Fcpxml MCP Server

What DareDev256/fcpxml-mcp-server MCP server does

The DareDev256/fcpxml-mcp-server MCP server connects an MCP client with Final Cut Pro timelines represented as FCPXML files. It turns XML into structured Python objects that an AI client can inspect and modify, then writes the result back to FCPXML for import into Final Cut Pro.

Supported workflows include timeline health checks, flash-frame and gap detection, duplicate-clip analysis, chapter-marker creation, transcript-based phrase cutting, rough-cut generation, montage assembly, and exports such as EDL, CSV, chapter markers, Resolve XML, and FCP7 XML. The project describes seven grouped tools containing 62 underlying operations.

It is intended for batch and data-oriented editing rather than visual creative decisions. Color, framing, motion, and other tasks that require seeing the picture remain outside its scope.

How it works

Export a timeline from Final Cut Pro with File → Export XML…, then provide the XML through an MCP client. The server parses clips, markers, keywords, timing, and related timeline structures into objects that the client can reason about. Requested changes are written to a new file, leaving the source XML untouched, and the modified file can be imported through Final Cut Pro.

Timeline positions, source ranges, and durations use rational values rather than floating-point seconds. This preserves exact frame timing across standard and fractional rates, including NTSC rates such as 23.976 fps.

On macOS, live mode adds push_to_fcp and list_fcp_libraries. The first sends FCPXML to a running or newly launched Final Cut Pro instance through Apple’s Open Document event. The second reads open libraries, events, and projects through the application’s AppleScript dictionary. Live mode can push changes into FCP, but exporting the current timeline still requires using Final Cut Pro’s XML export command.

Setup and configuration

The DareDev256/fcpxml-mcp-server MCP server requires Python 3.10 or newer. The documented package runner setup is:

uvx fcp-mcp-server

Set FCP_PROJECTS_DIR to the directory the server may use for project files. A Claude Desktop configuration uses the uvx command with fcp-mcp-server as its argument and this environment variable in the server entry. The repository also documents editable installation from source with pip install -e ., followed by configuring the MCP client to run server.py.

Optional extras provide media intelligence, including beat detection, and transcript editing with local Whisper. The documented extras name is intelligence,transcribe.

Tools and capabilities

• Analyze timeline health, statistics, gaps, flash frames, and duplicate sources.
• Add chapter markers from transcript content.
• Remove filler words and cut by transcript phrases.
• Build rough cuts and montages from tagged clips and pacing rules.
• Compare timelines and export editing data.
• Push generated XML into Final Cut Pro on macOS.
• Apply sandboxed writes and parse XML with defusedxml.

Limitations and notes

The DareDev256/fcpxml-mcp-server MCP server does not run as a Final Cut Pro plugin and does not provide programmatic timeline export from Final Cut Pro. XML workflows require an export and later import. Live mode requires macOS, a suitable Final Cut Pro version, and an Automation permission approval on first use. Omitting a valid .fcpbundle library location can cause Final Cut Pro to display a library picker and wait for user input.

The README lists compatibility with Final Cut Pro 10.4 through 12.x. The project is MIT licensed and states that it uses no patched binaries, private APIs, or accessibility scripting.