Cutible MCP Server
# Cutible — Agent-Native Montage Engine
[](https://github.com/plokdalberb-byte/cutible/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
[](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
> A headless video-editing engine whose primary **operator is an AI agent**, not a
> human with a mouse. The agent reads the project as data, calls editing *verbs*,
> renders deterministically, and inspects the result through a QC loop — then
> iterates.
## Architecture
```
AGENT-REVISOR (LLM: planning, reasoning, decisions)
│
┌───────────┼───────────┐
│ HANDS │ EYES │ MEMORY
▼ ▼ ▼
Verb API Perception Semantic Media
(14 low + Loop Index
8 high) (VLM+QC) (scenes+transcript+VLM+embeddings)
│ │ │
└─────┬─────┘ │
▼ │
Timeline-as-Data ◄────────┘
(JSON, diffable, auditable)
│
▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ Deterministic Render │ ← FFmpeg (Contour A)
│ Remotion (Contour B) │ ← Motion graphics
│ Render Farm │ ← Distributed GPU
└─────────────────────┘
│
▼
QC Gate (deterministic + VLM)
│
▼
Final Video / OTIO → DaVinci/Premiere
```
## What's Implemented
| Plan concept | Module | Status |
|---|---|---|
| §4 Timeline-as-Data | `cutible/schema.py` | ✅ pydantic, 3 zooms, content hash |
| §3.1 Low-level verbs (14) | `cutible/verbs.py` | ✅ diffs, checkpoint/undo/branch |
| §3.1 High-level verbs (8) | `cutible/verbs_high.py` | ✅ remove_silences, reframe, beat-sync, captions, ducking, assemble, make_short |
| §5 Ingest Pipeline | `cutible/ingest/` | ✅ scenes, Whisper, VLM, audio analysis, embeddings |
| §5 Semantic Media Index | `cutible/index/` | ✅ models, store, text/time/speaker/B-roll search |
| §3.2 Perception Loop | `cutible/perception/` | ✅ VLM review + proxy render |
| §7 Multi-agent Swarm | `cutible/agents/` | ✅ Planner, Editor, Sound, QC, Orchestrator |
| §6.1 Contour A (FFmpeg) | `cutible/compiler.py` | ✅ deterministic render |
| §6.1 Contour B (Remotion) | `cutible/remotion/` | ✅ TSX generation, config |
| §9 OTIO Bridge | `cutible/otio_bridge/` | ✅ export/import to DaVinci/Premiere |
| §6.2 Distributed Render Farm | `cutible/render_farm/` | ✅ scheduler, workers, assembly |
| §8.1 MCP Server | `cutible/mcp_server.py` | ✅ 35 tools, JSON-RPC 2.0/stdio |
| §8.2 REST API | `cutible/api/` | ✅ FastAPI, full CRUD |
| §8.3 Python SDK | `cutible/sdk/` | ✅ in-process + HTTP client |
| §8.4 CLI | `cutible/cli.py` | ✅ render/probe/view/qc/ingest/search/agent/export/import/farm |
| §12.3 Tests | `tests/` | ✅ 30+ tests |
## Quick Start
```bash
pip install -e . # core
pip install -e ".[api]" # + REST API (FastAPI/uvicorn)
pip install -e ".[whisper]" # + Whisper transcription
pip install -e ".[all]" # everything
# Generate synthetic assets
bash examples/make_assets.sh
# Watch the agent assemble a recap
python examples/agent_recap_demo.py
```
### CLI
```bash
# Render
python -m cutible render project.json -o out.mp4 --qc
# Ingest a video into the semantic index
python -m cutible ingest speaker /path/to/speaker.mp4
# Search the index
python -m cutible search "moment where speaker discusses AI"
# Run the multi-agent swarm
python -m cutible agent "make a 60s recap about AI" --duration 60
# Export/Import OTIO
python -m cutible export project.json --otio output.otio
python -m cutible import output.otio --save imported.json
# Distributed render farm
python -m cutible farm project.json -o out.mp4 --workers 4
# Start REST API
python -m cutible serve-api --port 8000
```
### Python SDK
```python
from cutible.sdk import CutibleClient
# In-process mode
client = CutibleClient()
client.create_project("demo", fps=30, width=1920, height=1080)
client.add_asset("speaker", "video", uri="speaker.mp4", duration=60)
client.add_track("v_main", "video")
client.add_clip("v_main", "speaker", src_in=0, src_out=10)
result = client.render("output.mp4")
# Run the agent swarm
result = client.run_agent("make a 30s recap", target_duration=30)
```
### REST API
```bash
# Start server
python -m cutible serve-api
# Create project
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/projects \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"id": "demo", "fps": 30}'
# Add clip
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/projects/demo/verbs \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"verb": "add_clip", "args": {"track_id": "v1", "asset": "a", "src_out": 5}}'
# Render
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/projects/demo/render \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"output": "out.mp4", "run_qc": true}'
```
### MCP Server (primary agent interface)
```bash
python -m cutible.mcp_server # speaks JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio
```
35 tools exposed including: `create_project`, `add_clip`, `trim`, `split`,
`ripple_delete`, `add_transition`, `add_text_layer`, `render`, `qc`,
`ingest_asset`, `search_index`, `remove_silences`, `reframe_to`,
`sync_cuts_to_beat`, `generate_captions`, `auto_ducking`, `make_short`,
`vlm_review`, `render_proxy`, `run_agent_swarm`, `export_otio`, `import_otio`,
`render_farm`.
## Project Layout
```
cutible/
schema.py Timeline-as-Data models + zoom views + content hash
verbs.py Editor: low-level verbs (14 primitives)
verbs_high.py High-level composite verbs (8 intentions)
compiler.py Timeline → FFmpeg filtergraph → mp4
qc.py Deterministic QC (duration / black frames / LUFS)
cli.py Headless CLI (12 commands)
mcp_server.py MCP stdio server (35 tools)
ingest/
pipeline.py Ingest orchestrator
scenes.py Scene/shot detection (ffmpeg)
audio_transcribe.py Whisper transcription + diarization
vlm.py VLM visual analysis (Gemini/OpenAI)
audio_analysis.py Beat/silence/tempo detection (librosa/ffmpeg)
embeddings.py Embedding generation (CLIP/OpenAI)
index/
models.py Semantic index data models
store.py Index persistence
search.py Text/time/speaker/B-roll search
perception/
vlm_review.py VLM semantic review of renders
proxy_render.py Fast low-res proxy renderer
agents/
base.py Base agent + message types
planner.py Director/Planner agent
editor.py Editor/Montageur agent
sound.py Sound Engineer agent
qc_agent.py QC/Reviewer agent
orchestrator.py Multi-agent swarm coordinator
remotion/
compiler.py Timeline → Remotion (React) project
otio_bridge/
exporter.py Cutible → OpenTimelineIO
importer.py OpenTimelineIO → Cutible
render_farm/
worker.py Segment render worker
scheduler.py Task scheduler
manager.py Distributed render farm manager
api/
app.py FastAPI REST application
sdk/
client.py Python SDK client (in-process + HTTP)
tests/
test_core.py Original 15 tests
test_new_modules.py 20+ tests for new modules
examples/
agent_recap_demo.py End-to-end agent demo
make_assets.sh Synthetic asset generator
```
## Design Principles (Agent-Native)
1. **State is data, not pixels.** The agent reads/diffs/mutates a JSON timeline.
2. **Verbs return diffs.** Each call reports what changed.
3. **Errors teach.** Structured errors with `hint` and `context`.
4. **Try / inspect / revert.** Checkpoint/undo/branch for exploration.
5. **Deterministic render.** Same project → identical frames.
6. **Closed perception loop.** QC gate + VLM review → self-correction.
7. **Semantic memory.** Ingest → indexed content the agent can search.
8. **Multi-agent swarm.** Specialized roles: plan → edit → sound → QC → iterate.
9. **Industry bridge.** OTIO export → DaVinci/Premiere for human finishing.
TDQS
Scored across 37 tools
Each tool targets a distinct operation: rendering has four variants (direct, proxy, farm, dry-run) but descriptions clarify the differences. Editing operations are specific (add_clip, trim, move, split, ripple_delete, set_speed, set_volume) with no overlap. Semantic tools (build_narrative, search_index, vlm_review) are clearly different.
All tool names use lowercase with underscores, consistent verb-first pattern (create_project, ripple_delete, sync_cuts_to_beat). Abbreviation 'qc' is acceptable. Conventions are uniform across the set.
With 37 tools, the server exceeds the 25-tool threshold for 'too many' per the rubric. However, the video editing domain requires many operations, but the count is still high and may overwhelm agents.
The tool surface covers the full lifecycle: project management, asset ingestion, editing, audio, effects, rendering, QC, export/import, and even an agent swarm. No obvious gaps such as project deletion or asset removal, but those are minor.