Shotcut MCP

io.github.NoBanksPublished by GitHub account NoBanksv0.2.1Updated Oct 29, 2026

Edit video through Shotcut's MLT engine: timelines, cuts, filters, titles, crossfades and renders.

VerifiedSTDIODesktop onlyFiles & Storage Media & Design

Server details

Identifier: io.github.NoBanks/shotcut-mcp
Transport: STDIO
Runtime: Desktop only
Trust: Verified
Published: Oct 29, 2026

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Overview

AI-generated overview

Local MCP server that lets an assistant build and render video edits through Shotcut's MLT engine, producing editable .mlt projects.

What you can do: Create and list projects, and read back project metadata and the full timeline
Add, trim, split, move and ripple-delete clips on a single video track
Apply filters such as brightness, volume, crop and audio or video fades
Add text titles and crossfades between adjacent clips
Render a project to a video file with melt
When to use it: Useful when you want an assistant to assemble a rough cut from existing video files without opening a GUI, and to hand back a native Shotcut project you can keep editing by hand. Suits scripted or repeatable edits such as trimming, titling, crossfading and rendering.
Requirements: Runs as a local Python package (Python 3.11+) over stdio, launched for example with uvx or pip. Needs the MLT melt binary on PATH or set via MELT_BIN, and ffprobe from FFmpeg on PATH or set via FFPROBE_BIN. SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR sets where projects are stored. Clients may need a longer timeout because renders are slow.

Before you install

It writes .mlt projects and state files into the work directory and renders output video files, so point SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR at a directory you are happy to have modified. Edits made by hand in the Shotcut GUI are overwritten by the next tool call, so avoid editing the same project in both places. Only one video track is supported and transition style is limited to dissolve.

Installation

In SourceWeft

Open Shotcut MCP in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Desktop only via STDIO. STDIO servers start a local process, so they need the SourceWeft desktop host.

Other MCP clients

Follow the launch instructions in the repository.

README

shotcut-mcp

MCP server that edits video through Shotcut's engine, MLT, with no GUI. An agent can create a project, add and trim clips, split, move and remove them, apply filters, add titles and crossfades, read the timeline back and render it with melt.

The output is a native Shotcut .mlt project, not a locked video file. Open the agent's cut in Shotcut and keep editing it by hand.

Requirements

Python 3.11+
MLT melt on PATH, or set MELT_BIN to its full path. Installing Shotcut includes melt.
- Linux: sudo apt install melt
- macOS: install Shotcut, then set MELT_BIN=/Applications/Shotcut.app/Contents/MacOS/melt
- Windows: install Shotcut, then set MELT_BIN to melt.exe inside the Shotcut folder. Windows rendering is not yet covered by CI.
ffprobe (from FFmpeg) on PATH for reading clip durations and checking renders. Override with FFPROBE_BIN.

Install

Run it with no install step using uv:

Or install it with pip:

The server talks MCP over stdio.

Use it with goose

goose Desktop or CLI

Run goose configure, choose Add Extension, then Command-line Extension.
Name: shotcut
Command: uvx shotcut-mcp
Timeout: 600 seconds or more. Renders take longer than goose's default.
Add the environment variables SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR and, if melt is not on your PATH, MELT_BIN.

config.yaml

Add this to ~/.config/goose/config.yaml:

yaml

extensions:  shotcut:    enabled: true    type: stdio    name: shotcut    cmd: uvx    args:      - shotcut-mcp    envs:      SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR: /path/to/your/projects    timeout: 600

extensions:  shotcut:    enabled: true    type: stdio    name: shotcut    cmd: uvx    args:      - shotcut-mcp    envs:      SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR: /path/to/your/projects    timeout: 600

Then ask goose something like: "Make a project called promo from clip1.mp4 and clip2.mp4, keep the first 5 seconds of each, crossfade them, add the title 'Launch day' and render it."

Use it with other MCP clients

Any MCP client that runs stdio servers works. For example, Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json:

json

{  "mcpServers": {    "shotcut": {      "command": "uvx",      "args": ["shotcut-mcp"],      "env": { "SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR": "/path/to/your/projects" }    }  }}

{  "mcpServers": {    "shotcut": {      "command": "uvx",      "args": ["shotcut-mcp"],      "env": { "SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR": "/path/to/your/projects" }    }  }}

Configuration

Variable	Default	What it does
`SHOTCUT_MCP_WORKDIR`	`~/shotcut-mcp-projects`	Where `.mlt` projects and their state files are saved
`MELT_BIN`	`melt`	Path to the `melt` binary used for rendering
`FFPROBE_BIN`	`ffprobe`	Path to `ffprobe`, used to read source durations

Tools

Tool	What it does
`create_project`	Create a new project with a frame size and frame rate
`add_clip`	Append a span of a source video to the end of the timeline. Returns the clip's id
`trim_clip`	Change a clip's source in and out points
`remove_clip`	Ripple-delete one clip
`move_clip`	Move a clip to a new position on the timeline
`split_clip`	Split a clip into two at a point inside it
`remove_segment`	Ripple-delete a span of the timeline
`append_text_overlay`	Burn a text title onto the timeline between two times
`apply_filter`	Apply `brightness`, `volume`, `crop`, `fadeInBrightness`, `fadeOutBrightness`, `fadeInAudio` or `fadeOutAudio` to a clip
`set_transition`	Crossfade video and audio between two adjacent clips
`get_timeline`	Return the whole edit: clips, source in and out, timeline positions, filters, transitions and titles
`project_info`	Return summary metadata for a project
`render`	Render a project to a video file with `melt`
`list_projects`	List the projects in the work directory

Clip ids stay stable across calls. The edit state is kept in a .state.json file next to each .mlt, and the .mlt is regenerated from it after every change.

Current limits

One video track. Multitrack video and audio is planned.
Edits made by hand in the Shotcut GUI are overwritten by the next tool call. Safe round trips are planned.
The style option on set_transition is accepted but only a dissolve is rendered today.

Development

The render tests are skipped when melt is not installed.

License

MIT

Source: README.md at commit 4f012fa

Tools

SourceWeft has not started this package in its sandbox yet, so its tools are not known.

Version history

v0.2.1LatestOct 29, 2026

Score

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