Premiere Pro MCP

Give compatible AI assistants structured control over supported Adobe Premiere Pro workflows.

285 core tools across 32 modules, 4 resources, and 6 guided workflows. A connected UXP host adds 49 capability-gated tools.

What is this?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets AI assistants like Claude, Windsurf, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or any MCP-compatible client directly control Adobe Premiere Pro — importing media, editing timelines, applying effects, managing keyframes, exporting, and more.

"Add the B-roll clips to V2, apply a cross dissolve between each, color correct them to match the A-roll, and export a 1080p ProRes."

The AI handles the entire workflow through 285 core tools spanning the supported ExtendScript, QE DOM, local media analysis, revisioned project-context retrieval, safe edit-planning, and connection-verification surfaces. A compatible, authenticated UXP panel adds 49 documented, capability-gated tools without replacing the production CEP bridge.

Latest release: 1.11.5

• MCP safety research: ten documented recommendations now cover subscription streams, contextual completions, workspace boundaries, resource metadata and canonical URIs.
• Trust boundaries: the recommendations define prompt/resource-injection defenses, layered end-to-end health checks, C2PA inspection limits, and UXP external-launch safeguards.
• Verification clarity: semantic keyframe verification is scoped separately from implementation and licensed Premiere Pro host confirmation.

See the v1.11.5 release notes for complete details. Live installation in Premiere Pro still requires host verification.

Quick Start

Easiest supported path: Claude Desktop

1. Download the current Claude Desktop bundle (.mcpb).
2. In Claude Desktop, open Settings > Extensions > Advanced settings > Install Extension, select the downloaded bundle, and restart Claude Desktop.
3. Download the separate signed Premiere connector (.zxp). Open it with your trusted ZXP installer. If your computer has no ZXP installer, use the npm connector installer in Advanced setup below.
4. Restart Premiere, open a project, then open Window > Extensions > MCP Bridge.
5. In Claude, enter: Safely check my Premiere connection with verify_premiere_connection. Make no changes.

The Claude bundle contains the local MCP server, so this route does not require Node.js. The Premiere connector is a separate required install. The first prompt is read-only and reports whether the server is installed, configured, connected, and live-verified.

Other AI assistants

Cursor, VS Code/Copilot, Windsurf, and other MCP clients do not currently have a project-provided one-click installer. Use their MCP settings with the advanced npm route below. Keep the assistant, server, connector, and Premiere on the same computer.

Before you begin

• Node.js 20.19 or newer on Windows or macOS.
• Adobe Premiere Pro 2020–2026. Keep Premiere, the CEP bridge, and your MCP client on the same computer for the recommended local setup.
• Optional: ffmpeg on PATH for detect_silence (brew install ffmpeg on macOS or winget install Gyan.FFmpeg on Windows). The production Docker image already includes it.

1. Install

Option A — npm:

npm install -g premiere-pro-mcp

Option B — Clone from source:

git clone https://github.com/leancoderkavy/premiere-pro-mcp.git
cd premiere-pro-mcp
npm install
npm run build

2. Install the CEP plugin

If installed via npm:

premiere-pro-mcp --install-cep

If cloned from source:

npm run install-cep

This installs the plugin into Premiere Pro's per-user extensions folder and enables debug mode.

3. Check the setup

premiere-pro-mcp --doctor

Then ask your MCP client to run verify_premiere_connection. The check is read-only.

Publishing to npm

The easiest repeatable path is the token-free GitHub Actions workflow:

1. In the npm package settings, configure GitHub Actions as the trusted publisher for leancoderkavy/premiere-pro-mcp and workflow file npm-publish.yml.
2. Allow the npm publish action.
3. Open Actions -> Publish npm -> Run workflow and keep the default latest tag.

The workflow installs dependencies, builds, runs tests, verifies the packed files, refuses to republish an existing version, then publishes through short-lived OIDC credentials with automatic provenance. No npm token or recurring OTP is required.

For local publishing, use the guided helper:

npm run publish:npm

Useful local variants:

npm run publish:npm:dry-run
NPM_OTP=123456 npm run publish:npm
NPM_TOKEN=npm_xxx npm run publish:npm

mkdir -p ~/Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions
ln -s "$(pwd)/cep-plugin" ~/Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/MCPBridgeCEP

# Enable unsigned extensions (CSXS 9–14)
for v in 9 10 11 12 13 14; do
  defaults write com.adobe.CSXS.$v PlayerDebugMode 1
done

1. Copy the cep-plugin folder to %APPDATA%\Adobe\CEP\extensions\MCPBridgeCEP
2. Open Registry Editor and set these String (REG_SZ) values to 1 (not DWORD):
   • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\CSXS.12\PlayerDebugMode
   • (repeat for CSXS.9 through CSXS.14)

3. Configure your MCP client

If you installed from npm, configure the client to run the global command:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere-pro": {
      "command": "premiere-pro-mcp"
    }
  }
}

If you cloned the repository instead, use the source-build configuration shown below for your client.

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere-pro": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/premiere-pro-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Add to your MCP server configuration:

{
  "premiere-pro": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/absolute/path/to/premiere-pro-mcp/dist/index.js"]
  }
}

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project or global config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere-pro": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/premiere-pro-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Add to your VS Code MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "premiere-pro": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/premiere-pro-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

4. Verify the bridge in Premiere Pro

1. Open (or restart) Premiere Pro
2. The bridge starts automatically using the default temp directory (or its previously saved setting)
3. Optionally go to Window > Extensions > MCP Bridge to confirm the green "Running" status or change the Temp Directory to match your MCP client config
4. Ask your AI assistant to run get_capabilities, then ping, with Premiere open.
5. For a safe first request, ask: "What is my current Premiere Pro project and active sequence? Do not make changes."

The default bridge directory is derived from the operating system on both sides, so most local setups should not set PREMIERE_TEMP_DIR. If you override it, use the same absolute path in the MCP server and CEP panel; Windows and macOS paths are not interchangeable.

Codex plugin

This repository includes an installable Codex plugin that bundles the local MCP server with a safety-oriented Premiere editing skill.

From a clone of this repository:

codex plugin marketplace add .
codex plugin add premiere-pro@premiere-pro-mcp
npx -y premiere-pro-mcp@1.11.5 --install-cep

Restart Premiere Pro and start a new Codex session after installation. The plugin launches premiere-pro-mcp@1.11.5 through npx; the separate CEP installation is required because the MCP server communicates with the running Premiere host through the local bridge.

The plugin source lives in plugins/premiere-pro, and the repository marketplace manifest lives in [.agents/plugins/marketplace.json](.agents/plug