AdobePremiereProMCP

PremierPro MCP Server – AI-Powered Video Editing for Adobe Premiere Pro

An open-source MCP server for Adobe Premiere Pro. Automate supported timeline, media, audio, effect, caption, graphics-template, and export workflows through Claude, GPT, or another Model Context Protocol client.

Give it a script and your footage, review the proposed edit, then let it assemble a recoverable rough cut on a duplicated sequence.

"Edit this 5-minute video using script.pdf with the footage in /media/"

The server can parse a script, scan media, generate an edit decision list, and assemble a Premiere Pro timeline. Mutations are checked with timeline/DOM readback where the host API exposes it.

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Why This Exists

Video editors spend hours on repetitive tasks: syncing clips, rough cuts, color matching, audio leveling, exporting variants. This MCP server turns Adobe Premiere Pro into an AI-controllable tool, so you can describe edits in plain English and let your AI assistant execute them.

No separate MCP subscription. Local CEP bridge. Fully open source.

Capabilities and Verification Boundary

The source registry contains 1,066 MCP tool schemas backed by 935 literal host command names. The default standard profile exposes 74 curated, readback-first tools, which fits common model function limits and covers normal editing work. The full registry remains available for compatibility and specialist use; schema or symbol presence is not proof that a command works in every Premiere version.

The curated surface includes:

• Project/timeline inspection, sequence versioning, import, placement, trim, ripple, markers, and export.
• Rust-backed media probe, thumbnail, waveform, silence, scene, and asset-scan operations.
• Script parsing, asset matching, EDL generation, and pacing analysis.
• Caption-track creation from validated SRT with count readback.
• Installed-effect and transition discovery, application, and public-DOM readback.
• 12 native transition recipes, with dry-run checks, sequence copies, and exact cut/duration readback.
• MOGRT-based titles, social derivatives, proxy workflows, and batch-delivery recipes.

The audited caption, transition, effect, and graphics-template routes return explicit unsupported errors when Premiere cannot perform and read back the requested mutation. The broader compatibility catalog still contains legacy and experimental handlers that have not completed the same audit, so it must not be treated as a certified surface. Arbitrary script, shell, URL, clipboard, external-editor, and file-I/O tools are hidden unless unsafe is selected. A real Premiere session is still required to certify host mutations on a particular OS/Premiere build.

Supported Premiere Pro Versions

Version	Year	Support
14.x	2020	Manifest target; live matrix pending
15.x	2021	Manifest target; live matrix pending
22.x	2022	Manifest target; live matrix pending
23.x	2023	Manifest target; live matrix pending
24.x	2024	Manifest target; live matrix pending
25.x	2025	Primary development target; live matrix pending
26.x	2026	26.5.2: 8 core CEP workflows tested on macOS arm64; broader matrix pending

The CEP bridge targets macOS and Windows and declares Premiere Pro 14.0+ in its extension manifest.

The manifest range is not a live compatibility certification. Run the host smoke workflow against your exact Premiere build before trusting project mutations.

Help us expand compatibility – report your setup.

Architecture

Four languages, each playing to their strengths:

CLI / MCP Client (Claude, GPT, any AI)
       | stdio / JSON-RPC
       v
+-------------------------------------+
|     Go -- MCP Server & Orchestrator  |
|  Protocol handling . Concurrency     |
|  Service mesh . Health & recovery    |
+------+------------+------------+-----+
       | gRPC       | gRPC       | gRPC
       v            v            v
+------------+ +----------+ +----------------+
|   Rust     | |  Python  | |  TypeScript     |
|   Media    | |  Intel   | |  Premiere Pro   |
|   Engine   | |  Layer   | |  Bridge         |
+------------+ +----------+ +-------+--------+
                                    | CEP / ExtendScript
                                    v
                             Adobe Premiere Pro

Language	Role	Why
Go	MCP server, orchestration	Goroutines for concurrency, fast startup, low memory
Rust	Media processing	Raw performance for scanning, indexing, waveform analysis
Python	Edit intelligence	Deterministic script parsing, asset matching, EDL generation, pacing analysis
TypeScript	Premiere Pro bridge	Native access to Adobe’s ExtendScript/CEP DOM

Full architecture diagram: docs/architecture.md

Project Structure

AdobePremiereProMCP/
+-- go-orchestrator/          # Go -- MCP server & task orchestrator
|   +-- cmd/server/           #   Entry point
|   +-- internal/             #   Core packages
|   |   +-- mcp/              #     MCP protocol handler (1,066 registered schemas)
|   |   +-- orchestrator/     #     Task orchestration
|   |   +-- health/           #     Health checks
|   |   +-- grpc/             #     gRPC client/server
|   +-- configs/              #   Configuration files
|
+-- rust-engine/              # Rust -- Media processing engine
|   +-- src/
|       +-- media/            #   Media probe & metadata
|       +-- assets/           #   Asset indexing & fingerprinting
|       +-- waveform/         #   Waveform & silence detection
|       +-- thumbnails/       #   Thumbnail generation
|
+-- python-intelligence/      # Python -- AI intelligence layer
|   +-- src/
|   |   +-- parser/           #   Script parsing & NLP
|   |   +-- edl/              #   Edit Decision List generation
|   |   +-- matching/         #   Shot-to-asset matching
|   |   +-- analysis/         #   Pacing & timing analysis
|   +-- tests/
|   +-- models/               #   ML model configs
|
+-- ts-bridge/                # TypeScript -- Premiere Pro bridge
|   +-- src/
|       +-- extendscript/     #   ExtendScript API layer
|       +-- cep/              #   CEP Panel bridge (primary)
|       +-- standalone/       #   Node.js fallback bridge
|       +-- timeline/         #   Timeline operations
|
+-- cep-panel/                # CEP Panel -- Premiere Pro extension
|   +-- src/
|   +-- assets/
|   +-- CSXS/                 #   Adobe extension manifest
|
+-- proto/                    # Shared protobuf definitions
+-- docs/                     # Documentation
+-- scripts/                  # Build & setup scripts
+-- Justfile                  # Unified build system
+-- .env.example              # Environment template

Prerequisites

• Go 1.26.1+
• Rust 1.85+
• Python 3.12+
• Node.js 20+
• just (command runner)
• buf (protobuf toolchain)
• rsync (generated-client synchronization on macOS/Linux)
• FFmpeg (media processing)
• Adobe Premiere Pro (2020 or later)

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ayushozha/AdobePremiereProMCP.git
cd AdobePremiereProMCP

# Copy env template
cp .env.example .env

# Install dependencies
just install

# Generate protobuf stubs
just proto

# Build all components
just build

# Run tests
just test

# Install the CEP panel into Premiere Pro
just install-panel

Those commands use a POSIX shell. Native Windows users should follow the platform-specific build/start commands in docs/USER_MANUAL.md; the current PremierPro.bat is a fail-fast CLI launcher, not a service supervisor.

Usage

As an MCP Server (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere-pro": {
      "command": "./go-orchestrator/bin/premierpro-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

The complete tool catalog is returned in cursor-paginated pages of 100 by default. MCP clients should continue requesting tools/list with the returned cursor until nextCursor is absent. Set MCP_PAGE_SIZE to tune the page size.

The default standard profile keeps the normal editing surface small enough for model tool limits. Set MCP_TOOL_PROFILE to core, dialogue, captions, social, transitions, effects, proxies, delivery, standard, or a comma-separated combination. Specialized profiles always include core inspection and duplicate-sequence recovery tools. all exposes the safe full catalog; arbitrary script, shell, URL, and file-I/O tools additionally require unsafe (for example MCP_TOOL_PROFILE=all,unsafe) and should only be used with trusted prompts and explicit human review.

Workflow Skills

Seven reusable Agent Skills live in skills/: dialogue cutting, captions, social reframing, transition recipes, look/effect chains, proxy conform, and batch delivery. Mutation skills preserve an untouched duplicate sequence (or a tool-created derivative) as the recovery boundary and require readback verification. Timeline snapshots and saved sequence versions are audit/comparison records, not whole-sequence rollback points. The same catalog is available to MCP clients through the config://workflow-skills resource.

The sources evaluated, patterns adopted, and integrations intentionally left out are recorded in docs/workflow-research.md. The exact test matrix and remaining host boundaries are recorded in docs/repository-audit-2026-08-05.md.

Via CLI

# Start the server
just go-run

# Or run directly
./go-orchestrator/bin/premierpro-mcp --transport stdio

Platform Launchers

Platform-specific CLI launchers are included:

• macOS: ./PremierPro.command starts the three backends, installs the CEP panel if needed, waits for readiness, and launches the CLI.
• Linux/Unix: ./PremierPro.sh starts the three backends, waits for readiness, and launches the CLI. Premiere/CEP itself must run on macOS or Windows.
• Windows: PremierPro.bat prepares the Node/Go CLI and launches it. Start the Rust, Python, and TypeScript services separately and install the panel with scripts\install-cep-panel-win.bat; full Windows supervision is not yet implemented by the batch launcher.

CEP Bridge Security and Docker

The CEP panel accepts authenticated WebSocket connections only on loopback. On first start, the Go orchestrator, TypeScript bridge, or panel creates a shared token at ~/.premierpro-mcp/cep-token. It authenticates both the Go-to-TypeScript gRPC hop and the TypeScript-to-CEP WebSocket hop. To override it, set BRIDGE_CEP_TOKEN or MCP_CEP_TOKEN consistently, or point all three processes at the same file with PREMIERE_MCP_TOKEN_FILE.

Because Premiere Pro and its CEP panel run on the host, do not run the TypeScript bridge solely inside Docker: a container cannot reach the panel’s loopback-only WebSocket. The supported live-editing layout keeps the Go orchestrator and TypeScript bridge on the host; Docker Compose runs only the Rust and Python analysis backends.

Before docker compose up, set PREMIERE_MEDIA_ROOT to the narrowest absolute directory containing the input media and PREMIERE_OUTPUT_ROOT to an absolute writable output directory. Compose mounts each directory at the identical container path, so file paths sent over gRPC remain meaningful on both sides. The input mount is read-only. Service-specific Docker targets avoid building a duplicate all-language runtime for each analysis backend.

The SSE transport also binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. It has no application- level authentication, so do not set MCP_SSE_HOST (or --host) to a public or LAN interface unless an authenticated TLS reverse proxy protects it.

How It Works

1. You send a prompt – “Edit this video using the script with footage from /media/”
2. Go orchestrator receives the MCP tool call and fans out:
   • Rust engine scans /media/, indexes all assets (codec, duration, resolution, waveforms)
   • Python intelligence parses the script, generates an Edit Decision List, matches shots to assets
3. Go merges results and sends the EDL to the TypeScript bridge
4. TypeScript bridge executes in Premiere Pro – creates the sequence, places clips, and applies supported transitions and graphics templates
5. Premiere Pro renders the final output

Build Commands

Command	Description
just build	Build all components
just test	Run all test suites
just lint	Lint all code
just ci	Full CI pipeline (lint + build + test)
just proto	Generate protobuf stubs
just clean	Remove all build artifacts
just go-build	Build Go orchestrator only
just rust-build	Build Rust engine only
just py-test	Run Python tests only
just ts-build	Build TypeScript bridge only
just cep-build	Build CEP panel only
just install-panel	Install CEP panel into Premiere Pro
just start	Start all backend services
just stop	Stop all backend services
just status	Check service status

Use Cases

• Automated rough cuts – Parse a script and assemble a timeline from raw footage
• Batch color grading – Apply Lumetri Color adjustments across clips via natural language
• Audio post-production – Set levels, apply effects, and mix tracks through AI prompts
• Template-based editing – Generate videos from MOGRTs and data using AI
• Multi-format export – Queue multiple export presets from a single command
• Review workflows – Add markers, comments, and metadata programmatically
• AI-assisted editing – Let Claude or GPT analyze your footage and suggest edits

Community

We are actively looking for testers and contributors!

• Test the server with your Premiere Pro setup and report results
• Request features you need for your workflow using a separate feature request
• Report bugs with reproduction steps using a separate bug report
• Confirm your Premiere Pro version works in the compatibility tracker
• Start or join a discussion in GitHub Discussions
• Read the Contributing Guide to get started with development

If this project is useful to you, please star the repository to help others find it.

Related

• Model Context Protocol – The open protocol for AI tool use
• Adobe Premiere Pro Scripting Guide – ExtendScript API reference
• Adobe CEP Resources – CEP panel development

License

MIT