instantclips-mcp

# InstantClips MCP

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[InstantClips](https://instantclips.ai) turns an e-commerce product into short-form vertical
video for TikTok, Instagram Reels and Stories. It runs a hosted **MCP server**, so Claude Code,
Codex, Cursor, VS Code, the Claude app, ChatGPT or any other MCP client can do what the web app
does: import a product, draft the plan, and generate the video.

**This is not a text-to-video generator.** InstantClips reads the product page — photos, price,
details — and builds the ad from what is actually there. The plan is written first and shown to
you; the video follows the plan. That is why it is cheap enough to run across a catalogue, and why
the result is the product you sell rather than a guess at it.

Free to start: the welcome credits cover the first video, and there is no card to enter. After
that, one-time credit packs, or an Agency membership for anyone running several brands. See
[pricing](https://instantclips.ai/#pricing).

- **Where it fits.** Beside a scheduler (Postiz, Buffer) that posts what comes back. Beside an
  attribution tool that tells you which hook worked. Instead of an editor when you have a product
  page and no footage.
- **Not for.** Cinematic hero films. A presenter reading your script. Horizontal 4K. Products with
  no page and no photos.
- **Built for.** Shopify sellers, dropshippers, brands and agencies running social for several
  stores at once.

**The product server stays hosted.** This repository contains its connection guide, registry
metadata, example HTTP client and a small open-source stdio adapter for clients that cannot connect
to a remote server directly. The adapter answers initialization, ping and tool discovery from a
generated snapshot, then sends authenticated tool calls to the hosted endpoint. The hosted server
remains the source of truth; the product implementation is not duplicated here.

## Endpoint

|            |                                                                                   |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Endpoint   | `https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp`                                                 |
| Transport  | Streamable HTTP, stateless                                                        |
| Method     | `POST`, JSON-RPC 2.0                                                              |
| Auth       | Sign in when your client asks (OAuth 2.1), or `Authorization: Bearer <token>` for callers with no browser |

Paste one address into your assistant and sign in when it asks. That is the whole setup. The
first time it calls, the server sends you to sign in to InstantClips and approve the assistant;
there are no keys to copy. Every assistant you approve is listed under **Authorized apps** in
settings, where you can disconnect it.

The connection is to your own account: same brands, products, credits and plan limits as the web
app. Signing in creates an account if you do not have one, with credits for the first video.

Opening the endpoint in a browser returns the [setup page](https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp)
rather than a protocol error, with one-click install buttons for Cursor and VS Code.

## Install

Connect to the hosted endpoint directly whenever your client supports Streamable HTTP; it takes
you through sign-in on first use. Use a token and the stdio adapter (under "No browser?" below)
only for scripts and automated runners that cannot open a sign-in page.

### Claude Code

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http instantclips https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp
```

Then run `/mcp` inside Claude Code and choose InstantClips to sign in.

### Codex

Add to `~/.codex/config.toml`, which covers the CLI, the app and the IDE extension together:

```toml
[mcp_servers.instantclips]
url = "https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp"
```

Then run `codex mcp login instantclips` to sign in.

### Cursor and VS Code

One-click install buttons are on the [setup page](https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp). They open
the app, add InstantClips, and sign you in on first use.

### Claude app and ChatGPT

Claude app: add a custom connector with this address and sign in when it asks. ChatGPT on the
web: turn on Developer mode under Settings, Apps, Advanced, then add the address as a connector;
on a Business or Enterprise workspace an admin publishes it as an app for everyone instead. The
ChatGPT desktop app takes the same address under Settings, MCP servers, and shares it with Codex.

### Any other MCP client or agent

OpenClaw, Hermes, or an agent you wrote yourself: point it at the address over Streamable HTTP.
The server announces its sign-in flow the standard way, so a client that follows the spec needs
nothing else. Anything that cannot open a sign-in page uses a token instead, below.

### No browser? Use an access token

Scripts, CI jobs and agents that cannot open a sign-in page authenticate with a long-lived token
instead. Mint one at
**[app.instantclips.ai/settings#ai-access](https://app.instantclips.ai/settings#ai-access)**. It
gives full access to your account, so keep it out of anything you commit.

With a token, the same clients look like this:

```bash
# Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http instantclips https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
```

```toml
# Codex, in ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.instantclips]
url = "https://app.instantclips.ai/mcp"
http_headers = { Authorization = "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" }
```

To keep the token out of the Codex file, swap the header for `bearer_token_env_var = "INSTANTCLIPS_TOKEN"`
and export it in your shell instead. The Claude app takes a token as a request header on the
connector (request headers are still in beta); ChatGPT connectors sign in through the sign-in flow
rather than a pasted key. Any other client sends an `Authorization: Bearer` header. Nothing on the
wire is InstantClips-specific.

#### Stdio-only clients and headless runners

The `instantclips-mcp` npm package is a thin stdio-to-HTTPS adapter. It serves initialization and
tool discovery locally for a fast, credential-free cold start, then reads the token from the
environment and sends tool calls to InstantClips:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instantclips": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instantclips-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "INSTANTCLIPS_TOKEN": "YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

For an automated connectivity check, including the live tool names:

```bash
INSTANTCLIPS_TOKEN="your-token" npx -y instantclips-mcp --check --json
```

The token is accepted only through `INSTANTCLIPS_TOKEN`, never as a command-line argument, so it
does not appear in the process list. It is required for tool calls, but not for `initialize`,
`ping`, or `tools/list`. Node.js 20 or newer is required.

Photos on this machine: the adapter can upload them itself, so a video can be made from files
that never left your laptop. Through the adapter, `create_product_from_images` takes `image_paths`
(paths to the files, up to 9, 8 MB each) in place of `image_urls`, and `update_product` takes
`add_image_paths`. The files are packaged and posted straight to InstantClips as the product's
photos — nothing is downloaded from anywhere. Drag the files into a client that hands the
assistant their paths (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, terminal agents) and say what you want made.

## Starter prompts

Five to begin with. Swap in a link or a product name.

1. "Make a video ad for this product: [URL]"
2. "Import every product on this collection page and draft plans for all of them. Don't generate anything yet."
3. "Show me the plan for [product] and rewrite the hook to lead with the price."
4. "Make three videos for [URL] with three different hooks, so I can test them."
5. "Which of my brands is this product for? Then make the video."

## Tools

The workflow, in order:

1. **Import** — `import_product_from_url` for a store page, or `create_product_from_images` when
   there is no page to read.
2. **Wait for the draft** — poll `get_product` until the import and the plan have finished.
3. **Read and steer it** — the plan comes back as text: hook, content focus, format, execution
   guidelines, restrictions. `update_video_direction` edits it, `redraft_video_direction` asks
   for another angle.
4. **Generate** — `generate_video`, passing `expected_credit_cost`: the cost the user was told, as
   `get_product` reported it. A mismatch is refused without charging.
5. **Collect** — poll `get_video` for the finished MP4 and a public share link.

Another video for the same product is the same flow on that product: editing or redrafting opens the
next video's draft, and `generate_video` with no draft renders another take of the last plan. A
generated video itself cannot be changed. Every `get_product` response carries `next_step`: what to
do now.

Brands work the same way: `list_brands`, `create_brand`, `set_product_brand`. Every video is
drafted in a brand's voice, so an import whose storefront matches no existing brand stops and asks
rather than guessing.

Each tool's exact parameters are published by the hosted server. The generated
[`manifest/instantclips-mcp.json`](manifest/instantclips-mcp.json) snapshot lets stdio clients and
registries inspect those same schemas without a credential. Maintainers refresh it with
`INSTANTCLIPS_TOKEN="..." npm run sync:manifest`; `npm run check:manifest` fails when the committed
snapshot differs from the live server. Run `python example.py tools` below when you specifically
want to print the live schemas over HTTP.

## Credits

Importing a product, drafting the plan and editing it are all **free**. `generate_video` is the
only tool that spends credits, and it requires your explicit go-ahead — the tools report the cost
first, an