# Open Edit

> A local editor with no GUI and no LLM: an append-only edit graph an agent drives over MCP.

- **Category:** Editing & Post
- **Vendor:** Community (AH64-dll) (community)
- **Pricing:** free
- **Verified:** 2026-09-04

## What it does

Open Edit runs as a local stdio MCP server pinned to one project directory, and hands the agent the machinery instead of the creative decisions: content-addressed ingest, word-level transcription via faster-whisper, an append-only intermediate-representation edit graph in SQLite, and melt + ffmpeg rendering. Every cut is one of 28 recorded, reversible IR operations, so a filmmaker can audit or revert what an agent did to the timeline rather than re-deriving it from a rendered file. Renders go proxy-first at 640x360 and only reach 1080p after passing a ten-check QC gate, which is the difference between an agent iterating cheaply and an agent burning an hour per bad idea.

## Connect

- Claude Code: `claude mcp add open-edit -- open-edit-mcp --project /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PROJECT`
- Local: `open-edit-mcp --project /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PROJECT`

**Auth:** none

## Capabilities

[local-post](https://mcp.film/capabilities/local-post.md) · `edit-graph` · [transcription](https://mcp.film/capabilities/transcription.md) · [ffmpeg](https://mcp.film/capabilities/ffmpeg.md) · `proxy-render` · [quality-check](https://mcp.film/capabilities/quality-check.md) · [motion-graphics](https://mcp.film/capabilities/motion-graphics.md)

## Sample tools

`query_project` · `edit_project` · `run_script` · `trigger_render` · `get_render_job` · `cancel_render_job`

## Field notes

Two steps come before the connect command: `pip install "open-edit[mcp]"`, then `open_edit init <project-dir>` — the server refuses to start against a directory it has not initialised. The README's plain `pip install open-edit` is wrong for MCP use, because the `mcp` dependency sits in an optional extra that install skips. MIT, 46 stars, PyPI `open-edit` 1.3.1 (12 Aug 2026), repo pushed 21 Aug 2026, Python >=3.11. Six tools, not 28 — the 28 is the count of IR edit operations reachable through `edit_project`. Pinning to one project is a deliberate blast-radius limit, but it also means one registered server per cut. `run_script` executes free-form Python against the IR; it is bwrap-sandboxed on Linux and explicitly `dev`-only on Windows, so do not expose it on a Windows box you care about. Rendering needs melt (MLT) and ffmpeg on the system, and the badges claim macOS while the repo description and installers only commit to Linux and Windows — treat macOS as untested. Transcription is a separate `whisper` extra and the review UI a `serve` extra. The base package pulls in the `anthropic` SDK whether or not you use its optional built-in generation. Self-described experimental prototype with behaviour that changes between releases, a single maintainer, and legacy Remotion templates that may need a Remotion company licence; the actively maintained alternative in this space is Kinocut.

## Verification

- Status: Freshly checked (checked today)
- Added: 2026-09-04
- Last verified: 2026-09-04
- Machine JSON: https://mcp.film/api/mcps/open-edit.json

## Links

- Docs: https://ah64-dll.github.io/OpenEdit/?utm_source=mcp.film&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=directory&utm_content=open-edit%3Adocs
- Repo: https://github.com/AH64-dll/OpenEdit

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Structured data: https://mcp.film/api/mcps/open-edit.json · Directory: https://mcp.film