Is there an MCP server for video transcoding?

Yes — Transcodely runs a hosted one at https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp. Its tools submit real transcoding jobs, ingest and host videos, generate captions, and read back status, renditions, and monthly cost. It speaks MCP over streamable HTTP, so any client that supports remote MCP servers can use it without installing anything.

Which MCP clients work with it?

Anything that speaks remote MCP over streamable HTTP. We test claude.ai (including the Claude desktop and mobile apps), Claude Code, and Cursor. The server is a standard MCP endpoint — it has no client-specific behavior, so other clients that support remote servers work the same way.

How do I connect Claude Code to the Transcodely MCP server?

Run claude mcp add --transport http transcodely https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp, then run /mcp inside Claude Code and pick Authenticate — your browser opens, you approve, and the tools are live.

Do I need an API key?

Not for the browser flow — you authorize the connection once and your client handles the rest. API keys are still the right choice for headless use: a CI job or a server-side agent with no browser attaches a Transcodely API key as a bearer token instead. Both paths are documented in the connect guide.

Can the agent delete my videos or cancel my jobs?

No — there is no delete, cancel, or remove tool on this surface, and nothing can stop work already queued or running. Most tools only read; the rest create something — a transcoding job, a hosted video, a caption track, or an encoding preset — and only the ones that start an encode or a caption job bill you. Saving or changing a preset and setting a spend limit are free, and a changed setting only reaches work created after the change.

What does it cost to use?

The MCP server itself costs nothing. You pay the ordinary Transcodely rates for the work an agent starts — transcoding from €0.005 per output minute, hosting at €0.020/GB per month storage and €0.010/GB egress. Read-only tools are free to call.

Is the transcoding AI-powered?

No — encoding is deterministic ffmpeg work, the same pipeline the REST API drives. The one genuinely AI feature on this surface is generate_captions, which transcribes speech into a WebVTT subtitle track.

How do I cut off access?

Three ways, depending on what you need. Remove the connector in the client and that client stops calling tools. For a harder cut — someone leaving, or a connection you want gone rather than tidied up — an organization admin removes the member: membership is re-checked on every tool call, so access ends at their next request. On the headless path, revoke the API key and it stops working immediately. One caveat worth stating: an access token already issued stays valid until it expires, roughly ten minutes at worst, though no new one can be minted.

MCP Server

A video pipeline your agent can use — and cannot break

Submit encodes, host videos, add captions and read back status and cost from Claude, Claude Code or Cursor. No delete, no cancel, no keys.

Create free account Read the guide

No card needed · 30-second test encodes free · pay per output minute after

server · https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp

How do I connect Claude to video transcoding?

Three steps, and the only thing you type is a URL. The usual MCP setup — install a package, run it locally, paste an API key into a config file — is exactly what this isn’t.

01
Point your client at the server

One URL. There is no package to install, no gateway to run, and no local process to keep alive — the server is hosted and speaks MCP (Model Context Protocol) over streamable HTTP.
02
Authorize

Your client opens a browser window; you approve; it closes. No API key is created, copied, or pasted into a config file. If you do not have a Transcodely account yet, you can make one right there.
03
Ask for a video

The tools show up in your client. Describe what you want in plain language and the agent picks the tool, runs it against your app, and reports back.

1 Open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
2 Paste the server URL: https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp
3 Click Connect and approve the authorize screen.

https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp

The same connector works in the Claude desktop and mobile apps.

1 Register the server from your terminal.
2 Run /mcp inside Claude Code and pick Authenticate.
3 Approve the authorize screen in your browser.

claude mcp add --transport http transcodely https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp

1 Click the install button — Cursor opens with the server prefilled.
2 Confirm the install.
3 Approve the authorize screen the first time a tool runs.

Add to Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "transcodely": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.transcodely.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

Running headless, in CI, or on a server with no browser? Attach a Transcodely API key as a bearer token instead — the connect guide covers both paths.

See an exchange

The protocol log behind “transcode and host this video”: what the agent sends, and what comes back.

MCP exchange streamable HTTP

create_video_from_url tools/call

{
  "url": "https://www.transcodely.com/videos/bbb-30s.mp4",
  "title": "Big Buck Bunny (30s)"
}

create_video_from_url

{
  "id": "vid_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7",
  "object": "video",
  "status": "processing",
  "visibility": "unlisted",
  "renditions": []
}

Tool call get_video tools/call
```
{ "id": "vid_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7" }
```

get_video

{
  "id": "vid_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7",
  "object": "video",
  "status": "ready",
  "visibility": "unlisted",
  "duration_seconds": 30.0,
  "renditions": [
    { "resolution": "1080p", "codec": "h264" },
    { "resolution": "720p",  "codec": "h264" },
    { "resolution": "480p",  "codec": "h264" }
  ],
  "playback": {
    "player_url": "https://play.transcodely.com/v/vid_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7",
    "hls_url": "https://….b-cdn.net/…/hls/master.m3u8",
    "expires_at": "2026-08-18T18:00:00Z"
  }
}

Tool names and argument keys are exactly what the protocol carries. Results are abridged and ids are examples; get_video is polled until the video is ready.

What can an agent actually do?

Exactly 15 things. 9 of them only read. 4 create something, and 3 of those bill you. Two — set_spend_limit and update_preset — replace a setting, free of charge, and reach only the work you create afterwards.

Tool	What it does	Effect
create_job	Transcode a source from gs://, s3://, or https:// into one or more renditions, written to a storage origin you own.	creates · billable
create_preset	Save a named bundle of encoding settings that later jobs can call up by slug. Jobs that already exist are untouched.	creates · free
create_video_from_url	Ingest a publicly reachable https:// video and host it — adaptive ladder, CDN, player. Private and internal addresses are rejected.	creates · billable
generate_captions	Transcribe a hosted video into a WebVTT subtitle track. Idempotent per video and language, so a retry never bills twice.	creates · billable
get_ingest_rule	One ingest rule in full: the origin it watches, its filters, and how many events and jobs it has produced.	read-only
get_job_status	A compact progress snapshot for one job — overall status, per-output status, and any error code. Built for polling.	read-only
get_output_report	What the encoder actually produced, measured from the written file: codec, profile, pixel format, colour, every audio stream — and each property that differs from what you asked for.	read-only
get_usage	Encoding minutes, average storage, egress, and cost in EUR for a billing month, with a per-day breakdown.	read-only
get_video	Read a hosted video: status, duration, every encoded rendition, and — once it is ready — the link to play it.	read-only
list_ingest_events	What became of every delivery your rules received — matched, created, skipped or failed, and the reason. The answer to "I uploaded a file and no job appeared".	read-only
list_ingest_rules	The standing rules that turn an object landing in your bucket into a job, and whether each one is enabled. No secret material is returned.	read-only
list_jobs	Recent jobs newest first, optionally filtered by status, with cursor paging up to 100 rows per page.	read-only
list_presets	Every preset this app can use — the ones we ship and your own — with full settings and an estimated cost per source minute.	read-only
set_spend_limit	Set or clear this app's monthly EUR cap. Owners and admins only, signed in through the browser — an API key cannot move it.	replaces a setting
update_preset	Change a custom preset's settings. Queued and running jobs are unaffected: a job resolves its preset when it is created.	replaces a setting

What keeps it safe?

Every call is scoped to one app: A tool call resolves to a single Transcodely app and sees only that app’s jobs and videos. Point separate connections at separate apps — a per-app URL each — to keep environments apart.
Every call is audited: Each tool call writes an audit row with the tool name and scrubbed arguments — the same audit trail your REST calls land in.

What it can’t do

A short surface is the point. Here is where it ends.

Nothing on this surface deletes or cancels

There is no delete, cancel, or remove tool. An agent connected to Transcodely can create new work and read what exists — it cannot remove a video or kill a running job. Two — set_spend_limit and update_preset — replace a setting, and only work created after the change sees it.
No file uploads over MCP

create_video_from_url fetches a publicly reachable http(s) URL; private and internal addresses are rejected. To push bytes from your machine, use the dashboard or the upload API.
No admin, billing, or team surface

Keys, members, plans, invoices, and origins are not exposed. get_usage reports what a month cost; it cannot change what anything costs.
The encoder is not a model

Transcoding is deterministic ffmpeg work — the same pipeline, the same output, whether an agent or a cron job starts it. generate_captions is the one genuinely AI feature here: speech transcribed into a WebVTT track.

Frequently asked questions

Give your agent a video pipeline

Free to connect. You pay only for the encoding and hosting your agent actually starts — the same rates as the API.

Create free account Connect guide