walid@portfolio:~/lab/davinci-resolve-mcp$
cd../lab
04ideaOct 2026

Let Claude drive DaVinci Resolve

A safe, step-by-step setup for the community DaVinci Resolve MCP server, so Claude Code or Codex can inspect a project and run real timeline, media, Fusion, grading and render work. Every agent prompt from the guide, plus the one habit that keeps it from wrecking your edit. Checked against the project’s own package

Connect an AI agent to DaVinci Resolve and it can inspect your project and do real work: cuts and trims, markers, timeline versions, media bins, Fusion graphics, supported grades and render jobs, all from plain-English prompts. This is the whole setup — install, enable scripting, the one installer command, the diagnostic, and wiring up Claude Code or Codex — followed by every test prompt from the guide, ordered from a read-only inspection up to a silence cleanup and a render. It is the community davinci-resolve-mcp project, not an official Blackmagic tool, and it drives Resolve through Resolve’s own scripting API, which Blackmagic gates to the Studio edition. The discipline that makes it safe is one habit: inspect, then act, then verify, always on a duplicate.

DaVinci ResolveMCPClaude CodeCodexVideo editingdavinci-resolve-mcp (GitHub) ↗The npm package ↗DaVinci Resolve ↗Model Context Protocol ↗Claude Code ↗
i
What this is

An AI agent — Claude Code or Codex — wired to DaVinci Resolve so it can read your project and perform supported operations in it. The chain is simple: the agent talks to a local MCP server, and the MCP server talks to Resolve through Resolve’s scripting API. Claude Code / Codex → MCP server → DaVinci Resolve. The same community server works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code and a dozen other MCP clients.

!
It is the community project, not an official Blackmagic tool

This uses the community-built davinci-resolve-mcp server (by samuelgursky), which connects to DaVinci Resolve through Resolve’s own scripting API. It is not a Blackmagic product — don’t call it “Blackmagic’s official MCP server.” That matters for what works: the agent can only do what Resolve’s scripting surface and the server actually expose, and that varies by Resolve version.

Checked, not copied

What held up, on 1 October 2026

Checked against the davinci-resolve-mcp package on npm (v4.8.26) and its GitHub repository, and Blackmagic’s scripting behaviour.

ClaimWhat the source says
The installer commandsBoth real. The npm bootstrapper’s own help lists setup and doctor as its two commands; the first installs a managed copy, detects Resolve and configures your client, and the second runs the installer’s checks in a dry run. Pass --clients to target specific ones, e.g. --clients claude-code or --clients codex.
Supported clientsConfirmed, and wider than the guide lists. The installer can configure Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, Continue, Cline, Roo Code, OpenCode, Codex CLI and JetBrains IDEs.
Resolve 18.5+ and StudioCorrect. The project targets Resolve 18.5 or newer, and the package describes itself as controlling “DaVinci Resolve Studio through the official Scripting API.” External scripting is a Studio feature.
Free edition is gatedRight, and worth stressing. Blackmagic restricts external scripting to Studio: on the free edition a foreign process is refused whatever the preference says. The free edition stays reachable only through an in-app bridge script run from Workspace ▸ Scripts, and that path shifts between releases.
External scripting → LocalCorrect, Studio only: Preferences → General → External scripting using → Local lets same-computer scripts control Resolve (Network opens it to other machines; None allows only the Console). On free, the setting is inert.
Python 3.10+Correct. The project asks for Python 3.10 or newer, with 3.10–3.12 the safest range. It also needs a current Node.js — the npm package requires Node 20.9+, which the guide doesn’t state.
The “remove silent gaps” trickNeeds an extra. Silence detection and dead-air markers only work when ffmpeg is on your PATH; without it the server refuses the feature rather than guessing. The doctor reports which of these optional extras you have. Colour pre-balancing similarly wants numpy.
!
The one habit: inspect → act → verify

Every prompt below follows the same shape: ask the agent to inspect and report first, make one small change second, and verify the result third — and never on the original. Duplicate the timeline, name the copy, work on the copy. An AI that can edit your Resolve project can also quietly break it, and this is the discipline that catches a mistake while it is still one marker, not one master export.

Part 1

Install and enable

1

Install DaVinci Resolve Studio

On the same computer the agent runs on. Use Studio — external scripting is supported there directly. The project lists Resolve 18.5+ as supported; newer builds are preferable.

2

Install Python 3.10+

3.10 to 3.12 is the lowest-risk range. Verify it with the command below.

3

Install Node.js

The quick-start installer runs through npx, so install a current Node.js (20.9 or newer) and check both node and npm return a version.

4

Enable Resolve scripting

In Resolve Studio: Preferences → General → External scripting using → Local. Save, quit Resolve, reopen it, and keep it running while you test. Same-computer setups use Local.

5

Create a throwaway test project

Make an MCP_TEST_PROJECT, import a few disposable clips, and create Timeline 1. Never point the agent at a real client project first — this makes troubleshooting far safer.

Check your versions

terminal9 lines
# Python 3.10+  (3.10-3.12 is the safest range)
macOS / Linux:   python3 --version
Windows:         python --version
# You should see something like:
Python 3.11.x

# Node.js 20.9+  (both should return a version)
node --version
npm --version
Part 2

Install the MCP server

One command installs it. The bootstrapper creates a managed installation, detects Resolve, and can configure your MCP client automatically — it may ask which client you are using, and can set up several at once.

Install

terminal1 lines
npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup

Then run the diagnostic. It checks the environment and the MCP configuration and helps pinpoint an install or Resolve-connection problem before you hand the agent anything real.

Diagnose

terminal7 lines
npx davinci-resolve-mcp doctor

# It should confirm (exact output varies by version):
Python                 ✓
Resolve installation   ✓
MCP configuration      ✓
Resolve connection     ✓
Part 3

Connect your agent

Option A — Claude Code. If the installer detected it, it writes Claude Code’s MCP configuration into a project .mcp.json (you can also target it during a source install with the client id claude-code). Quit Claude Code, reopen it, open the directory that holds the configuration, and ask it to verify the connection with a read-only prompt.

Option A · Claude Code

First prompt — read-only

connect-claude-code.txt9 lines
Connect to the DaVinci Resolve MCP server.
Inspect the currently open Resolve project.
Do not modify anything yet.
Tell me:
- project name
- active timeline
- number of tracks
- number of timeline clips
- available Resolve MCP capabilities

Option B — Codex. Codex uses ~/.codex/config.toml (or $CODEX_HOME/config.toml), with a TOML [mcp_servers.davinci-resolve] section, rather than the JSON many clients use. For a manual repository install the command is python install.py --clients codex, which adds that section while preserving your existing settings. Restart Codex after setup, then test.

Option B · Codex

First prompt — read-only

connect-codex.txt4 lines
Use the DaVinci Resolve MCP.
Read the current Resolve project and timeline.
Do not change anything.
Report what you can see.
Part 4

Test it safely

Don’t open with “edit my whole video.” Walk up from a read-only inspection to a single safe edit, then to work on duplicates. Each prompt below is one message to send the agent. If a step returns the right information, the connection underneath it works.

Step 1 · inspect

Inspect the selected clip

inspect-clip.txt8 lines
Inspect the selected clip in DaVinci Resolve.
Tell me:
- clip name
- duration
- timeline position
- video track
- Inspector transform values
Do not modify anything.
Step 2 · one safe edit

Add a marker

add-marker.txt5 lines
Add a marker to the currently selected clip called:
MCP TEST
Color the marker blue.
Make no other changes.
After performing the action, verify that the marker exists.
Step 3 · work on a copy

Edit a duplicate timeline

Never the original. Duplicate it, name the copy, and only touch the copy.

edit-duplicate.txt7 lines
Inspect Timeline 1.
Duplicate it and name the duplicate:
AI_TEST_V1
Only work on AI_TEST_V1.
Remove the first 2 seconds of the first clip.
Do not change the original timeline.
Verify the new timeline after the edit.
Step 4 · propose, then approve

Natural-language silence cleanup

The agent lists what it would cut and waits. Silence detection needs ffmpeg on your PATH — if the agent says it can’t, that’s why.

silence-cleanup.txt12 lines
Inspect the current timeline.
Find obvious silent gaps longer than 1.5 seconds.
Before making changes, list every section you propose removing.
Do not edit until I approve.

# Then, after reviewing:
Approved.
Duplicate the timeline first.
Name it:
SILENCE_CLEANUP_V1
Perform only the approved cuts.
Verify audio/video sync afterward.
Step 5 · media

Organise the Media Pool

media-pool.txt14 lines
Inspect the Media Pool.
Create these bins if they do not already exist:
01_A-ROLL
02_B-ROLL
03_AUDIO
04_GRAPHICS
05_MUSIC
Do not move any files yet.
Report the result.

# Then classify, and wait for approval before moving:
Classify the current media.
Propose which clips should go into each bin.
Wait for my approval before moving anything.
Step 6 · Fusion

A lower-third graphic

What’s controllable depends on your Resolve version and the exposed tool; some operations are easier than others.

lower-third.txt9 lines
Create a duplicate test timeline.
Add a simple lower-third graphic to the selected clip.
Text:
JOHN DOE
Creative Director
Use a clean minimal design.
Place it in the lower-left safe area.
Animate it in and out subtly.
Do not alter the source clip.
Step 7 · colour

Inspect the grade, then a new version

Don’t assume every Color-page control is reachable; it depends on Resolve’s scripting surface and the server.

grade-version.txt10 lines
Inspect the selected clip's current grading state.
Do not alter it.
Tell me what grading controls and grade information are available through the MCP connection.

# Then, on a new version:
Create a new grade version called:
AI TEST
Apply only a subtle contrast adjustment or supported grade operation.
Do not overwrite the existing grade.
Verify the new version.
Step 8 · render

Propose, add, then start the job

Never let the agent render over production files. Settings first, then the job, then start it — three separate messages.

render-job.txt16 lines
Inspect the current render settings.
Do not render.
Create or propose a render configuration for:
1920x1080
H.264
30 fps
Output filename:
MCP_TEST_EXPORT
Show me the settings before adding the render job.

# Then, once reviewed, add the job:
Add the render job.
Do not start rendering yet.

# Then start only that job:
Start only the MCP_TEST_EXPORT render job.
For real projects

Give it a standing rule set

Paste this once at the start of a session. It is what turns the setup from a demo into something you can trust on a real project.

operating-rules.txt12 lines
You are assisting with a professional DaVinci Resolve project.
Operating rules:
1. Never modify source media.
2. Never delete media without explicit permission.
3. Before major edits, duplicate the timeline.
4. Inspect before making changes.
5. Explain the intended operation briefly.
6. Perform one logical group of changes at a time.
7. Verify the Resolve state after every operation.
8. If a tool is unsupported, stop and tell me.
9. Do not start renders unless explicitly instructed.
10. Never overwrite a final timeline or master export.

What you can actually do with it

Once connected, the agent can help with media organisation, timeline inspection, cuts and trims, markers, timeline versions, subtitle and transcription workflows, supported colour operations, Fusion compositions, graphics and templates, project management, render setup and basic QC. The project describes support across editing, media, render, grading, Fusion, Fairlight and project management — but what actually works depends on the underlying Resolve API and your version. Treat the list as the ceiling, not a guarantee.

When it can’t see Resolve

Troubleshooting

SymptomFix
The agent can’t find ResolveResolve isn’t running, or no project is open. Open Resolve and a project.
Scripting isn’t enabledPreferences → General → External scripting using → Local, then restart Resolve.
Wrong PythonCheck python3 --version (python --version on Windows); use 3.10+.
Install looks wrongRun npx davinci-resolve-mcp doctor and read what it flags.
Nothing changed after setupThe agent was open during install. Fully restart Claude Code or Codex.
Codex can’t find the serverCheck ~/.codex/config.toml for a [mcp_servers.davinci-resolve] section; Codex needs absolute paths.
It’s the free editionExternal scripting is Studio-only. Free is reachable, if at all, through the in-app bridge from Workspace ▸ Scripts, and only on some versions.
The short version

The whole thing, in twelve lines

setup.txt14 lines
DaVinci Resolve + AI MCP Setup
1. Install DaVinci Resolve Studio.
2. Install Python 3.10+.
3. Install Node.js.
4. In Resolve: Preferences → General → External scripting using → Local.
5. Restart Resolve and open a test project.
6. Open Terminal / PowerShell.
7. Run:  npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup
8. Select Claude Code or Codex CLI during setup.
9. Run:  npx davinci-resolve-mcp doctor
10. Restart Claude / Codex.
11. Start with:  Use the DaVinci Resolve MCP. Inspect my open project and timeline. Do not modify anything.
12. Once that works, test one small edit on a duplicate timeline.
Tip: always use an Inspect → Act → Verify workflow, and test on copies before using AI on production projects.
i
The rule worth keeping

Inspect → act → verify, and test on copies before you let an agent near a production project. Everything else here is plumbing; that habit is what makes handing your timeline to an AI a convenience instead of a gamble.

← previous
A library of 15 camera movements
next →
A toolkit, a dark-web search engine, and an email lookup
← all experiments