel and the networked MCP transport — bind loopback only and require a per-launch bearer token on every request, with Host/Origin checks against DNS rebinding and CSRF.

Destructive writes on both servers honour destructive.safe_mode and the security audit log; only the compound server archives a timeline before mutating it — granular writes are refused or recorded, never recovered. See Security Policy for operational boundaries, confirmation guidance, and vulnerability reporting.

Key Stats

For method-by-method status, see API Coverage and Test Results. For current workflow support, see Kernel Action Coverage.

Documentation

Extension authoring references live in docs/authoring. Resolve developer-package notes live in docs/notes and docs/integrations. Prompt recipes live in examples.

Requirements

• DaVinci Resolve 18.5+ on macOS, Windows, or Linux. Studio supports external scripting directly. The free edition does not — Blackmagic gates external scripting to Studio — but it is still reachable through the in-app bridge.

• Python 3.10+ (3.10-3.12 is the lowest-risk range). Python 3.13/3.14 also work on recent Resolve builds (verified on Studio 20.3.2); older builds may fail to connect on 3.13+, in which case use 3.10-3.12.

• Not connecting? python3 scripts/doctor.py checks the Python the server runs on and prints the exact fix for each problem.

• Resolve external scripting set to Local (Studio). On the free edition this preference has no effect — use the in-app bridge instead.

Resolve 19.1.3 remains the compatibility baseline. Resolve 20.x scripting calls are additive, version-guarded, and live-tested on 20.3.2. Resolve 21.0 scripting additions are exposed behind runtime capability detection, so they stay inert on older builds and activate automatically on Resolve 21+.

Reporting Bugs and Requesting Features

Tell your assistant "send this as a bug" or "send this as a feature request". It drafts a GitHub issue from the conversation, including the failing call and its error, and attaches the server version, Resolve build, connection mode and OS. Local paths, your username and anything that looks like a secret are redacted. Nothing is filed for you: you get a prefilled link, review the draft, and submit it on GitHub yourself. You can also open an issue directly.

Development

python src/server.py          # Compound server
python src/server.py --full   # Granular server
venv/bin/python tests/test_import.py
venv/bin/python scripts/audit_api_parity.py

Release and validation rules are in docs/process/release-process.md. AI agents working in this repository should start with AGENTS.md; Claude Code users can also read CLAUDE.md, which points to the same canonical instructions.

License

MIT

Author

ikislay
GitHub: github.com/ikislay

Acknowledgments

• Blackmagic Design for DaVinci Resolve and its scripting API

• The Model Context Protocol team for enabling AI assistant integration