---
title: "DaVinci Resolve MCP: AI Control of Edits, Color and Media"
url: "https://mcpshelf.co/servers/davinci-resolve"
description: "DaVinci Resolve MCP lets an assistant drive Resolve through its scripting API: timelines, media pool, markers, colour and renders. Studio and free setup."
updated: "2026-10-27"
site: "MCP Shelf"
---

# DaVinci Resolve MCP

> Drives DaVinci Resolve through its scripting API: timelines, media, markers and renders.

## At a glance

This community server connects an assistant to a running copy of DaVinci Resolve through Blackmagic's official scripting API. It can organise the media pool, build and edit timelines, add markers, work with colour and Fusion, manage projects and queue renders. The default mode groups related actions behind about 37 tools to keep context small; a full mode exposes one tool per API method, nearly 400 of them.

External scripting is a Studio feature. On the free edition it works only through a small bridge script started inside Resolve, and only up to Resolve 21.0. An installer writes the client configs for you, and a separate Node server can edit .drp project files with Resolve closed.

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Made by | Samuel Gursky and contributors, independent of Blackmagic Design |
| GitHub | https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp |
| Licence | MIT |
| npm package | [davinci-resolve-mcp](https://www.npmjs.com/package/davinci-resolve-mcp) 4.15.3 (23 Oct 2026) |
| GitHub stars | 3.8K |
| Downloads | 4K a week |
| Last commit | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Tools | 37 |
| Runs on | Your computer |
| Install check | Needs your setup first |
| Category | [Design, 3D and games](https://mcpshelf.co/categories/design-and-3d) |

**Our check:** It needs something our Linux test machine does not have (an account, a desktop app, a Mac or a running service), so on 27 Oct 2026 we read its tools from the source code instead of running this config. davinci-resolve-mcp on npm is a launcher by the same author. It installs the Python server; the MCP config then points at that environment, not at npx.

## Tools

We listed 37 tools on 27 Oct 2026. 1 only read; the rest can change things or run commands.

| Tool | Kind | What it is for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `setup` | changes | Reads and sets the server's own defaults, such as dry runs and how careful to be with destructive actions. |
| `resolve_control` | reads | App-level jobs: check for Studio, launch Resolve, switch pages, follow long background jobs. |
| `layout_presets` | changes | Saves, loads, imports and exports Resolve's UI layout presets. |
| `render_presets` | changes | Imports and exports render and burn-in presets. |
| `project_manager` | changes | Lists, creates, opens, saves and archives projects. |
| `project_manager_folders` | changes | Moves around and manages folders in the Project Manager. |
| `project_manager_cloud` | changes | Creates, loads and restores Blackmagic Cloud projects. |
| `project_manager_database` | changes | Shows and switches the project database. |
| `project_settings` | changes | Reads and changes project settings, the project name and colour groups. |
| `render` | changes | Builds render jobs from presets, formats and codecs, starts rendering and checks progress. |
| `media_storage` | changes | Browses drives and folders and imports files into the Media Pool. |
| `media_pool` | changes | Creates bins and timelines, moves and imports clips, and exports metadata. |
| `folder` | changes | Works on one Media Pool bin, addressed by its path. |
| `media_pool_item` | changes | Reads and sets a clip's name, metadata, properties and proxy links. |
| `media_pool_item_markers` | changes | Adds, reads and removes markers and flags on Media Pool clips. |
| `media_analysis` | changes | Analyses footage (shots, faces, speech, audio levels) and writes the results back as clip metadata after you approve them. |
| `timeline_versioning` | changes | Keeps automatic backups of a timeline before risky edits and rolls back to them. |
| `edit_engine` | changes | Plans assemblies, tightening passes and clip swaps from the analysis, shows the plan, then carries it out once confirmed. |
| `timeline` | changes | Adds and removes tracks and clips, imports and exports timelines, and inserts generators and titles. |
| `timeline_markers` | changes | Adds and reads markers on the timeline and moves the playhead. |
| `timeline_frame` | changes | Grabs the current frame as an image so the model can check framing, titles or a grade. |
| `timeline_ai` | changes | Starts Resolve's AI jobs on the timeline, such as auto subtitles and scene cut detection. |
| `timeline_item` | changes | Changes a clip's transform, speed, keyframes and properties on the timeline. |
| `timeline_item_markers` | changes | Markers, flags and clip colour on timeline clips. |
| `timeline_item_fusion` | changes | Adds, loads, exports and removes Fusion compositions on a clip. |
| `timeline_item_color` | changes | Grades a clip: versions, LUTs, CDL values, node caches and matching tools. |
| `timeline_item_takes` | changes | Adds and switches takes on a timeline clip. |
| `gallery` | changes | Manages Gallery albums and PowerGrade albums. |
| `gallery_stills` | changes | Grabs, labels, imports and exports stills. |
| `graph` | changes | Reads and changes colour node graphs: node LUTs, labels and enabled state. |
| `color_group` | changes | Creates colour groups and works on their pre- and post-clip node graphs. |
| `fusion_comp` | changes | Builds and edits the node graph inside a Fusion composition. |
| `fuse_plugin` | changes | Writes and installs Fusion Fuse plugins. |
| `lut` | changes | Lists, installs and removes LUT files. |
| `dctl` | changes | Writes and installs DCTL colour shaders. |
| `script_plugin` | runs | Writes and installs scripts for Resolve's Workspace → Scripts menu. |
| `knowledge` | changes | Editing, colour and audio guidance the model should read before a creative or destructive step. |

## Set it up

1. Open Resolve and set Preferences → General → External scripting using to Local.
2. Run npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup. It installs a managed copy, creates its Python environment and writes the config for the clients it finds, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor.
3. Restart your client with Resolve open. If it cannot connect, run python3 scripts/doctor.py from the installed copy for a list of fixes.

## Settings

| Setting | Kind | Required | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `External scripting using` | config | yes | Resolve's own preference, under Preferences → General. Set it to Local so the server can connect. |
| `--full` | flag | no | Starts the granular mode, about 390 tools with one per scripting API method, instead of the 37 grouped tools. |
| `DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_PYTHON` | env | no | Points the launcher at a specific Python, for Resolve builds that reject newer Python versions. Example: `/usr/local/bin/python3.12` |
| `DAVINCI_RESOLVE_BRIDGE` | env | no | Set to 1 to always use the in-app bridge, the route for the free edition. |
| `RESOLVE_SCRIPT_HOST` | env | no | The address of the machine running Resolve, when external scripting is set to Network. Example: `127.0.0.1` |

## What it can touch

**It can read**

- The open project: timelines, Media Pool, metadata, grades and settings
- Media files on drives Resolve can see
- Frames rendered from the timeline

**It can change**

- Projects, timelines, bins, clips, markers and grades
- Render queues and the files they write
- LUTs, DCTLs, Fuses and scripts it installs into Resolve's folders

**Safer setup:** Its timeline tools save a backup before destructive edits, and many actions have dry-run or checked versions. Still keep a project backup before a long session.

## Before you start

- DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.5 or newer (the free edition only through the in-app bridge)
- Python 3.10 or newer, 64-bit
- Node.js 20.9 or newer for the npx installer

## Good for

- Organising and tagging large amounts of footage
- Repetitive timeline jobs such as markers, renames and render queues
- Checking project settings and media without clicking through menus

## If it does not work

**It cannot connect to Resolve**
Resolve must be open with External scripting set to Local. On the free edition external scripting is blocked; use the in-app bridge instead.

**scriptapp returns None on an older Resolve**
Some Resolve builds reject Python 3.13 and newer. Install Python 3.10 to 3.12 and set DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_PYTHON to it.

**The bridge script does not appear in Workspace → Scripts on a Mac**
Resolve only finds Python through PYTHON3HOME or /usr/local/bin/python3. Set PYTHON3HOME with launchctl setenv and restart Resolve.

**Not sure what is wrong**
Run python3 scripts/doctor.py from the installed copy. Each problem comes with the exact command to fix it.

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## Questions

### Does it work with the free version of Resolve?

Partly. Blackmagic limits external scripting to Studio. On the free edition up to 21.0 an in-app bridge script works; Resolve 21.1 moved Python scripting to Studio, so the bridge may not run there.

### Is it made by Blackmagic?

No. It is an independent open source project that uses Resolve's official scripting API.

### Which mode should I use?

The default grouped mode, unless you need a particular API call. Its 37 tools cost far less context than the 390 in full mode.

### Is it free?

Yes, MIT licensed. The optional analysis features use other open source libraries such as Whisper.

Full docs on GitHub: https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp

---

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