openclip-video-editing

OpenClip: video editing

edit_video performs one operation per call on a video file: crop, trim, rotate, resize, compress, or mute. It is FREE, it needs an OpenClip account but no subscription and no credits.

Chain calls to combine operations: feed the output of one call into the next.

Setup (once)

OpenClip is a remote MCP server at https://openclip.app/mcp. Sign in with your OpenClip account when the OAuth prompt appears, there is no API key to copy.

• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http openclip https://openclip.app/mcp, then /mcp to authorize.
• Claude Desktop / web: Settings, Connectors, "Add custom connector", paste the URL, sign in.
• Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json): { "mcpServers": { "openclip": { "url": "https://openclip.app/mcp" } } }
• Header-only clients: mint an MCP token at openclip.app/settings/connect and connect to https://openclip.app/mcp/key with Authorization: Bearer <token>.

Sanity check: call get_account.

Getting the file in

1. create_upload(filename, content_type) returns an id and an upload_url.
2. PUT the raw bytes to upload_url.
3. Pass the returned id as the video argument.

Do NOT call complete_upload. That starts the paid clipping pipeline. Free tools read the uploaded file directly. A video already in list_videos works as an input too.

Operations

Every call is edit_video(video, operation, ...params).

• crop - either aspect ("1:1", "9:16", "16:9", "4:5") or explicit x, y, width, height. Use aspect: "9:16" to reframe landscape footage for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
• trim - start_ms and end_ms, both required. Times are milliseconds.
• rotate - degrees (90, 180, 270) and/or flip (none, horizontal, vertical).
• resize - width and height in pixels.
• compress - either target_mb (aim for a file size) or crf (18 to 32, lower is better quality and a bigger file). Reach for target_mb when the user names a size limit.
• mute - no params, strips the audio track.

Polling

edit_video returns a tool_job hashid with status: "queued". Poll get_tool_job_status(tool_job) every 5 to 10 seconds:

• queued / processing - still working, keep polling.
• completed - returns permanent CDN outputs URLs plus result_meta.
• failed - returns error.

Never assume a call finished synchronously.

Rules

• One operation per call. To trim and then reframe, run trim first, then pass its output to a crop call.
• Times are milliseconds everywhere, not seconds.
• Output URLs are permanent CDN links, not signed or expiring.
• Free usage is rate limited per day with a per-file size cap. The error text explains how to lift a limit.

Example prompts to actions

• "Cut this down to the first 30 seconds" - create_upload, PUT bytes, edit_video(video, operation="trim", start_ms=0, end_ms=30000), poll.
• "Make this vertical for TikTok" - edit_video(video, operation="crop", aspect="9:16"), poll.
• "This file is 400MB, get it under 50" - edit_video(video, operation="compress", target_mb=50), poll.
• "Strip the audio" - edit_video(video, operation="mute"), poll.
• "Trim to the middle minute and make it square" - trim, poll, then crop the output with aspect="1:1", poll again.

Related

Converting between formats (mp4, gif, mp3) is convert_media, see the openclip-convert skill. Turning a long video into ranked short clips is the paid pipeline, see openclip-clipping.