DaVinci Resolve MCP — Works in DaVinci Resolve Free

Claude-driven video editing that runs in DaVinci Resolve Free — the no-cost edition that Blackmagic ships at $0. No Studio license required, no API key required.

ℹ️ What "free" means here: DaVinci Resolve ships in two editions — Free (no cost) and Studio (~$295 one-time license). Studio exposes a Python scripting API for automation; Free does not. Every existing DaVinci MCP server out there (samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp, barckley75, apvlv, Tooflex) requires Resolve Studio for that reason. This project gets Claude-driven editing working in Resolve Free too, by routing around the missing Python API through three channels:

Channel	What it does	Free	Studio
FCPXML/OTIO export	Build a rough cut outside Resolve, import via File > Import > Timeline	✅	✅
Lua snippets	Generate ready-to-paste Console snippets for batch markers, LUT apply, render queue, etc.	✅	✅
UI automation (macOS)	Drive Magic Mask, Smart Reframe, Voice Isolation, page switching via Accessibility API	✅	✅
Python scripting API	Direct DaVinciResolveScript control	❌	✅ (planned)

If you've been turned away by other DaVinci MCP servers because you only have the free Blackmagic download — this is for you.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/emircbngl/davinci-resolve-mcp-free.git
cd davinci-resolve-mcp-free
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[transcribe,ui]"

Requirements that should already be on the machine:

• macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon recommended for local Whisper)
• Python 3.11+
• ffmpeg + ffprobe (brew install ffmpeg)
• DaVinci Resolve (Free or Studio)

Connecting Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "resolve-pilot": {
      "command": "/path/to/davinci-resolve-mcp-free/.venv/bin/resolve-pilot"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The resolve-pilot server should appear in the tool list.

What Claude can do

After connecting, ask Claude things like:

• "Probe this video and tell me its codec, fps, and how many scene cuts it has."
• "Transcribe the audio of ~/Footage/interview.mp4 and write an SRT next to it."
• "Build a rough cut from the transcript — keep only the segments where speaker 1 sounds confident."
• "Give me a Lua snippet that color-codes every clip on V2 orange."
• "Open the Color page and apply this LUT to all clips on V1."
• "Make a vertical 9:16 rough cut from this 30-min talk."

Claude calls the tools, returns the FCPXML / Lua / SRT, and you paste / import in Resolve.

Architecture

resolve_pilot/
├── analyzers/        ffprobe + scene detection
├── transcribe/       mlx-whisper local transcription
├── exporters/        FCPXML 1.10 + SRT writers
├── lua_snippets/     parameterized Lua for Resolve Console
├── ui_automation/    osascript + macOS Accessibility
├── editorial/        rough cut planner (data layer for Claude's decisions)
└── mcp_server.py     FastMCP entry point

Status

Early scaffolding — works end-to-end for the documented flow. Studio Python API integration is planned. Linux/Windows UI automation is planned (currently macOS-only for UI tools).

License

MIT.