DareDev256/fcpxml-mcp-server

**Edit Final Cut Pro by talking to Claude, and watch the cut change.**
*One prompt, seven tool calls, and the timeline re-rendered inline after each
write. Every frame is the real ui://fcp/timeline app drawing a real
view_timeline result; the B-roll provider is mocked and the recording says
so on screen. Full-size mp4, re-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.
Then File → Export XML… in Final Cut Pro, and ask Claude to work on the file.
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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)
Or project-scoped — commit a .mcp.json so your whole team gets it:
With media intelligence (beat detection) and transcript editing (local Whisper):
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
From source (contributors)
Use It
Export XML from Final Cut Pro (File → Export XML…), open your MCP client, and ask it to work with your timeline.
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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.
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See It In Action
Import the modified XML back into Final Cut Pro. Every change is non-destructive — your original file is never touched.
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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:
Every time value stays as a rational fraction — 720/24s, not 30.0 — so trim, split, and speed operations have **zero rounding error** across any frame rate, including the NTSC-fractional ones. A broadcast rate is carried as the exact rational it is (23.976 is 24000/1001, not a decimal), never as a truncated integer. Comparisons use cross-multiplication (a/b │ writer.py → Modify & save │─XML─>│ Pro │
│ │ │ rough_cut.py→ Generate new │ │ │
└──────────┘ │ diff.py → Compare │ └──────────┘
│ export.py → Resolve / FCP7 │
└──────────────────────────────┘
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Claude Desktop / MCP client
You: "Build a rough cut from my Interview clips and push it into Final Cut"