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Editing tools for your agent, not an editor with an agent inside.

You stay in Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor or Kazi and connect one open-source MCP server, hosted or on your own machine. Your agent gets real editing verbs and sees the result after every edit. Here is how that compares with everything else an agent can edit video with, cell by cell.

LiveWatch it live now Kazi gives Big Buck Bunny a happy ending, while you watch.Free · a few minutes · no sign-up

Try it live in Kazi, free

Kazi is our own AI agent, on your phone or computer. It opens with a sample clip and edits it on cuttingfloor while you watch.

As of November 2026, from public docs. Checked 1 November 2026. “?” means we could not confirm it in the product’s own docs. Spotted something wrong? Email support@cuttingfloor.ai.

01 / Two kinds

Two kinds of AI video editing.

An editor with an AI inside

Descript (with Underlord), CapCut, VEED, Kapwing, OpusClip, invideo. You open their app and their AI works in it, on their credits. When they offer agent access, it is often a way to send a request to that AI.

Editing tools for your agent

cuttingfloor. Your agent, the one you already talk to, gets the editing itself: cut, trim, caption, mix, add effects, export. It makes each edit, looks at the result, and decides the next one.

What “forwarding a prompt” means

Descript’s API and MCP have one call for editing: a job that takes a written request, like “remove the section from 1:30 to 2:15”, and hands it to Underlord, Descript’s own AI. There is no call to cut, trim, add a caption or render. Your agent writes a message to another AI and waits for it to finish. It does not make the cut, and Descript’s docs describe no picture of the result coming back to it. Import, search, publish and transcript export are direct calls. VideoDB’s call_director works the same way.

01
Control.
Each tool does exactly what it says. The cut lands on the word you meant, the music sits at the level you asked for, and nothing else changes.
02
The edit stays editable.
Every edit makes a new version of the timeline and earlier ones stay, so going back is one step. Export the edit as FCPXML, OTIO or EDL and finish it in Final Cut Pro, Premiere or Resolve.
03
Your agent’s judgment.
The agent you picked, with your instructions and everything it knows about your project, decides the cuts. Not a second AI you cannot brief.
04
No lock-in.
Open source under AGPL-3.0. The hosted server and the one you run yourself are the same Docker image. You get normal MP4s and project files.

Seeing the result

cuttingfloor is not the only one whose agent can look. Frapea makes contact sheets, Tella checks frames of the edited video, and the Resolve and Premiere bridges export stills. What cuttingfloor adds: a preview comes back with every edit without asking (frames, or a waveform with the loudness measured for sound), qa.check measures gaps, black frames, silences, loudness and cuts through words, and media.seek finds a moment from plain words like “where the demo starts”.

02 / For agents

Video servers and APIs an agent can call.

MCP servers and render APIs, compared on what your agent can actually do with them.

Agent-facing video MCP servers and APIs. As of November 2026, from public docs, 1 November 2026.
Product	Hosted or local	Open source	Editing tools or a prompt	Agent sees its result	Cut by words	Audio and voice	Keys or accounts you bring	Export to an editing app	You pay per
cuttingfloorAn open-source MCP server of video editing tools for the agent you already use.	Both: hosted, or the same Docker image on your own machine	Yes, AGPL-3.0	Editing tools: cut, trim, move, caption, mix, effects, export. Every edit is a new timeline you can go back to	Yes: a preview comes back with every edit (frames, or a waveform with loudness measured), plus qa.check for exact checks and media.seek to find a moment in plain words	Yes, cut by word timings	Gain and pan keyframes, fades, EQ, compressor, voice denoise, master limiter, stems, voiceover with timed words, lip-sync	Only for lip-sync (your sync. labs key). Self-hosted, the visual-judgment tools also need a TypeSafe key	FCPXML, OTIO and EDL, plus SRT and VTT captions	Render minute. Editing the timeline is free. Self-hosting is free
Descript MCPHosted access to Descript; editing goes to its built-in AI, Underlord.	Hosted (Descript sign-in)	No	A prompt: editing is a written request to Underlord. Import, search, publish and transcript export are direct calls	Not documented. Publishing returns MP4 links	Transcript export, yes. Cuts go through an Underlord prompt	Studio Sound, filler removal and voice translation, through Underlord	None	?	Media hours and AI credits, two meters
invideo MCPHosted access to the invideo timeline you see live, with generation models.	Hosted (sign-in)	No	Editing tools on a multitrack timeline, says invideo. The full tool list is not published	?	?	Mixing with buses and faders, and generation models (vendor claim)	None	?	Credits
OpusClip MCPHosted clip jobs: long video in, short clips out.	Hosted	No	Jobs: submit a project to clip, caption and reframe, then edit one clip with a JSON edit script	?	Word timings in the transcript. Edits stay inside one clip of one video	Bleeping (censor jobs)	None	Premiere XML	Credits (processing minutes); renders through the MCP per minute
Kapwing MCPHosted subtitles, translation and dubbing for one video in Kapwing.	Hosted (Kapwing sign-in)	No	A few direct tools: add subtitles, translate subtitles, dubbing, upload and download. A call to its AI, Kai, is planned	No	No. Subtitles and transcripts only	Dubbing with voice cloning	None (Pro plan or higher)	?	Seats, with AI features on workspace credits
Submagic MCPHosted captions and short-form templates.	Hosted, with an API key (no sign-in flow)	No	Project settings: templates, presets, media insertions and transcript fixes before a render. Not timeline edits	?	Transcript fixes before render	?	A Submagic API key	?	Credits (about three a video) and API minutes
FrapeaA browser editor your agent pairs with over MCP.	Runs in your browser tab; the agent pairs with it through a code	?	Editing tools: add, split, trim, move, ripple, effects, transitions, keyframes, multicam	Yes, on request: contact sheets of the timeline and media, a timeline check, loudness	Yes, word-level transcript and word removal	Volume keyframes, loudness, voiceover (in-browser voices or your ElevenLabs key), sound effects	Optional: ElevenLabs, Pexels, Freesound	Not documented	No credits, says Frapea
DaVinci Resolve MCP bridgesCommunity servers that drive Resolve on your computer.	Local: Resolve open on the same machine (most need Resolve Studio)	The bridges, mostly MIT. Resolve itself is closed	Editing tools that mirror Resolve’s scripting API, hundreds in the largest	Partly: frame exports to a file, marker thumbnails	Yes in the largest bridge, with optional Whisper	Fairlight, voice isolation	None, but a Resolve Studio licence ($295, one time)	Edits your Resolve project directly	Free bridge, plus the Resolve Studio licence
Premiere and After Effects bridgesCommunity servers that drive Adobe’s desktop apps.	Local: the Adobe app open on the same machine	The bridges, MIT. The Adobe apps are closed	Editing tools for Premiere (hundreds) or After Effects comps, layers and keyframes	Partly: still-frame exports in Premiere. None documented for After Effects	Partly: transcript cleanup and caption tracks in Premiere	Premiere audio keyframes and ducking	None, but an Adobe licence	Edits your Premiere or After Effects project directly	Free bridge, plus Adobe Creative Cloud
FFmpeg MCP serversCommunity servers that run FFmpeg commands on files.	Mostly local, a few hosted	Mostly MIT; Kinocut is Apache-2.0	File operations: each one writes a new file. No timeline	Partly: some extract frames or storyboards	Mostly no; Kinocut makes Whisper subtitles	Extract and convert audio; Kinocut adds loudness, mastering and local text to speech	None locally; hosted ones need their own key	?	Free locally
ShotstackA cloud render API with an MCP server in beta.	Hosted	No	Render: the agent writes the whole edit as JSON and gets a video back. Templates and generated assets	Not documented for the agent. A preview canvas is shown to you	Not documented	Generated audio assets	Your Shotstack account	?	Render minute ($0.20 pay as you go, or $39 to $499 a month)
CreatomateTemplates designed in its editor, filled in and rendered through an API.	Hosted	No	Render: templates and render jobs	No (a free dry-run check only)	Not documented	Not documented in the MCP	Your Creatomate account	?	Render credits
JSON2VideoA JSON-to-video API with a local command-line MCP.	Local command-line server that calls its cloud	?	Render: send a JSON movie, check it, use templates	No	?	?	Your JSON2Video key	?	Credits (600 free, about 10 minutes with a watermark)
HyperFrames (HeyGen)An open-source framework that turns HTML into video, with agent skills.	Local command line and skills; a hosted MCP in beta	Yes, Apache-2.0 (the framework)	Code: the agent writes the video as HTML, previews it and renders it	Partly: a local preview loop	?	?	A HeyGen account for the hosted server	?	Free framework; HeyGen credits when hosted

03 / For creators

Editing apps, feature by feature.

The jobs creators open an editing app for. In cuttingfloor your agent does each one with the tools; the notes under the table say how.

Creator editing apps by feature. As of November 2026, from public docs, 1 November 2026.
App	Filler-word removal	Captions with word highlight	Reframe	Background removal	Voice cleanup	Voice and music split	AI voiceover	Lip-sync	Beat sync	B-roll	Agent access	Self-host
cuttingfloor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partly	The whole product is tools for your agent, over MCP	Yes, one Docker image
Descript	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	MCP and API: a prompt to Underlord	No
CapCut	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Higher plan or metered	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	No official MCP or editing API; community servers write draft files	No
VEED	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	An API of AI models (dubbing, lip-sync, clean audio); no editing tools	No
Kapwing	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	MCP: subtitles, translation and dubbing	No
OpusClip	Higher plan or metered	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Higher plan or metered	No	Yes	Not confirmed	No	Yes	MCP: clip jobs and an edit script for one clip	No
Submagic	Higher plan or metered	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	No	Not confirmed	No	Not confirmed	Yes	MCP with an API key: project settings and templates	No
Captions	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Not confirmed	Yes	API for captions and avatars; no MCP found	No
Runway	No	No	No	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	No	Yes	MCP for generating and restyling; no timeline edits	No
Riverside	Higher plan or metered	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	No	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	No	Yes	MCP in beta on higher plans: plain-language edits	No
Adobe Premiere	Yes	Partly	Yes	Partly	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	No	Partly	Adobe’s Claude connector (whole jobs, no timeline); community desktop bridges	No (a desktop app)
DaVinci Resolve	Not confirmed	Higher plan or metered	Higher plan or metered	Higher plan or metered	Higher plan or metered	Higher plan or metered	Higher plan or metered	No	Higher plan or metered	No	No official MCP; community bridges (outside scripting needs Studio)	No (a desktop app)
Canva	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Partly	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	No	Not confirmed	No	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	MCP for designs; no video timeline tools found	No
Pictory	Not confirmed	Yes	Partly	No	Not confirmed	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Video API; an MCP announced in 2025, status not confirmed	No
invideo	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Yes	MCP on the live multitrack timeline	No

Filler-word removal: Your agent cuts the ums and restarts by their word timings.
Captions with word highlight: caption.add takes word timings and highlights each word as it is said.
Reframe: Your agent reframes from face boxes it measures.
Background removal: create.cutout, built in, no key.
Voice cleanup: Voice denoise, EQ and compressor filters, with loudness measured.
Voice and music split: create.stems splits voice, drums, bass and music (Demucs).
AI voiceover: create.voiceover, with timed words (Kokoro), no key.
Lip-sync: create.lipsync, on your own sync. labs key.
Beat sync: media.analyze finds the beats; your agent cuts on them.
B-roll: Partly: no stock library. Your agent places your footage or graphics it makes.

“Higher plan or metered” means the feature is on a paid tier or draws on separate credits or minutes. None of these apps asks for your own AI provider key; cuttingfloor does for one thing, lip-sync. Motion graphics are left out: we could not confirm them across the apps. In cuttingfloor, create.motion renders any animated HTML, with transparency.

04 / Fair

Pick it when.

Where another tool is the better choice, it says so here.

When each tool is the better choice
Tool	Pick it when
cuttingfloor	you want your agent to do the whole edit on your own footage, check its own work, and leave you an edit you can still change or open in your editing app.
Descript MCP	you or your team already edit in Descript and want to hand Underlord a request from your agent, then finish by hand in Descript.
invideo MCP	you want generated footage from many models and want to watch the agent work in the same timeline you edit.
OpusClip MCP	you want many short clips cut from a long video and scheduled to your socials, with the least effort.
Kapwing MCP	you need subtitles, translations or dubbing on a single video and already pay for Kapwing.
Submagic MCP	you want styled captions on Shorts from a preset, fast.
Frapea	you want an editor you can also work in by hand while your agent edits in the same tab.
DaVinci Resolve MCP bridges	you already edit in Resolve Studio and want your agent working in your real project, next to the best colour tools there are.
Premiere and After Effects bridges	your projects live in Premiere or After Effects and stay there.
FFmpeg MCP servers	you need one-off conversions, trims or audio extracts on your own computer, for free.
Shotstack	you already know the edit and need it rendered at volume from data.
Creatomate	one branded template needs many variations.
JSON2Video	simple videos are assembled from data.
HyperFrames (HeyGen)	you want motion graphics as HTML in an open-source framework you run yourself.
Tella	your videos are screen recordings.
Palmier Pro	you edit on a Mac and want a local app your agent and you share.
Remotion	you want the video to be a codebase you keep and maintain.

Tella. A screen recorder with a hosted MCP of editing tools that checks frames of the edited video.
Palmier Pro. An open-source (GPL-3.0) macOS editor with a local MCP that renders frames to check. Generation is paid and closed.
Remotion. A React framework for making videos in code, with agent skills. Companies pay for a licence.

Try it on your own footage

Connect cuttingfloor to your agent and ask for the edit you want. Free for 3 days, no card. Or run it yourself from GitHub, free. For people coming from CapCut, Descript, VEED or Kapwing, see the alternatives page.