| name | resolve-conform |
| description | Conforming, relinking, and finishing prep in the DaVinci Resolve MCP. Apply when importing/relinking editorial, checking a conform against a reference, repairing reversed/retimed subclips, tracing grades across a re-conform, building relink plans, or QCing a conformed timeline frame-by-frame — live in a running Resolve OR offline against .drt/.drp files and the project DB. Routes to the live conform tools, the offline conform QC engine, and the online-editor craft skill. |
Resolve Conform / Interchange — Claude Code Skill
Bridges online-editing / finishing craft to this repo's tools.
- Craft / finishing — the global
online-editor skill (conform, relink,
finishing philosophy in Resolve and Flame). Use for how a finishing editor
thinks, not tool mechanics.
- Live tool mechanics —
docs/kernels/timeline-conform-interchange-kernel.md
(the timeline conform/interchange boundary).
- Offline conform engine —
resolve-advanced/README.md → conform,
color_trace, offline_ref, editorial, drt, project_db.
Two servers
| Job | Server | Tools |
|---|
| Import / relink / compare a running conform | davinci-resolve (Python, live) | timeline (conform actions), media_pool (safe_relink, safe_import_sequence) |
Conform QC math, reverse-clip repair, lineage, grade tracing, .drt/.drp/DB edits with no Resolve open | davinci-resolve-advanced (Node) | conform, color_trace, offline_ref, editorial, drt, project_db |
What this build cannot do (check before you offer it)
The scripting API changes per patch release, so "Resolve 21" is not a usable
label. Read resolve_control get_version → build.unavailable_on_this_build
before offering a gated surface; check_version_support asks about one named
symbol. Gated on the relink/media side this domain leans on:
| Surface | Needs | If absent |
|---|
MediaPoolItem.LinkProxyMedia | 17.0 | No script-side proxy attach |
MediaPoolItem.LinkFullResolutionMedia | 20.0 | Cannot swap proxies back to full-res from a script |
MediaPoolItem.ReplaceClipPreserveSubClip | 20.0 | Replacing a clip loses sub-clip boundaries; relink by path instead |
MediaPoolItem.MonitorGrowingFile | 20.0 | No growing-file support during ingest |
MediaPoolItem.GetTimeline | 21.0.4 | Cannot ask a clip which timelines use it; walk timelines and collect their items instead |
An empty unavailable_on_this_build means nothing recorded is missing, not
that everything exists — most of the API has never been version-bisected. A
symbol with no gate returns unknown, which means probe it. Probe with
name in dir(obj), never bare hasattr: on a Resolve object hasattr returns
True for every name, real or invented, so it can only say yes.
The offline conform / drt / project_db routes are not gated this way —
they operate on files, so a missing live surface is a reason to reach for them,
not a dead end.
Live conform essentials
- Inspect before touching:
probe_timeline_structure, detect_gaps_overlaps,
source_range_report, conform_boundary_report.
- Interchange:
export_timeline_checked / import_timeline_checked (temp-guarded).
drt is the only lossless project-native round-trip; EDL/FCPXML drop
Resolve-specific relationships.
- XML import via the scripting API goes offline (missing-media/generators
abort the import). Use
import_timeline_checked with media sanitize
(FCP7/FCPXML) so the API imports with links intact, then exact-path relink.
A running MCP server must be restarted to pick up the sanitize fix.
- Missing media:
detect_missing_media → build_relink_plan (read-only, bounded;
skips broad scans when the source volume is unmounted) → execute only via
media_pool.safe_relink with approved paths.
Offline conform engine (conform actions)
The offline engine QCs a conform with frame-oracle math, not filename
matching — it catches a clip that relinked to the wrong-but-similarly-named
source. It also does:
- Reverse/retimed subclip repair — reversed
source_start =
masterFrames − 1 − endoffset (live-validated); DB-level repair.
- Sequence lineage store + diff — hashed timeline snapshots, diff, rollback.
- Per-cut frame QC — oracle-frame vs reference-render compare (scale-corrected;
red/yellow/cyan verdicts), the standard finishing QC.
- Reference-render compare — build a
REF_OFFLINE verdict when a burn-in-free
reference exists.
Carrying grades across a re-conform
color_trace matches clips across projects → a trace plan for carrying grades
through a re-conform (pairs with the resolve-color skill's drx grade_transfer).
For "what changed between cuts," use editorial.turnover_changelist
(see resolve-edit).
Offline-reference clips
Offline-ref clips have no scripting API but do live inside .drp/.drt as
<OfflineClip> entries — patch via offline_ref (plain-XML/DB path), not the
live server.
Gotchas that bite
.drt version. For DaVinci Resolve 19.1.3, set DbPrjVer 17 → 16 when
authoring a .drt or the import can fail.project_db patches require the project CLOSED in Resolve plus
iConfirmProjectClosed:true; every write auto-backs-up and read-back verifies.
Resolve caches open projects in memory — after patching, fully QUIT and
relaunch Resolve or the change is invisible.- AAF is an honest refuse in
editorial.parse_interchange, not a silent
empty result.
- Optional native deps gate some actions (
better-sqlite3 for lineage/reverse/DB,
sharp/ffmpeg for frame compare) — call the advanced capabilities tool.
Source-media safety (AGENTS.md)
Relink plans are read-only until you execute them; never relink, replace, or
create derivatives of source media without explicit approval. Preserve the chain
from camera original to final delivery.
