@crabcut/mcp-server

@crabcut/mcp-server

Turn YouTube videos into short clips -- from Claude, Cursor, or any AI assistant that supports MCP.

You give it a YouTube link. It finds the best moments, reframes them for vertical video (9:16), adds subtitles, and gives you download links. All from a chat or automation workflow.

Quick Start

• Get an API key at app.crabcut.ai/developers
• Run:

CRABCUT_API_KEY=sk_live_... npx @crabcut/mcp-server

That's it. The server connects via stdio and works with any MCP client.

Setup

Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crabcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@crabcut/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CRABCUT_API_KEY": "sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crabcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@crabcut/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CRABCUT_API_KEY": "sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Smithery

npx @smithery/cli mcp add crabcut/crabcut-mcp-server

Remote (Streamable HTTP)

For n8n, custom integrations, or any client that supports remote MCP:

• Endpoint: https://mcp.crabcut.ai/mcp
• Auth: Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...
• Transport: Streamable HTTP (POST)

Tools

Tool	What it does
generate_clips	Start clip generation from a YouTube URL. Returns a project_id right away.
get_project_status	Check progress and get clips when ready. Clips are sorted by score (best first).
list_projects	List your projects with status and clip counts.
get_clip	Get full details for a single clip.
check_usage	See your plan, remaining credits, and usage.

How It Works

Clip generation takes a few minutes. Here is the flow:

• Call generate_clips with a YouTube URL
• You get back a project_id immediately
• Wait for results using one of two methods (see below)
• When done, you get an array of clips sorted by score (best first), each with a download_url

Method 1: Poll for status

Call get_project_status every 10-15 seconds until status is "completed".

Each clip in the response has a clip_status:

clip_status	Meaning
pending	Clip is generated, export not started yet
exporting	Video is being rendered
completed	Ready -- download_url is included
failed	Export failed

Method 2: Callback webhook

Pass a callback_url when calling generate_clips. We will POST to that URL when all clips are done.

{
  "event": "project.completed",
  "project_id": "abc-123",
  "status": "completed",
  "source_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "clips": [
    {
      "id": "clip-1",
      "title": "The Best Moment",
      "duration": 42.5,
      "score": 8.7,
      "download_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://cdn.crabcut.ai/...",
      "quality": "1080p"
    }
  ]
}

Clips are sorted by score (highest first). The first clip in the array is the best one.

We retry the webhook up to 3 times if your server doesn't respond.

Verifying webhooks (optional): Each callback includes an X-Crabcut-Signature header. To verify it came from Crabcut:

• Compute SHA-256 of your API key to get your signing key
• Compute HMAC-SHA256 of the request body using that signing key
• Compare with the header value (format: sha256=<hex>)

This step is optional. If you skip it, everything still works.

Using with n8n

There are two ways to set this up in n8n:

Option A -- Webhook (recommended):

• Add a Webhook node to your workflow. Copy its URL.
• Use an HTTP Request node to call POST /api/v1/clips/generate with your YouTube URL and callback_url set to the Webhook node URL.
• When clips are done, the Webhook node receives the payload and your workflow continues.

Option B -- Polling loop:

• Call POST /api/v1/clips/generate to start processing.
• Add a Wait node (15 seconds).
• Call GET /api/v1/projects/:id to check status.
• Add an IF node: if status is not "completed", loop back to Wait.
• When complete, the response includes all clips with download URLs.

Tip: The clips array is sorted by score. In n8n, use {{ $json.clips[0].download_url }} to get the best clip.

Billing

Each minute of video costs credits. Check your balance with check_usage. Get credits at crabcut.ai/pricing.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default
CRABCUT_API_KEY	Yes	--
CRABCUT_API_URL	No	https://api.crabcut.ai

Links

• Website: crabcut.ai
• Get your API key: app.crabcut.ai/developers
• REST API base: https://api.crabcut.ai/api/v1

License

MIT