lc-editor

A local video editor that AI agents drive over MCP. You send tool calls, ffmpeg renders the file. Built for short 9:16 reels and 16:9 YouTube masters. There is no timeline UI to click.

Setup

Needs Python 3.11+ and ffmpeg/ffprobe on your PATH.

pipx install .
# or: pip install .
# optional extras: pip install ".[analysis,web]"

Check the install and get copy-paste MCP JSON:

lc-editor version
lc-editor doctor

Run the MCP server (stdio):

lc-editor serve --project ./my-reel
lc-editor serve --project ./my-reel --web   # also opens the labeling desk on 127.0.0.1:8765

Attach it in Cursor or Grok Bot:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lc-editor": {
      "command": "lc-editor",
      "args": ["serve", "--project", "/absolute/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

The repo is also a Cursor plugin (plugin.json, mcp.json, skills/lc-editor/SKILL.md).

Related MCP server: melt-7 MCP Server

Features

129 MCP tools, registered in lc_editor/server.py (TOOLS).

• Projects and import: create 9:16 or 16:9 projects with presets (youtube, process, editorial, karachi), import files or folders, capture dates and shoot-day tags, proxies, thumbnails and contact sheets.

• Understand and pick shots: shot index, media analysis and understanding cards, highlight suggestions, shot search and ranking, plus a localhost labeling desk for confirming clip cards.

• Edit the timeline: add, trim, ripple trim, split, reorder and fit clips, multi-layer compositing with keyframes, split-screen layouts, facecam PiP, face/plate blur, templates, undo and redo.

• Motion, fx and grade: Ken Burns, punch and zoom moves, speed and holds, transitions (cut, fade, whip, match), grain, vignette, effects, LUT grade presets and adjustments.

• Audio, music and sfx: audio bed, ducking, highpass, denoise and gate, owner-imported music with beat analysis and beat sync, a built-in sfx pack plus CC0/Mixkit/Pixabay import and auto-placed sfx.

• Captions and review: stroke-and-shadow captions with emphasis and lint, overlay and still previews, a review report, and export (including a verified H.264/AAC YouTube master with metadata and SRT).

Tool names

• Project: project_create project_open project_get project_set project_list

• Import and media: import_file import_folder media_list media_tag media_remove probe thumbnail contact_sheet proxy_build media_proxy shoot_day_suggest

• Understand and shots: media_analyze media_understand media_understand_refine media_understand_spatial understand_timeline highlights_suggest shots_list shots_search shots_rank

• Labels: media_card_propose media_card_confirm label_queue label_get shot_card_confirm labels_bulk_confirm labels_clear labels_undo label_conflicts label_readiness

• Timeline and clips: timeline_get timeline_reset clip_add clip_remove clip_reorder clip_trim clip_ripple_trim clip_split clip_set_duration clip_fit clip_set_fit clip_refocus clip_gain clip_mute undo redo

• Blur, layouts and PiP: clip_blur_add clip_blur_update clip_blur_remove clip_blur_list layout_list layout_add layout_update layout_pane layout_clear cam_pip cam_pip_clear cam_pip_suggest

• Layers, effects and templates: layer_add layer_update layer_remove layer_reorder layer_transform layer_keyframe effect_add effect_update effect_remove text_style template_list template_apply template_save

• Motion and transitions: motion_kenburns motion_punch motion_zoom_in motion_zoom_out motion_zoom_pair motion_zoom_suggest motion_none motion_hold motion_speed transition_set transition_audio_xfade

• Fx and grade: fx_grain fx_vignette fx_wrap grade_set grade_preset grade_protect adjustment_set adjustment_clear

• Captions: caption_add caption_edit caption_move caption_remove caption_emphasis caption_lint

• Audio and sfx: audio_bed audio_duck audio_highpass audio_denoise audio_gate mix_preview sfx_list sfx_import sfx_pack_add sfx_place sfx_caption_auto sfx_transition_auto sfx_zoom_auto

• Music and beats: music_add music_update music_remove music_list beat_analyze beat_edit beat_sync_preview beat_sync_apply

• Preview, review and export: overlay_preview overlay_bake preview_stills preview_proxy preview_clip review_report export

Basic usage

Ask your agent, with the server attached, to make a reel. Under the hood it calls tools like:

project_create(preset="youtube")
import_folder(path="D:/footage/trip")
shots_rank()
clip_add(...)
caption_add(...)
export(preset="youtube")

Check the exact arguments with your MCP client's tool list. Engine rules are in specs/craft.md.

License

MIT