Fcp MCP Server

fcp-mcp-server

Edit Final Cut Pro by talking to Claude, and watch the cut change.

Reads and writes FCPXML, no plugin, no patch

Python 3.10+ · Final Cut Pro for Mac 10.4 to 12.4 (compatibility)

claude mcp add fcpxml -e FCP_PROJECTS_DIR=~/Movies -- uvx fcp-mcp-server

Then File → Export XML… in Final Cut Pro, and ask Claude to work on the file.

Staged close-up of the real app's results · unedited recording →

You: Cut the rest between sets, mark every lift, and put B-roll over the long set.

Claude, on four clips already imported with generate · import_edl_json:

1. view · view_timeline draws the timeline inline (ui://fcp/timeline)
2. edit · remove_media_silence cuts the rests out of the long squat set
3. mark · batch_add_markers puts a marker on each lift
4. gen · gen_quote prices the B-roll under the per-call cap; nothing runs until confirm=true
5. gen · gen_broll lays the clip on lane 1 over the long set
6. organize · history lists every journaled output, each one undoable

What is real: the timeline is the ui://fcp/timeline app as the server serves it, drawing the real view_timeline results of the real calls above, and every change is the app's own animation from one result to the next. What is composed: the stage (only the view's ruler and lanes, drawn large on black), the captions, the timing, the empty beat before the first call (the app is handed the imported cut with its clips taken out, so they leave) and the camera's push onto each edit. The footage is the author's own gym session (its audio is a test tone, so the rests are real silence), and the B-roll provider is mocked: the clip is named "B-roll (mocked)" and carries a MOCK badge. The unedited recording is the same run (the same results, notes and thumbnails, checked by a test) with the app inside a chat client. MP4, poster, recorded with demo/hero/build.py.

See it. view returns the timeline as exact rational-time JSON, and a host with MCP Apps draws it inline: lanes, thumbnails, markers, transcript words, a playhead, buttons that call the other tools.

Cut it. 15 grouped tools, 102 operations: trims, splits, silence removal, markers from transcripts and beats, rough cuts, keyframes and speed ramps, transcript edits, cross-NLE export, and a push into a running Final Cut Pro.

Trust it. Every write is journaled with its sha256 and can be undone. deliver refuses an unreviewed cut, expected_sha256 refuses a file that changed under the model, and generation is quote-then-confirm under a per-call cap. 182 adversarial-input security tests, defusedxml everywhere, sandboxed writes, no private APIs, and a disclosure channel.

Proof

Real v0.25.0 output against a running copy of Final Cut Pro. A ten clip timeline is read back off the document, a marker is placed on every cut, and dialogue, music and effects roles are assigned across the clips. Final Cut is open on the left the whole time and is never touched by hand. Screen recorded from demo/session.sh, which calls the same handlers an MCP client calls; each import is verified by polling Final Cut until the project appears, so a delivered Apple event is never reported as a landed import. The earlier terminal only demo is still at docs/assets/demo.gif. Re-record it with vhs demo/demo.tape; the media is synthesised by ffmpeg at run time, so there is no fixture to keep.

Keyframes and speed curves

Contributed by @travisoa in #26: the inspect and edit groups include five video/audio animation actions and three speed curve actions, imported into Final Cut Pro 12.4 without warnings. See keyframe usage for installation and animation, and speed curves for holds, sampled ramps, ripple and reset.

Quick Start

Claude Code (fastest)

claude mcp add fcpxml -e FCP_PROJECTS_DIR=~/Movies -- uvx fcp-mcp-server

Or project-scoped — commit a .mcp.json so your whole team gets it:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fcpxml": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["fcp-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "FCP_PROJECTS_DIR": "/Users/you/Movies" }
    }
  }
}

With media intelligence (beat detection) and transcript editing (local Whisper):

claude mcp add fcpxml -e FCP_PROJECTS_DIR=~/Movies -- uvx --from "fcp-mcp-server[intelligence,transcribe]" fcp-mcp-server

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fcpxml": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["fcp-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "FCP_PROJECTS_DIR": "/Users/you/Movies" }
    }
  }
}

Where the timeline draws

view returns a timeline an MCP Apps host draws inline (ui://fcp/timeline). Every other client gets the same result as text: a summary line and the exact JSON. preview returns images and an MP4 path everywhere. Checked 2026-11-12; a host listed by its vendor but not yet captured here says so.

On mcp 1.x the tool carries _meta.ui and the resource is served, but the SDK cannot advertise the extension in the handshake; a host that insists on it needs mcp 2.x.

From source (contributors)

git clone https://github.com/DareDev256/fcp-mcp-server.git
cd fcp-mcp-server
pip install -e .
# then point your MCP client at: python /path/to/fcp-mcp-server/server.py

Use It

Export XML from Final Cut Pro (File → Export XML…), open your MCP client, and ask it to work with your timeline.

Why This Exists

After a decade directing music videos (Chief Keef, Migos, Masicka), I noticed the same editing bottlenecks on every project: counting cuts manually, extracting chapter markers one by one, hunting flash frames by scrubbing, building rough cuts clip by clip.

These are batch operations that don't need visual feedback. Export the XML, let Claude handle the tedium, import the result. That's the entire philosophy.

See It In Action

You:    "Run a health check on my wedding edit"

Claude: ✓ Analyzed WeddingFinal.fcpxml
        ├─ 247 clips · 42:18 total · 24fps · 1920×1080
        ├─ 3 flash frames detected (clips 44, 112, 198)
        ├─ 2 unintentional gaps at 12:04 and 31:47
        ├─ 14 duplicate source clips
        └─ Health score: 72/100

You:    "Fix the flash frames and gaps, then add chapter markers from
         this transcript"

Claude: ✓ Extended adjacent clips to cover 3 flash frames
        ✓ Filled 2 gaps by extending previous clips
        ✓ Added 18 chapter markers from transcript
        → Saved: WeddingFinal_modified.fcpxml

Import the modified XML back into Final Cut Pro. Every change is non-destructive — your original file is never touched.

What Claude Actually Sees

This is the magic trick. When you export XML from Final Cut Pro, your timeline becomes structured data that Claude can reason about: