mcp-da-vinci

An MCP server that exposes the DaVinci Resolve scripting API to an LLM. v1 covers inspection, core editing (import media, build timelines, markers), and the render queue.

How it connects (read this first)

Resolve scripting imports DaVinciResolveScript, which loads the native fusionscript.dll and talks to the running Resolve process over local IPC. That DLL is a Windows binary, so the server must be run by Windows Python — a Linux/WSL interpreter cannot load it. The source lives in WSL; Claude Code launches the Windows interpreter (python.exe) to run it.

mcp-da-vinci/
├── server.py            # FastMCP entrypoint + transport selection
├── resolve/
│   ├── app.py           # shared FastMCP instance
│   └── connection.py    # get_resolve(): loads the API, env fallbacks, helpers
├── tools/
│   ├── inspect.py       # read-only tools
│   ├── edit.py          # media-pool + timeline mutations
│   └── render.py        # render-queue tools
├── .mcp.json            # Claude Code registration (project scope)
└── requirements.txt

Project tooling

• Python deps are declared in pyproject.toml (locked in uv.lock). Note the runtime twist below: the server must run under Windows Python, which uv (in WSL) does not manage — so deps still get installed into Windows Python with pip. uv is for dependency declaration/dev work; requirements.txt is kept as a pip-friendly mirror.
• Node tooling (the MCP Inspector) is in package.json. npm install, then npm run inspector.

Prerequisites

1. Install the MCP SDK into Windows Python (the interpreter that can reach Resolve):

   python.exe -m pip install "mcp[cli]"     # or: python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt
   

2. In Resolve: Preferences → System → General → External scripting using → Local, then restart Resolve.
3. Resolve must be running for any tool call to work.
4. External scripting requires DaVinci Resolve Studio (the free edition only allows scripting from the Fusion console). If the connection test below fails on the free edition, this is why.

This machine's verified paths (already baked into .mcp.json and as fallbacks in resolve/connection.py):

	Path
Resolve DLL	D:\Program Files\BlackMagic\fusionscript.dll
Scripting API root	C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\Developer\Scripting
Windows Python	E:\Python\python.exe (a.k.a. python.exe from WSL)

Verify

With Resolve running, from the repo dir in WSL:

# 1. Bare connection test (catches prefs / Studio issues before MCP is involved)
python.exe -c "import resolve.connection as c; print(c.get_resolve().GetProductName())"
# -> DaVinci Resolve

# 2. Call any tool like a function via the dev CLI (fastest debug loop)
python.exe cli.py                                   # list all 21 tools (grouped)
python.exe cli.py get_timeline_info --name "Timeline 1"
python.exe cli.py <tool> --help                     # show a tool's parameters
python.exe cli.py import_media --paths "D:\\a.mp4" --paths "D:\\b.mp4"   # repeat flag for arrays
python.exe cli.py <tool> ... --debug                # full traceback on error
# or via npm:  npm run cli -- get_timeline_info --name "Timeline 1"

# 3. Interactive tool testing via the MCP Inspector
npm install        # one-time
npm run inspector  # launches @modelcontextprotocol/inspector against python.exe server.py

Arg types (int / array / optional) are coerced automatically from each tool's JSON schema.

Use from Claude Code

.mcp.json registers the server at project scope. Restart Claude Code (or run /mcp) so it loads, then ask things like "list my Resolve timelines" or "create a timeline called Test". If you cloned to a different WSL distro/path, update the UNC path in .mcp.json (\\wsl.localhost\<distro>\<path>\server.py).

Tools

Inspect — get_resolve_info, list_projects, get_current_project_info, list_timelines, get_timeline_info, list_media_pool, get_render_queue

Edit — import_media, create_timeline, create_timeline_from_clips, append_clips_to_timeline, set_current_timeline, add_timeline_marker, open_page

Render — list_render_formats, list_render_codecs, set_render_format_and_codec, add_render_job, start_render, stop_render, get_render_status

OpenAI-compatible / HTTP transport (future)

The same server runs over streamable HTTP for an OpenAI-function-calling bridge:

RESOLVE_MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http python.exe server.py

No code changes needed beyond the transport switch already in server.py.