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  • License MIT

MCP server for Crabcut AI video clip generation — turn YouTube videos into short-form clips from any AI assistant

Package Exports

  • @crabcut/mcp-server
  • @crabcut/mcp-server/dist/index.js

This package does not declare an exports field, so the exports above have been automatically detected and optimized by JSPM instead. If any package subpath is missing, it is recommended to post an issue to the original package (@crabcut/mcp-server) to support the "exports" field. If that is not possible, create a JSPM override to customize the exports field for this package.

Readme

@crabcut/mcp-server

Turn YouTube videos into short clips -- from Claude, Cursor, or any AI assistant that supports MCP.

You give it a YouTube link. It finds the best moments, reframes them for vertical video (9:16), adds subtitles, and gives you download links. All from a chat or automation workflow.

Quick Start

  1. Get an API key at app.crabcut.ai/developers
  2. Run:
CRABCUT_API_KEY=sk_live_... npx @crabcut/mcp-server

That's it. The server connects via stdio and works with any MCP client.

Setup

Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crabcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@crabcut/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CRABCUT_API_KEY": "sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crabcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@crabcut/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CRABCUT_API_KEY": "sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Smithery

smithery badge

npx @smithery/cli mcp add crabcut/crabcut-mcp-server

Remote (Streamable HTTP)

For n8n, custom integrations, or any client that supports remote MCP:

  • Endpoint: https://mcp.crabcut.ai/mcp
  • Auth: Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...
  • Transport: Streamable HTTP (POST)

Tools

Tool What it does
generate_clips Start clip generation from a YouTube URL. Returns a project_id right away.
get_project_status Check progress and get clips when ready. Clips are sorted by score (best first).
list_projects List your projects with status and clip counts.
get_clip Get full details for a single clip.
check_usage See your plan, remaining credits, and usage.

How It Works

Clip generation takes a few minutes. Here is the flow:

  1. Call generate_clips with a YouTube URL
  2. You get back a project_id immediately
  3. Wait for results using one of two methods (polling or webhook)
  4. When done, you get an array of clips sorted by score (best first), each with a download_url

Project Statuses

As your project moves through the pipeline, status changes:

status Meaning
pending Job is queued, not started yet
processing Video is being downloaded, analyzed, or clips are being cut/exported
completed All clips are exported and ready to download
completed_no_clips Processing finished but no good clips were found
failed Something went wrong (check error field)

The step field gives more detail during processing:

step Meaning
queued Waiting to start
DOWNLOADING_VIDEO Downloading from YouTube
EXTRACTING_AUDIO Extracting audio for transcription
TRANSCRIBING Transcribing speech to text
DETECTING_HIGHLIGHTS AI is finding the best moments
CUTTING_CLIPS Creating individual clips
EXPORTING_CLIPS Rendering final videos with subtitles
done Everything is finished

Clip Statuses

Each clip in the response has its own clip_status:

clip_status Meaning
pending Clip is created, export not started yet
exporting Video is being rendered with subtitles
completed Ready -- download_url is available
failed Export failed for this clip

API Reference

generate_clips

Start clip generation from a YouTube video.

Input:

Field Type Required Description
url string Yes Full YouTube video URL
start_time number No Start time in seconds (to process only a segment)
end_time number No End time in seconds (to process only a segment)
callback_url string No Webhook URL to receive results when done

Response:

{
  "project_id": "43dbe622-8ac6-4579-9625-0ad7f0f9db0b",
  "status": "processing",
  "poll_url": "/api/v1/projects/43dbe622-8ac6-4579-9625-0ad7f0f9db0b",
  "estimated_minutes": 5,
  "message": "Processing started. Poll with get_project_status every 10-15 seconds until status is 'completed'."
}

get_project_status

Check progress and get clips. Poll every 10-15 seconds.

Input:

Field Type Required Description
project_id string Yes The project ID from generate_clips

Response (while processing):

{
  "id": "43dbe622-8ac6-4579-9625-0ad7f0f9db0b",
  "name": "Video Title",
  "status": "processing",
  "step": "CUTTING_CLIPS",
  "error": null,
  "expected_clips": 9,
  "duration": 639,
  "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:21:46.226Z",
  "clips": [
    {
      "id": "a567a875-...",
      "title": "They Overthink a Chair Like a Crisis",
      "duration": 29.19,
      "score": 74,
      "reason": "Focused on one absurd premise with escalating comedy.",
      "clip_status": "exporting",
      "download_url": null,
      "quality": "1080p",
      "thumbnail_url": null,
      "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:27:16.629Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-03-15T02:27:16.666Z"
    }
  ]
}

Response (when completed):

{
  "id": "43dbe622-8ac6-4579-9625-0ad7f0f9db0b",
  "name": "Video Title",
  "status": "completed",
  "step": "done",
  "error": null,
  "expected_clips": 9,
  "duration": 639,
  "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:21:46.226Z",
  "clips": [
    {
      "id": "32538b9c-...",
      "title": "One Dating Theory Leads to Chaos",
      "duration": 41.83,
      "score": 90,
      "reason": "Sharp universal joke that hooks instantly with strong reactions.",
      "clip_status": "completed",
      "download_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-32538b9c-....mp4",
      "quality": "1080p",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-32538b9c-...-thumb.jpg",
      "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:29:10.954Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-03-15T02:30:43.907Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "a567a875-...",
      "title": "They Overthink a Chair Like a Crisis",
      "duration": 29.19,
      "score": 74,
      "reason": "Focused on one absurd premise with escalating comedy.",
      "clip_status": "completed",
      "download_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-a567a875-....mp4",
      "quality": "1080p",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-a567a875-...-thumb.jpg",
      "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:27:16.629Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-03-15T02:28:22.816Z"
    }
  ]
}

Clips are sorted by score (highest first). The first clip in the array is the best one.

list_projects

List your projects.

Input:

Field Type Required Description
limit number No Max projects to return. Default 20, max 100.
status string No Filter by status: pending, processing, completed, completed_no_clips, failed

Response:

{
  "projects": [
    {
      "id": "43dbe622-...",
      "name": "Video Title",
      "status": "completed",
      "step": "done",
      "expected_clips": 9,
      "clips_count": 8,
      "duration": 639,
      "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:21:46.226Z"
    }
  ],
  "total": 1,
  "limit": 20,
  "offset": 0
}

get_clip

Get full details for a single clip.

Input:

Field Type Required Description
clip_id string Yes The clip ID from a project's clips array

Response:

{
  "id": "32538b9c-...",
  "project_id": "43dbe622-...",
  "title": "One Dating Theory Leads to Chaos",
  "duration": 41.83,
  "score": 90,
  "reason": "Sharp universal joke that hooks instantly.",
  "export_status": "completed",
  "export_quality": "1080p",
  "is_exported": true,
  "video_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
  "video_url_720p": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
  "video_url_1080p": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
  "created_at": "2026-03-15T02:29:10.954Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-03-15T02:30:43.907Z"
}

check_usage

Check your credits and plan.

Input: None.

Response:

{
  "plan": "pro",
  "credits_remaining": 450,
  "credits_total": 500,
  "period_start": "2026-03-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "period_end": "2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Error Responses

When something goes wrong, the API returns an error object:

{ "error": "Insufficient credits", "required": 10, "available": 3 }

Common errors:

HTTP Status Error What to do
400 Invalid YouTube URL Check the URL format
401 Unauthorized Check your API key
402 Insufficient credits Buy more credits or use a shorter video
429 Rate limit exceeded Wait and try again
500 Internal server error Try again later

Callback Webhook

Pass a callback_url when calling generate_clips. We will POST to that URL when all clips are exported and ready.

Payload:

{
  "event": "project.completed",
  "project_id": "43dbe622-...",
  "status": "completed",
  "source_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H51iLa1leOU",
  "clips": [
    {
      "id": "32538b9c-...",
      "title": "One Dating Theory Leads to Chaos",
      "duration": 41.83,
      "score": 90,
      "download_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-32538b9c-....mp4",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/exports/premium/.../clip-32538b9c-...-thumb.jpg",
      "quality": "1080p"
    }
  ]
}

For failed projects:

{
  "event": "project.failed",
  "project_id": "43dbe622-...",
  "status": "failed",
  "source_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "error": "YouTube video is unavailable",
  "clips": []
}

Clips are sorted by score (highest first). We retry the webhook up to 3 times if your server doesn't respond.

Verifying webhooks (optional): Each callback includes an X-Crabcut-Signature header. To verify it came from Crabcut:

  1. Compute SHA-256 of your API key to get your signing key
  2. Compute HMAC-SHA256 of the raw request body using that signing key
  3. Compare with the header value (format: sha256=<hex>)

This step is optional. If you skip it, everything still works.

Using with n8n

There are two ways to set this up in n8n:

Option A -- Webhook (recommended):

  1. Create a new workflow with a Webhook trigger node. Copy its URL (e.g. https://your-n8n.com/webhook/abc123).
  2. Add an HTTP Request node:
    • Method: POST
    • URL: https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/clips/generate
    • Authentication: Header Auth
    • Header Name: Authorization
    • Header Value: Bearer sk_live_...
    • Body (JSON):
      {
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "callback_url": "https://your-n8n.com/webhook/abc123"
}
  3. When clips are ready, the Webhook node receives the payload and your workflow continues.
  4. Access the best clip: {{ $json.clips[0].download_url }}

Option B -- Polling loop:

  1. HTTP Request node: POST https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/clips/generate with body {"url": "..."}. Same auth as above.
  2. Wait node: 15 seconds.
  3. HTTP Request node: GET https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/projects/{{ $json.project_id }}
  4. IF node: if {{ $json.status }} is not completed, loop back to the Wait node.
  5. When complete, the response includes all clips with download URLs.
  6. Access the best clip: {{ $json.clips[0].download_url }}

Tips for n8n:

  • clips is sorted by score. Index 0 is always the best clip.
  • Use {{ $json.clips.length }} to check how many clips were generated.
  • Each clip has a clip_status. You can filter for only completed clips.
  • Free plans export at 720p. Pro plans export at 1080p.

REST API

If you want to call the API directly (without MCP), here are the endpoints:

Method Endpoint Description
POST https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/clips/generate Start clip generation
GET https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/projects/:id Get project status and clips
GET https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/projects List projects
GET https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/clips/:id Get single clip details
GET https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1/account/usage Check credits and plan

All endpoints require the header: Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...

Billing

Each minute of source video costs credits. A 10-minute video costs more credits than a 2-minute video. Check your balance with check_usage. Get credits at crabcut.ai/pricing.

Environment Variables

Variable Required Default
CRABCUT_API_KEY Yes --
CRABCUT_API_URL No https://api.crabcut.ai

License

MIT