mcut-editing

name	mcut-editing
description	Edit videos with mcut via the MCP server, live browser bridge, CLI, or headless scripts. Use when asked to transcribe, caption, remove silence, tighten speech, cut/trim/splice, add fades/transitions, animate, reformat, multicam-edit, or export an mcut project.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"source":"https://github.com/mattppal/mcut"}

mcut Editing Rails

Use mcut tools directly. Do not use ffmpeg, ad hoc shell media analysis, or raw JSON surgery when an mcut MCP tool/action exists.

First Choice: Live Bridge

MCP server access is the normal agent path.

For real media, transcription, silence removal, audio activity, browser export, or current editor state, use the live browser bridge, not the file-only stdio server.

Minimum loop:

1. get_summary
2. get_media_context
3. If speech matters: get_transcript with includeWords: true
4. If transcript is missing: ensure_transcript
5. list_actions
6. Prefer run_action high-level actions over raw commands
7. Re-read the returned summary/context and verify timing

Required Workflows

Transcribe and Remove Silence

1. ensure_transcript for the target clip if captions/word timings are missing.
2. Optionally inspect with get_transcript / search_transcript.
3. Do outside research only to repair transcript text or names, not to detect media silence.
4. Run:

{
  "actionId": "transcript.remove-silence",
  "input": {
    "elementId": "e-...",
    "minGapMs": 600,
    "paddingMs": 120,
    "trimEnds": true
  }
}

This action uses word-timed captions and timeline commands. If it says there is no word-timed transcript, call ensure_transcript; do not fall back to ffmpeg.

Fade From Black / Fade To Black

Use the built-in preset action instead of hand-authoring opacity keyframes:

{
  "actionId": "effects.fade-open-close",
  "input": {
    "elementId": "e-...",
    "durationMs": 500
  }
}

For clip-to-clip transitions, use setTransition only on the left clip of an exact butt cut. Built-ins: dissolve, fade-black, fade-white, slide-left, slide-right, wipe-left, wipe-right.

Timing Rules

• All project times are integer milliseconds.
• Timeline positions are absolute.
• Keyframes, angle cuts, time maps, and animation preset internals are element-local.
• Transcript word times from captions are timeline times; silence cuts convert them back to source time for 1x clips.
• trimStartMs is source-media time.
• rippleDelete closes gaps; removeElement leaves gaps.
• Tracks render bottom-up; later tracks appear on top.

When To Use Raw Commands

Use apply_commands or raw command tools only when there is no high-level action/operator for the intent. Batch related commands in one transaction.

Common raw-command cases:

• add/register media assets
• place clips on tracks
• exact trims/splits when the times are already known
• setTransition for adjacent clip transitions
• project dimensions/fps/platform setup

References

Load only when needed:

• references/model.md for project model details.
• references/commands.md for exact command payloads.
• references/animation.md for presets, keyframes, and transitions.
• references/captions.md for transcript/caption shaping.
• references/multicam.md for multicam edits.
• references/platforms.md for delivery formats and safe areas.
• references/export.md for browser export.