ResolveMCP-ext

resolve-ext

An MCP server that adds the DaVinci Resolve 21.1.2 scripting surfaces the mainstream Resolve MCP servers do not cover — clip effects, effect properties, Paste-Attributes, frame export and media-pool folder lookups.

It is deliberately an extension, not a replacement: register it alongside the other two Resolve MCP servers and you get a larger surface with no overlap — see the full setup. Everything it exposes is measured against a live Resolve, and calls that turn out to be broken are reported as broken rather than wrapped in a success.

effects              apply/list/remove/toggle/reorder clip effects

clip_attrs copy attributes between clips (Paste Attributes) export_frame stills from a clip or media-pool item folder_ops which bin does this clip/folder live in photo_albums albums, photos, ratings, flags, versions, stills node_graph node labels, colours, enable state, LUTs, cache project_extras render presets, audio render formats, transcription camera_comparison 2x2 / split layouts, camera labels, markers clip_position read placement + handle offsets; flags broken APIs resolve_ext_status health check

The full Resolve MCP setup — three servers, all of them

Resolve is not covered by one MCP server. Three independent servers do different jobs, and full coverage means running all three. This project is the third; the other two are not optional extras.

| Blackmagic's own ResolveMCP.exe | Ships with DaVinci Resolve 21 — nothing to download | 14 | A *meta-server*: it provides Resolve's scripting-API stubs and a Python sandbox (run_script, search_scripting_api, get_whats_new) plus LUT/DCTL management. It performs no Resolve actions itself. | | community samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp | npx or git | 37 (390 with --full) | The workhorse: editing, media pool, render, markers, grading, Fusion — one granular tool per task. Ships a second davinci-resolve-advanced server (18 Node tools) for source-safe media analysis. | | this project resolve-ext | pip | 10 | The gaps the other two leave — see the table below. |

All three talk to the same Resolve through the same single-client scripting API. They coexist without overlap; registering one and wondering why a capability is missing is the usual disappointment.

# 1. Blackmagic's — already on disk, just register it:

%ProgramFiles%\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\ResolveMCP.exe (Windows)

/Applications/DaVinci Resolve/DaVinci Resolve.app/Contents/Applications/ResolveMCP

/opt/resolve/bin/ResolveMCP (Linux)

2. the community server (use --clients manual when driving it non-interactively):

npx davinci-resolve-mcp setup

3. this project:

pip install https://github.com/CaptRauti/ResolveMCP-ext/releases/download/v1.0.0/resolve_ext-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl resolve-ext doctor

Full procedure, per-platform paths, the Windows "Resolve is on another drive" case, and the failure modes of each: [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) — written so an AI agent can install all three unattended.

Why this exists

DaVinci Resolve 21.1.2 (22 Oct 2026) added a batch of scripting APIs. The popular MCP servers do not implement them — verified two ways: searching their source for each symbol, and probing live Resolve objects with hasattr (a type stub documents the API; only the live object proves your build has it).

TimelineItem alone exposes 113 methods on 21.1.2; a large share of them were unreachable through MCP before this server.

Install

Installing this with an AI agent? Point it at

AGENTS.md — it is a step-by-step procedure written for agents,

including the failure cases. This section is the human-facing version.

Requires Python 3.10+ and DaVinci Resolve Studio (external scripting is a Studio feature — the free build refuses it).

From a release (recommended)

Download the wheel from the releases page and install it:

pip install resolve_ext-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

The wheel is pure Python and platform-independent — the same file works on Windows, macOS and Linux.

From a git checkout

pip install git+https://github.com/CaptRauti/ResolveMCP-ext

Or from a local clone:

git clone https://github.com/CaptRauti/ResolveMCP-ext

cd ResolveMCP-ext pip install .

mcp 2.x breaks FastMCP, so the dependency is pinned <2. That pin is in the package metadata — you do not need to add it yourself.

Verify the installation

resolve-ext doctor

resolve-ext 1.0.0

--- Python --- 3.12.4 at /usr/bin/python3 ok (3.10+)

--- DaVinci Resolve scripting API --- platform linux api_path /opt/resolve/Developer/Scripting (found) lib_path /opt/resolve/libs/fusionscript.so (found)

--- Import test --- ok: DaVinciResolveScript imports

--- Live connection --- ok: connected to Resolve; project = My Project

--- Result --- All checks passed.

doctor exits 0 when everything works and 1 otherwise, so it is usable in a setup script. When something is wrong it names the exact path that is missing and what to enable.

Register with your MCP client

The server finds Resolve's scripting API by itself, so on a default installation there is nothing to configure:

{

"mcpServers": { "resolve-ext": { "command": "resolve-ext" } } }

For a non-standard Resolve location, or to see the explicit form, run:

resolve-ext env

which prints the configuration for the machine it runs on — including the exact RESOLVE_SCRIPT_API, RESOLVE_SCRIPT_LIB and PYTHONPATH values — as generic JSON and as a hermes mcp add command.

When merging into an existing client config, the server entry sits flat under the client's own mcpServers key. Do not wrap it in a second mcpServers level — that silently disables tool discovery.

Resolve settings

Resolve must be running with Preferences → System → General → External scripting using → Local.

Tools

effects

list_available(media_type?)          video (default) | photo | audio

list_applied(item_id?|name?, category?) apply(item_id?|name?, category, id) remove(item_id?|name?, category, indices?) set_enabled(item_id?|name?, index, enabled, category?) reorder(item_id?|name?, index, new_index, category?)

Address a timeline item with item_id (GetUniqueId) or with name plus the track it sits on (track_type default video, track_index default 1).

Always call list_available first — apply needs the category and id it returns. On a stock 21.1.2 Studio that is 36 fusion + 98 ofx effects for video, plus the Fairlight set for audio. Fusion ids look like Fusion/Effects/ / .

clip_attrs

options()                                    the full option vocabulary

copy(source_id?|source_name?, target_ids?|target_names?, options, ...) read(item_id?|name?)

The API behind the Edit page's Paste Attributes — the lever that makes a per-camera look repeatable: grade one clip, push the same attributes onto every other clip from that camera.

36 options in 6 groups (clip, video, zoom_crop_flip, retime, grade_fusion, audio). Shorthands: copy_all_video, copy_all_audio.

{"colorCorrection": true, "allZoomAttributes": true,

"allCropAttributes": true, "videoPlugins": true}

export_frame

item(item_id?|name?, frame_offset, output_type?, file_path?, format?, max_dimension?)

media(clip_id, frame_offset, output_type?, file_path?, format?, max_dimension?) timeline(frame_offset, ...) # broken on 21.1.2 — see below

item and media are verified working. The offset is 0-based and must be below the item's duration. output_type: file (needs file_path) or encodedString (default); for the latter the base64 is decoded and written to out/ next to the server, with only a short prefix returned inline.

folder_ops

parent_of_clip(clip_id)              which bin holds this clip

parent_of_folder(path?|folder_id?) a folder's parent (root has none) path(clip_id?|folder_id?) "Master/Sub/Bin" find_clip(clip_id) locate a clip anywhere in the tree

photo_albums

list() / current() / set_current(album_id?|name?)

create(name) / create_from_photos(name, clip_ids) / delete(album_ids?) / rename(...) quick_export_presets() / render_settings(settings?) photos(album_id?|name?) / add_photos(clip_ids) / remove_photos(photo_ids) / current_item() stills(album_id?|name?, all_photos?) photo(photo_id) / rate(photo_id, stars) / flag(photo_id, color?|clear?) clip_color(photo_id, color?|clear?) / versions(photo_id) add_version / load_version / delete_version copy_grade / effects_list / effect_apply / effect_remove / fusion_comps / fusion_add

Verified working on 21.1.2.10: 9/9 `PhotoAlbum` methods, 20/20 `PhotoAlbumItem` methods, CreatePhotoAlbumFromPhotos, persistent ratings / flags / versions, AddFusionComp on a photo.

add_photos is broken upstream (AddToPhotoAlbum adds nothing) — the action verifies by reading the album back and tells you so. Use `create_from_photos`, which is the verified path.

Note the split: the album *listing* methods live on Project, the

*creating/adding* ones on MediaPool, and Resolve answers none of them. The

tool resolves the right object per call, because a Resolve proxy makes

hasattr report every method on every object.

node_graph

info(item_id?|name?|photo_id?)        node list with labels and colours

label(node_index, label) "" clears the label color(node_index, color) "" clears the colour enable(node_index, enabled) tools(node_index) which Fusion/OFX tools sit in the node lut(node_index, lut_path?) read, or set cache(node_index, mode?) read, or set reset_colors() photo graphs only reset_grades(confirm=true) destructive — clears the whole grade

Valid node colours: Orange, Apricot, Yellow, Lime, Olive, Green, Teal, Navy, Blue, Purple, Violet, Pink, Tan, Beige, Brown, Chocolate.

Target a timeline clip by item_id/name, or a photo by photo_id. Labels and colours verified persistent across calls.

project_extras

capabilities()                             what this build answers at all

render_presets() GetRenderPresetList update_render_preset(preset_name) GUI-dependent, see the broken table quick_export_enable(preset_name, enabled) GUI-dependent audio_formats() {display name -> ex