Drive Palmier Pro, an open source AI-native macOS video editor (Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit, AVFoundation) that exposes its timeline as an MCP server at `http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp` so Claude Code/Desktop, Cursor, or Codex can read and edit a project's tracks, clips, media, transcript, captions, color/effects, and trigger generative AI (video/image/audio) requests side-by-side with a human editor. Use when the user wants to connect an agent to Palmier Pro's MCP server, call its timeline/clip/media/generation tools (`get_timeline`, `add_clips`, `move_clips`, `generate_video`, ...), build/run/test the Swift app from source, or debug the MCP tool surface in `ToolDefinitions.swift`/`ToolExecutor+*.swift`. Triggers on: "palmier pro", "palmier-pro", "AI video editor MCP", "connect Claude to my video editor", "palmier MCP server", "edit my timeline with an agent", "swift build PalmierPro", "palmier-pro mcpb", "manage_project"/"get_timeline"/"add_clips" tool.
Drive Palmier Pro, an open source AI-native macOS video editor (Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit, AVFoundation) that exposes its timeline as an MCP server at `http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp` so Claude Code/Desktop, Cursor, or Codex can read and edit a project's tracks, clips, media, transcript, captions, color/effects, and trigger generative AI (video/image/audio) requests side-by-side with a human editor. Use when the user wants to connect an agent to Palmier Pro's MCP server, call its timeline/clip/media/generation tools (`get_timeline`, `add_clips`, `move_clips`, `generate_video`, ...), build/run/test the Swift app from source, or debug the MCP tool surface in `ToolDefinitions.swift`/`ToolExecutor+*.swift`. Triggers on: "palmier pro", "palmier-pro", "AI video editor MCP", "connect Claude to my video editor", "palmier MCP server", "edit my timeline with an agent", "swift build PalmierPro", "palmier-pro mcpb", "manage_project"/"get_timeline"/"add_clips" tool.
allowed-tools
Bash Read Write Edit Glob Grep
compatibility
App requires macOS 26 (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon (arm64 only); the .dmg download is free with no login required. Building from source needs Xcode 16+ and the Swift 6.2 toolchain. The MCP server only runs while the app is open, listening on http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp. The editor and MCP server are free and open source; only the generative AI processing is closed source and requires login + subscription. GPLv3.
Palmier Pro is a Swift-native macOS video editor whose timeline is also an
MCP server: when the app is open it exposes tools like get_timeline,
add_clips, move_clips, apply_color, and generate_video at
http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp, so an external agent (Claude Code/Desktop,
Cursor, Codex) or the in-app chat can edit the same project. The editor
itself and the MCP server are free and open source (GPLv3); only the
generative AI processing behind generate_*/upscale_media is closed
source and gated behind login + subscription.
When to use this skill
Connecting an MCP client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex) to a
running Palmier Pro instance
Reading or editing a Palmier Pro project's timeline, tracks, clips, media,
transcript, captions, color grade, or effects through its MCP tools
Triggering generative AI (generate_video, generate_image,
generate_audio, upscale_media) inside a Palmier Pro project
Building, running, or testing the Palmier Pro Swift app from source
(swift build/swift run/swift test, scripts/dev.sh)
Debugging or extending the MCP tool surface itself
(Sources/PalmierPro/Agent/Tools/ToolDefinitions.swift,
ToolExecutor+*.swift)
When not to use this skill
General video editing/transcoding on Linux/Windows or without Palmier Pro
installed → Palmier Pro is macOS 26 + Apple Silicon only; use a portable
tool (e.g. ffmpeg) instead
Generic Swift/SwiftUI app development unrelated to Palmier Pro's own
codebase → use a general Swift/Xcode workflow, not this skill
The user wants an MCP-free, purely local batch video pipeline → a headless
tool is a better fit; Palmier Pro's MCP server requires the GUI app open
Deep engineering-standards review of Palmier Pro's own Swift internals
(concurrency, undo, actor isolation) → read AGENTS.md in the repo
directly; this skill only summarizes the parts an agent-tool user needs
Instructions
Step 1: Confirm the app is open, then connect your MCP client
The MCP server only exists while Palmier Pro is running; there is no
standalone server binary.
# Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http palmier-pro http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp
codex mcp add palmier-pro --url http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp
For Claude Desktop, use the bundled one-click installer inside the app:
Help → MCP Instructions → Install in Claude Desktop.
Step 2: Read the timeline before editing anything
get_timeline is the entry point for every session — it returns project
settings (fps, resolution, duration), tracks with stable trackIds, clips
with stable clip ids, and a canGenerate flag telling you up front whether
generative tools will succeed (false means the user needs to sign in and
subscribe first). Every mutation tool addresses clips/tracks by those ids,
never by position. Use inspect_timeline for a narrower/windowed read on a
large project instead of re-pulling the full dump every time.
See references/commands.md for the full tool list grouped by workflow
area (timeline, media, clips, multicam, transcript, text/captions,
color/effects, generation, meta).
Step 3: Make one coherent edit per tool call
Palmier Pro's tools are already designed around one filmmaker action per
call (e.g. move_clips moves + ripples as one undoable step). Don't
decompose a single user intent into a chain of lower-level calls — prefer
the tool that already matches the request. Use undo to revert the most
recent action if a result isn't what was expected, rather than trying to
manually reconstruct prior state.
Step 4: Gate generative AI calls on canGenerate
generate_video/generate_image/generate_audio/upscale_media cost
tokens/subscription and fail if the user isn't signed in. Check
get_timeline's canGenerate (or call list_models) before batching
multiple generation requests, and tell the user to sign in/subscribe first
if it's false — don't loop retrying a failing generation call.
Step 5: Building/running from source (contributors)
git clone https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro
cd palmier-pro
swift build
swift run
swift test
./scripts/dev.sh builds a bundled debug .app, launches it, and streams
its OSLog — the fastest inner loop for MCP-tool or timeline changes. Use
swift build --traits BundledSpeech for changes touching MLX, speech
analysis, or transcription. If you're editing Sources/PalmierPro/Agent/
(the tool surface itself), read AGENTS.md's "Agent tool design" section
first — tools must express filmmaker intent, use stable IDs, and return
structured receipts, not mirror internal APIs.
Step 6: Use the wrapper for a read-only environment/connectivity check
bash .agent-skills/palmier-pro/scripts/palmier-pro.sh doctor
bash .agent-skills/palmier-pro/scripts/palmier-pro.sh mcp-status
doctor only inspects the host (macOS version, arch, app presence, Swift
toolchain) and pings the local MCP endpoint — it never installs, launches,
or mutates anything.
Best practices
get_timeline/inspect_timeline before any mutation — clip/track
ids are stable but positions shift after every edit; never assume a
previously-read index still points at the same clip.
One user intent → one tool call — the tools already model complete
filmmaker actions (move-with-ripple, remove-with-linked-group); chaining
low-level calls to fake a composite action duplicates logic Palmier Pro
already owns and can desync from the UI's own undo grouping.
Address entities by id, not position — trackIndex/frame numbers
are accepted where documented, but clip/track ids survive edits that
positions don't.
Check canGenerate before spending on generation — generative calls
are the only closed-source, paid part of the stack; everything else
(editor, MCP server) is free.
undo over manual reconstruction — a single undo call reverts the
last agent/user action cleanly; don't try to hand-compute the inverse of
a move_clips/apply_effect call.
Never bypass AGENTS.md's concurrency/undo rules when touching
Swift source — main-actor file I/O, unbounded task fan-out, and
split undo groups are explicitly called out as review blockers in the
upstream repo.
References
references/commands.md — full MCP tool reference by workflow area, plus Swift dev commands
Example 1: Connect Claude Code and make a scripted edit
claude mcp add --transport http palmier-pro http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp
Then, from the agent: call get_timeline to find the target clip's id,
then move_clips with {"moves": [{"clipId": "...", "toFrame": 1500}]}.
Example 2: Environment check before recommending a workflow
bash .agent-skills/palmier-pro/scripts/palmier-pro.sh doctor
Example 3: Build from source and verify the MCP server comes up
git clone https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro
cd palmier-pro && swift build && swift run &
bash .agent-skills/palmier-pro/scripts/palmier-pro.sh mcp-status
