🎬 Rough Cuts MCP - Zero-Setup Remotion Video Generation

Professional AI-powered video creation for Claude Desktop with automatic setup and built-in animation guidelines.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (download here)
• Claude Desktop installed

Quick Start (Recommended) - 30 seconds

npx -y @endlessblink/rough-cuts-mcp@latest

Alternative: Global Install

npm install -g @endlessblink/rough-cuts-mcp

Manual Setup (Fallback)

If automatic setup fails, add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rough-cuts-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@endlessblink/rough-cuts-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

🚀 What This Package Does

Completely Automatic

• ✅ Auto-detects Node.js, npm, and system configuration
• ✅ Auto-configures Claude Desktop (no manual JSON editing)
• ✅ Auto-creates Remotion projects when needed
• ✅ Auto-installs all dependencies and requirements
• ✅ Auto-launches Remotion Studio for preview and rendering

Professional Animation Quality

• 🎯 Built-in Guidelines - Professional animation rules loaded automatically
• 🔧 Safe Patterns - Bulletproof interpolation and timing functions
• ⚡ Quick Templates - Professional templates with overlapping scenes
• 🎨 Syntax Repair - Automatically fixes animation code issues
• 📚 Best Practices - Follows industry standards for motion graphics

Cross-Platform Support

• 🖥️ Windows - Full support with enhanced path detection
• 🍎 macOS - Native support with proper app bundle detection
• 🐧 Linux - Complete compatibility with standard distributions

🎯 Usage with Claude

After installation, simply ask Claude:

Example Prompts:

"Create a dynamic product showcase video"
"Make an animated logo intro with smooth transitions"  
"Generate a professional demo video for my SaaS app"
"Build a GitHub repository showcase animation"
"Create a video explaining our company's services"

Automatic Features:

• 🏗️ Project Setup - Creates workspace at ~/Claude-Videos/ automatically
• 📱 Studio Launch - Opens preview at http://localhost:3000
• 🎬 Professional Results - Follows animation best practices automatically
• 🔧 Error Recovery - Fixes syntax and timing issues automatically

🛠️ Available MCP Tools

Core Animation Tools:

• check_environment - Verify system requirements
• setup_remotion_environment - Create new Remotion projects
• create_remotion_component - Generate animation components
• launch_remotion_studio - Start preview server
• list_components - Show available animations

Enhanced Quality Tools:

• get_animation_guidelines - NEW! Built-in professional animation rules
• repair_component - Auto-fix syntax and timing issues
• read_guidelines_file - Access extended documentation

📋 Animation Guidelines (Built-In)

The MCP includes professional animation guidelines that ensure:

✅ Professional Standards:

• Overlapping Scenes - No empty screen time (15-frame overlaps)
• Movement + Fades - Never fade-only transitions
• Quick Timing - 20-frame entries, 15-frame exits
• Proper Sizing - 16px+ text, 44px+ touch targets
• Safe Interpolation - Bounds checking for all animations
• Cubic Easing - Professional easing curves

❌ Banned Patterns Automatically Avoided:

• Empty screen time during transitions
• Fade-only transitions without movement
• Slow timing (>20 frame transitions)
• Small text (<16px) and touch targets (<44px)
• Hard cuts without smooth transitions

🔧 Requirements

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
• npm 8.0.0 or higher
• Claude Desktop (any recent version)
• Platform: Windows, macOS, or Linux

🚨 Troubleshooting

Setup Issues:

# Check Node.js version
node --version  # Should be 18.0.0+

# Restart Claude Desktop after installation
# Close completely and reopen

# Test MCP connection
# Ask Claude: "Check my video creation environment"

Permission Issues:

# Windows: Run as Administrator if needed
# macOS/Linux: Ensure npm global permissions are correct
npm config get prefix  # Check npm global directory

Manual Configuration:

If automatic setup fails, the installer creates rough-cuts-mcp-config.json with manual instructions.

📊 System Compatibility

Tested Platforms:

• ✅ Windows 10/11 (x64, ARM64)
• ✅ macOS 12+ (Intel, Apple Silicon)
• ✅ Ubuntu 20.04+ (x64, ARM64)
• ✅ Debian 11+ (x64, ARM64)
• ✅ CentOS/RHEL 8+ (x64)

Tested Node.js Versions:

• ✅ Node.js 18.x (LTS)
• ✅ Node.js 20.x (LTS)
• ✅ Node.js 22.x (Current)

🎯 Professional Results

Following the built-in guidelines ensures:

• 🏆 No text overlap during transitions
• ⚡ No empty screen time - always engaging
• 📱 Proper sizing - clearly readable on all devices
• 🎭 Smooth motion - professional cinematic feel
• ⚡ Fast performance - transform-only animations
• 🎨 Consistent quality - industry-standard patterns

🆘 Support & Documentation

Getting Help:

• 📖 Built-in Guidelines - Use get_animation_guidelines() in Claude
• 🐛 Issues - Report at GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions - Join GitHub Discussions

Advanced Usage:

• 📁 Custom Projects - Specify project paths: setup_remotion_environment("/custom/path")
• 🎛️ Studio Options - Custom ports: launch_remotion_studio(3001)
• 🔧 Repair Tools - Fix components: repair_component("MyAnimation")

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

🙏 Credits

Built with:

• Remotion - React-based video framework
• Model Context Protocol - AI integration standard
• Claude Desktop - AI assistant platform

🎬 Start creating professional videos with AI assistance in under 60 seconds!

npx -y @endlessblink/rough-cuts-mcp@latest
# Then ask Claude: "Create my first professional video"