--- title: 'Video Editing MCP Server: What It Is and How to Connect - OpenClip' description: 'A video editing MCP server exposes clipping, captioning, and rendering tools to AI assistants. See the full tool surface and connect in one step.' canonical: 'https://openclip.app/learn/video-editing-mcp-server' markdown: 'https://openclip.app/learn/video-editing-mcp-server.md' --- Part of OpenClip's video editing MCP resource hub Explore setup guides, assistant workflows, examples, and prompt templates for controlling OpenClip from MCP-compatible AI assistants. [Open MCP hub](/mcp)MCP Glossary # Video Editing MCP Server A video editing MCP server turns an AI assistant into a video producer. Connect once with OAuth at https://openclip.app/mcp and your assistant can submit source videos, track processing, review detected moments, and render captioned vertical clips, all through typed tool calls instead of a browser. ## Definition A video editing MCP server is a Model Context Protocol server that exposes video production actions as typed tools an AI assistant can call. Where a general MCP server might expose files or databases, a video editing server publishes the verbs of a clipping pipeline. OpenClip's production server is a reference example: submission tools (submit\_video for URLs, create\_upload and complete\_upload for local files), monitoring tools (get\_video\_status, list\_videos, get\_render\_status), output tools (list\_clips for scored viral moments, render\_clip for captioned rendering, get\_transcript for time-coded text, list\_caption\_presets for styling options, list\_supported\_providers for accepted sources), account tools (get\_account, get\_usage, where credits are minutes of processing), and configuration tools (list\_agents, create\_agent, update\_agent, describe\_agent\_settings, plus logo tools for watermarking). The workflow is asynchronous: the assistant submits a job, polls status every 10 to 15 seconds, presents the detected moments for approval, and renders the ones you choose. Connection is a single public URL, [https://openclip.app/mcp](/mcp), secured with OAuth 2.1 and dynamic client registration, so any MCP client from Claude to Cursor connects with a sign-in rather than an API key; header-only agents can use a personal access token at [https://openclip.app/mcp/key](/mcp/key) instead. ## Related Terms [Model Context Protocol Video Editing](/learn/model-context-protocol-video-editing) [Viral Clip Detection](/learn/viral-clip-detection) [Ai Captioning](/learn/ai-captioning) [Video Repurposing](/learn/video-repurposing) [Long Form To Short Form](/learn/long-form-to-short-form) ## Features ### Submission tools submit\_video takes a source URL (YouTube, Vimeo, direct links and more via list\_supported\_providers); create\_upload and complete\_upload handle local files through presigned uploads. ### Monitoring tools get\_video\_status and get\_render\_status return structured job states, so the assistant reports real progress and catches failures like download\_failed or pending\_credits with the right fix. ### Clip and caption tools list\_clips returns the detected viral moments with virality scores; render\_clip produces a captioned vertical clip using any style from list\_caption\_presets. ### Transcript access get\_transcript returns time-coded segments at sentence or word level, with millisecond windowing, so assistants can find quotes and Q&A moments before clipping. ### Reusable processing presets create\_agent and update\_agent save caption preset and composition settings, so every episode of a show gets identical treatment without re-briefing. ### OAuth 2.1 security model One public server URL, per-user OAuth sign-in with a scoped mcp:use token, and video-derived text marked as untrusted content so assistants never execute instructions hidden in a video. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I connect to a video editing MCP server? Add the server URL to your client and sign in. For OpenClip that is [https://openclip.app/mcp](/mcp): in Claude it is Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector; in Claude Code it is one command, claude mcp add --transport http openclip [https://openclip.app/mcp](/mcp); in Cursor it is an mcpServers entry in mcp.json. OAuth handles the rest. ### Do I need an API key? No. OpenClip's server uses OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration, so you approve access from inside the assistant. Agents that can only send headers can mint a personal access token and use the [https://openclip.app/mcp/key](/mcp/key) endpoint. ### What happens after I submit a video? Processing is asynchronous. OpenClip downloads the source, transcribes it, detects viral moments, and tracks speakers while your assistant polls get\_video\_status. On completion, list\_clips returns scored moments and render\_clip produces the captioned clips you approve. ### What does it cost to run? Processing uses credits counted in minutes, included with OpenClip subscriptions: Starter includes 150 processing minutes per month and Pro includes 300. An active subscription is required; a video that fails immediately after submission usually means there is none. ### Can several tools connect to the same server? Yes. The server URL is the same for every client, and each user signs in with their own account. You can connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Perplexity side by side; jobs and credits belong to your team either way. ### Is a video editing MCP server better than an API? They solve different problems. An API is for code you write; an MCP server is for assistants that operate tools conversationally, with runtime discovery and per-user OAuth. Many teams use MCP for day-to-day operation and an API for deep custom integrations. ## Connect your assistant to OpenClip One URL, one sign-in, twenty-eight video tools. Turn long videos into captioned clips from the assistant you already use. [Get Started Free](https://openclip.app/register) ## Related Pages ### Alternatives [Best Video Editing MCP Servers in 2026](/alternatives/best-video-editing-mcp-servers) ### Guides [How to Automate Video Editing with MCP](/guides/automate-video-editing-with-mcp) [Secure Video Editing MCP Workflows](/guides/secure-video-editing-mcp-workflows) ### Integrations [OpenClip + Claude MCP Integration | Video Editing from Claude](/integrations/claude-mcp) [OpenClip + Perplexity MCP Integration | Video Editing from Perplexity](/integrations/perplexity-mcp) ### Use Cases [Control Video Editing from AI Assistants](/use-cases/control-video-editing-from-ai-assistants)