v2.0.9

• Cross-platform sandbox path redirect — _resolve_safe_dir() now handles macOS (/var/folders, /private/var), Linux (/tmp, /var/tmp), and Windows (AppData\Local\Temp) sandbox paths that Resolve can't write to. Redirects to ~/Documents/resolve-stills instead of Desktop
• Auto-cleanup for grab_and_export — exported files are read into the response (DRX as inline text, images as base64) then deleted from disk automatically. Zero file accumulation. Pass cleanup: false to keep files on disk
• Both servers in sync — server.py and resolve_mcp_server.py now share the same version and both use _resolve_safe_dir() for all Resolve-facing temp paths (project export, LUT export, still export)

v2.0.8

• New grab_and_export action on gallery_stills — combines GrabStill() + ExportStills() in a single atomic call, keeping the live GalleryStill reference for reliable export. Returns a file manifest with exported image + companion .drx grade file
• Format fallback chain — if the requested format fails, automatically retries with tif then dpx
• macOS sandbox path redirect — /var/folders and /private/var paths are redirected to ~/Desktop/resolve-stills since Resolve's process can't write to sandboxed temp directories
• Key finding documented — ExportStills requires the Gallery panel to be visible on the Color page. All 9 supported formats (dpx, cin, tif, jpg, png, ppm, bmp, xpm, drx) produce a companion .drx grade file alongside the image

v2.0.7

• Security: path traversal protection for layout preset tools — export_layout_preset, import_layout_preset, and delete_layout_preset now validate that resolved file paths stay within the expected Resolve presets directory, preventing path traversal via crafted preset names
• Security: document destructive tool risk — added Security Considerations section noting that quit_app/restart_app tools can terminate Resolve; MCP clients should require user confirmation before invoking

v2.0.6

• Fix color group operations crash — timeline_item_color unpacked _check() as (proj, _, _) but _check() returns (pm, proj, err), so proj got the ProjectManager instead of the Project, crashing assign_color_group and remove_from_color_group

v2.0.5

• Lazy connection recovery — full server (--full mode) now auto-reconnects and auto-launches Resolve, matching the compound server behavior
• Null guards on all chained API calls — GetProjectManager(), GetCurrentProject(), GetCurrentTimeline() failures now return clear errors instead of NoneType crashes
• Helper functions — get_resolve(), get_project_manager(), get_current_project() replace 178 boilerplate blocks

v2.0.4

• Fix apply_grade_from_drx parameter — renamed mode to grade_mode to match Resolve API; corrected documentation from replace/append to actual keyframe alignment modes (0=No keyframes, 1=Source Timecode aligned, 2=Start Frames aligned)
• Backward compatible — still accepts mode for existing clients, grade_mode takes precedence

v2.0.3

• Fix GetNodeGraph crash — GetNodeGraph(0) returns False in Resolve; now calls without args unless layer_index is explicitly provided
• Falsy node graph check — guard checks not g instead of g is None to catch False returns

v2.0.2

• Antigravity support — Google's agentic AI coding assistant added as 10th MCP client
• Alphabetical client ordering — MCP_CLIENTS list sorted for easier maintenance

v2.0.1

• 26-tool compound server — all 324 API methods grouped into 26 context-efficient tools (default)
• Universal installer — single python install.py for macOS/Windows/Linux, 10 MCP clients
• Dedicated timeline_item actions — retime/speed, transform, crop, composite, audio, keyframes with validation
• Lazy Resolve connection — server starts instantly, connects when first tool is called
• Bug fixes — CreateMagicMask param type, GetCurrentClipThumbnailImage args, Python 3.13+ warning

Key Stats

| Metric | Value | |--------|-------| | MCP Tools | 26 compound (default) / 342 granular | | API Methods Covered | 324/324 (100%) | | Methods Live Tested | 319/324 (98.5%) | | Live Test Pass Rate | 319/319 (100%) | | API Object Classes | 13 | | Tested Against | DaVinci Resolve 19.1.3 Studio |

API Coverage

Every non-deprecated method in the DaVinci Resolve Scripting API is covered. The default compound server exposes 27 tools that group related operations by action parameter, keeping LLM context windows lean. The full granular server provides 342 individual tools for power users. Both modes cover all 13 API object classes:

| Class | Methods | Tools | Description | |-------|---------|-------|-------------| | Resolve | 21 | 21 | App control, pages, layout presets, render/burn-in presets, keyframe mode | | ProjectManager | 25 | 25 | Project CRUD, folders, databases, cloud projects, archive/restore | | Project | 42 | 42 | Timelines, render pipeline, settings, LUTs, color groups | | MediaStorage | 9 | 9 | Volumes, file browsing, media import, mattes | | MediaPool | 27 | 27 | Folders, clips, timelines, metadata, stereo, sync | | Folder | 8 | 8 | Clip listing, export, transcription | | MediaPoolItem | 32 | 32 | Metadata, markers, flags, properties, proxy, transcription | | Timeline | 56 | 56 | Tracks, markers, items, export, generators, titles, stills, stereo | | TimelineItem | 76 | 76 | Properties, markers, Fusion comps, versions, takes, CDL, AI tools | | Gallery | 8 | 8 | Albums, stills, power grades | | GalleryStillAlbum | 6 | 6 | Stills management, import/export, labels | | Graph | 11 | 22 | Node operations, LUTs, cache, grades (timeline + clip graph variants) | | ColorGroup | 5 | 10 | Group management, pre/post clip node graphs |

Requirements

• DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.5+ (macOS, Windows, or Linux) — the free edition does not support external scripting
• Python 3.10–3.12 recommended (3.13+ may have ABI incompatibilities with Resolve's scripting library)
• DaVinci Resolve running with Preferences > General > "External scripting using" set to Local

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp.git
cd davinci-resolve-mcp

# Make sure DaVinci Resolve is running, then:
python install.py

The universal installer auto-detects your platform, finds your DaVinci Resolve installation, creates a virtual environment, and configures your MCP client — all in one step.

Supported MCP Clients

The installer can automatically configure any of these clients:

| Client | Config Written To | |--------|-------------------| | Claude Desktop | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) | | Claude Code | .mcp.json (project root) | | Cursor | ~/.cursor/mcp.json | | VS Code (Copilot) | .vscode/mcp.json (workspace) | | Windsurf | ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json | | Cline | VS Code global storage | | Roo Code | VS Code global storage | | Zed | ~/.config/zed/settings.json | | Continue | ~/.continue/config.json | | JetBrains IDEs | Manual (Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > MCP) |

You can configure multiple clients at once, or use --clients manual to get copy-paste config snippets.

Installer Options

python install.py                              # Interactive mode
python install.py --clients all                # Configure all clients
python install.py --clients cursor,claude-desktop  # Specific clients
python install.py --clients manual             # Just print the config
python install.py --dry-run --clients all      # Preview without writing
python install.py --no-venv --clients cursor   # Skip venv creation

Server Modes

The MCP server comes in two modes:

| Mode | File | Tools | Best For | |------|------|-------|----------| | Compound (default) | src/server.py | 26 | Most users — fast, clean, low context usage | | Full | src/resolve_mcp_server.py | 342 | Power users who want one tool per API method |

The compound server's timeline_item tool includes dedicated actions for common workflows:

| Category | Actions | Parameters | |----------|