Shotstack MCP

What it does

Shotstack's MCP server exposes its cloud video editing API to agents: render Edit JSON timelines, save reusable templates, render merge-field variants, generate image, video or audio assets from a prompt, poll render status, and open an interactive Studio canvas so a human can preview a cut before it burns credits. For filmmaker-agents it is the programmable render farm lane — fast campaign variants, data-driven video, and cloud assembly jobs that should not depend on a local NLE being open. A `get_shotstack_guide` tool ships the Edit JSON conventions so the agent authors valid timelines without guessing at the schema.

Connect

https://mcp.shotstack.io/

Remote headers required: x-api-key. Use the local stdio command when your client cannot attach custom MCP headers.

claude mcp add --transport http shotstack https://mcp.shotstack.io

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shotstack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.shotstack.io/",
        "--header",
        "x-api-key:YOUR_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shotstack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.shotstack.io/",
        "--header",
        "x-api-key:YOUR_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Sample tools

Field notes

Hosted only: npm @shotstack/shotstack-mcp-server is still frozen at a deprecated 1.1.0 ("This local stdio server is deprecated. Use the hosted Shotstack MCP server instead"), so stdio-only clients must bridge through mcp-remote, which the docs list as the fallback. Re-checked 11 Oct 2026: the docs now list 15 tools, up from 10 — `update_template` plus a generation set (`list_models`, `quote_generation`, `generate_asset`, `get_generation_status`) that makes single image, video or audio assets from a prompt, and an asset with `prompt` and `model` inside an Edit generates at render time. The docs name neither the models nor the credit prices, so have the agent call `list_models` and `quote_generation` and get a human yes before `generate_asset`. The beta / tools-may-change warning from August is no longer on the page. There is still no readable source: npm points at github.com/shotstack/shotstack-mcp-server, which 404s to both an anonymous fetch and the GitHub API, so there are no stars or commits to judge — trust the vendor docs and the live endpoint, not GitHub signals. Agents should call `get_shotstack_guide` before composing Edit JSON, prefer `studio` over `render_video` when a human is watching, and pass real public HTTPS asset URLs rather than inventing them.

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