Kinocut

Use Kinocut when an agent needs a structured video-editing surface instead of hand-writing FFmpeg commands. It exposes MCP tools, a Python client, and a CLI for editing, analysis, subtitles, audio, Hyperframes, layered compositing, and local repurposing workflows.

Default path (do this first)

1. kino doctor then kino --format json info <file>.
2. Plan with video_intent (optional goal= compiles a cutfile; a 360/desk/table/x4 goal also proposes a 360_assembly_plan) — do not list 200 tools.
3. Render (video_cutfile_render, video_edit, workflow, or a single engine tool). For 360: video_review_decide approve/reject on that plan, then render — never render a proposed plan. .insv is rejected; need a stitched 360 MP4. Guide: docs/360_ASSEMBLY.md.
4. video-quality-check / assert_quality. Sync repurpose and shorts-package fail-closed at score 80 unless skipped/allow_fail.
5. Human visual/audio review. Never treat a receipt as published.

Depth (rescue, salvage, composite, Hyperframes, thin sound S12): docs/TOOLS.md, docs/RESCUE.md, docs/WORKFLOWS.md. Workflow allowlist: probe, trim, resize, convert, crop, add_text, merge, composite_layers, burn_in.

Revideo local code-video flow (development tip)

Use revideo_materialize, revideo_install, and revideo_render when the caller needs an inspectable staged project. Use revideo_render_job for the same guarded steps in one call. A supplied scene is trusted executable TypeScript: inspect it before use and never run untrusted scene code. Dependency installation may access npm; rendering runs locally against Kinocut's pinned template. The render receipt binds observed media and output bytes to the exact bounded on-disk job-file digest. .mp4, .webm, and .mov select pinned MP4, WebM, and ProRes 4444 exporter modes and are verified before publication. Verify the receipt against the output bytes, run video_quality_check and video_release_checkpoint, then require human visual review.

Start Here

• Read ../../README.md for install and the safety contract.
• Run kino doctor before FFmpeg / Hyperframes / AI extras.

Choose A Surface

• MCP: best for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex-style clients, and other agent hosts. Configure uvx --from kinocut kino.
• CLI: best for direct local edits, quick diagnostics, composite-layers --dry-run, batch jobs, and CI-friendly JSON output.
• Python client: best for repeatable pipelines that need structured results, output paths, and saved layer-plan receipts.

360 dual-cam assembly (published 1.14.0)

Use when the source is a stitched equirect 360 MP4 from any camera (Insta360, Ricoh Theta, GoPro MAX, DJI Osmo 360, …) and the ask is two virtual cameras as split / switch / PiP / single.

1. video_intent(verb="reformat_vertical", goal="desk 360 split 9:16", source=ABS_PATH) or Client.propose_360_assembly(...).
2. Show cameras, layout, and storyboard stills. Do not invent yaw/pitch.
3. video_review_decide / Client.decide_360_assembly with approve or reject.
4. Render only an approved plan (Client.render_360_assembly or video_review_decide + output_path).

There is no video_360_* MCP tool and no kino 360 command. CLI intent and review-decide do not run this compiler. Director plugs (Ollama first; cloud only with allow_cloud) may propose JSON; they never write pixels. In pip 1.14.0.

Product / object matte (published in 1.15.1; current in 1.15.2)

The optional object-matte extra is available in published 1.15.2. Use the existing hyperframes-remove-background / hyperframes_remove_background command. Default model is people. For catalog SKUs, jewelry, bottles, shoes, packaging, or anything that is not a person:

1. hyperframes_remove_background(info=true) — lists models, no download.
2. pip install "kinocut[object-matte]" then model="birefnet-general".
3. Optional --mask-interval 3 on product video. Optional equipment overlay for leftover turntable/stand/tripod/sweep.
4. Composite onto a shop plate with composite-layers. Keep every src inside the spec directory.

Do not invent video_product_matte or a 197th tool. Do not fall back to the people model when the object extra is missing. Guide: docs/PRODUCT_MATTE.md. Example: examples/product-matte/.

Dedicated Video Rescue

Use video_rescue_*, rescue-*, or Client.rescue_* when the request is to fix one local clip while preserving its source, story, and timeline.

Required sequence:

1. Call plan and save the plan artifact.
2. Present safe_repairs, recommendations, unavailable_repairs, blocked_repairs, previews, package intents, capabilities, and estimate to the user.
3. Inspect the plan before render. Obtain or infer explicit approval only for IDs in safe_repairs; omitting the ID list means all safe IDs in the reviewed plan.
4. Call render with exactly those approved safe IDs.
5. Inspect the render receipt, then report package paths, unavailable sidecars, integrity, gating verification, privacy, resume, and cleanup state.

Never render directly from an unreviewed plan. Never add recommendation IDs, unavailable IDs, or blocked IDs to approval. Never use cloud tools, burn rescue captions, rewrite the source, or treat unavailable as automatic failure. A cancellation or verification failure must remain unpromoted or quarantined.

Deterministic AI-video Inspection

Use video_ingest, video_preflight, and video_inspect_temporal (or their flat CLI and Python equivalents) when generated footage needs evidence before an edit decision. Ingest first, then address the asset by its returned hash. Never replace that asset id with a host path or construct an AssetRecord at the public boundary. Temporal inspection returns the full sampled-frame and motion-strip package, deterministic findings, and explicit unavailable provider capabilities. Provider absence is expected and must not trigger a download or a network fallback.

Governed AI-video Review and Salvage

Use video_verdict, video_acceptance_eval, video_body_swap, and video_salvage (or their flat CLI and Python equivalents) for exact-asset editorial decisions and derivative recovery. A non-approved verdict may capture agent analysis, but an approved disposition must bind an active, exact human decision with explicit requirement, role, and artifact evidence. Acceptance evaluation is derived rather than an approval action, and every salvage output starts in a fresh non-approved review slot.

Never invent a decision id, pass an unstored approval, or look for a force/override route. Body swap rejects duration mismatch unless the caller chooses an explicit policy. Salvage requires an existing private project, a stored source asset, a bounded recipe policy, and an exact acceptance-spec id.

Acceptance evaluation takes active stored acceptance_spec_id and verdict_ids, never caller-built evidence objects. Public body swap always takes project_dir first and both source paths must resolve to active assets in that exact project.

Read docs/AI_VIDEO_REVIEW_AND_SALVAGE.md before operating this workflow. Treat every derivative as new non-approved work and keep the explicit human visual/audio gate before publication.

Post-Rescue Planning

Use the matching video_* MCP tool, flat CLI command, or Client method when the request needs semantic retrieval, ordinary cleanup edits, subject-aware transforms, restoration, composition, creative coordination, or remote egress. Pass JSON-compatible evidence and intent; present the returned plan and diff before any separate render step.

Never invent source descriptions, hide uncertainty, infer approval from a plan, or treat a missing local executor as permission to use a cloud provider. Remote work requires a separate egress manifest and approval. A planner that lacks evidence or capability must abstain.

Layered Compositing

Use composite-layers / video_composite_layers when the edit is an ordered stack of image, video, or solid layers, especially lower thirds, picture-in-picture variants, blurback plates, masks/mattes, or platform-specific layout variants.

Prefer this path over raw FFmpeg filtergraphs when an agent needs transforms, opacity, start/duration windows, mask/matte alpha sources, or a receipt that can be reviewed before publishing.

Plan-first flow:

1. Write a JSON spec with canvas, ordered layers, and explicit output.
2. Run kino composite-layers --spec layers.json --dry-run --save-layer-plan layer-plan.json.
3. Inspect the layer plan for source hashes, filtergraph hash, transforms, rotation/pivot, blend modes, timing windows, and masks.
4. Render only after the plan looks right.
5. Run video-quality-check, storyboard or thumbnail, and video_release_checkpoint.

The compositor supports allowlisted full-canvas and positioned blend modes (multiply, screen, overlay, darken, lighten) and rotation with a pivot reference point; the layer_plan receipt is v2. Positioned non-normal blend requires explicit width and height, an integral nonnegative in-canvas position, full opacity, and no scale, rotation/pivot, mask/matte, or timing window. It crops the running base, blends the same-size layer, and overlays the result back. Full-canvas blend remains supported; other blend geometry fails closed with unsupported_blend_geometry. The receipt uses existing per-layer position and transform fields plus additive features.positioned_blend. Output is video-only, and anchor remains a position alias distinct from pivot. Still deferred and fail-closed: other positioned/scaled/masked/timed blend combinations, rotation + mask, per-layer effect routing, audio compositing, and full NLE adapters. Do not use composite-layers as a full NLE replacement.

Agent Workflow Engine

When the edit is a multi-step job (not a single tool call), use the workflow engine to plan, validate, render, recover, and prove it from one JSON job-spec — through video_workflow_* (MCP), workflow-* (CLI), or Client.workflow_* (Python). Ops are a small allowlist (probe | trim | resize | convert | merge | add_text) mapped 1:1 to vetted engines; media references are symbolic (@sources.*, @work/*, @outputs.*) and workspace-confined; everything fails closed. See ../../docs/WORKFLOWS.md.

Plan → validate → render → inspect → resume:

1. workflow-validate --spec job.json — cheap structural gate; renders nothing.
2. workflow-plan --spec job.json --save-plan plan.json — dry-run op graph + source probes/hashes; renders zero media.
3. workflow-render --spec job.json --save-receipt receipt.json — execute sequentially; emit a provenance receipt (per-step hashes, cleanup manifest, determinism caveat). Add --all-variants for batch variants.
4. workflow-inspect --receipt receipt.json — read-only integrity re-check + human-review pointers before trusting a receipt.
5. workflow-render --spec job.json --resume receipt.json — resume a job that failed with intermediates kept (fail-closed on a changed spec).

Receipts store workspace-relative paths only — keep specs and example receipts free of home paths, usernames, and tokens.

Workflow

1. Inspect the input first: kino info <file> or the MCP/Python equivalent.
2. Make a low-risk plan: trim, resize, normalize audio, subtitles, overlays, effects, or Hyperframes render.
3. Prefer previews or dry-run manifests before expensive or destructive exports:
   • preview for quick visual review.
   • repurpose-plan before repurpose.
   • Hyperframes inspect, snapshot, or still before full render.
   • For saved shorts plans: shorts-plan-show → shorts-review → shorts-render → shorts-package.
   • For thin sound: sound-capabilities then sound-plan-validate / sound-voice-batch / sound-mix-render / sound-qa-loudness / sound-qa-asr (or kino sound <action>).
   • Supply numeric values for sound durations, gains, loudness and profile versions; booleans are rejected before coercion. Explicit invalid plans cannot select the example plan. Typed plans are revalidated; see docs/SOUND_INPUT_VALIDATION.md for field-specific compatibility rules.
   • Real ASR uses a hashed audio/reference request and explicit root; retain its transcript ZIP and report mismatches honestly. Cached local Whisper only; no automatic downloads. Legacy hash-only calls are simulations. See docs/SOUND_ASR_REQUESTS.md.
   • For real mono/stereo PCM16 loudness QA, supply SoundLoudnessRequest plus project root and inspect within_tolerance; successful measurement can be noncompliant. FFmpeg is required, and the no-input fixture is labelled as a demo. See docs/SOUND_LOUDNESS_REQUESTS.md.
   • For retained mono/stereo mastering, supply SoundMasterRequest and explicit root to sound-master-render; see docs/SOUND_MASTER_REQUESTS.md. Inspect the verified ZIP, actual normalization mode and measured final policy compliance, then listen before release. Input channels are preserved; existing output is never replaced.
   • For actual local EN/ES caption speech, supply a hashed SoundDubRequest and explicit project root to sound-voice-batch; see docs/SOUND_DUB_REQUESTS.md. V2 adds explicit close_mic_dry or off_screen_distance profiles (docs/SOUND_SPEECH_SPATIAL.md); inspect processed cue hashes and use the retained mix manifest. This optional eSpeak NG path does not translate, clone voices or apply mastering; legacy plan mode remains a labelled synthetic demo.
   • For supplied-media mixing, pass a persisted request plus explicit project root to sound_mix_render, or use sound-mix-render --request-json request.json --project-root .. Verify the ZIP receipt and decoded media; assembly is not loudness mastering or human listening acceptance. See docs/SOUND_MIX_REQUESTS.md for format, filesystem, cancellation and resource limits.
   • For track/bus gain, pan and mute/solo, use version2 with explicit cue-track bindings; see docs/SOUND_ROUTING_REQUESTS.md. V2/V3 support envelopes, sends and final bus sidechains (docs/SOUND_AUTOMATION_REQUESTS.md, docs/SOUND_SEND_REQUESTS.md, docs/SOUND_SIDECHAIN_REQUESTS.md). Inspect graph hashes, independent source-window evidence and the separate measured sidechain summaries. Send cycles and unsupported parameters/effects are rejected.
   • For supplied ambient layers, use version3 with ordered layer/source bindings and explicit pad or crossfaded loop fill; see docs/SOUND_LAYER_REQUESTS.md. Layer ducking uses a pre-send/fader detector; final bus sidechains use fixed post-send/fader detectors. Inspect both completed releases and truncated recovery, with each effect's hash and measured summary. Bed ducking affects only the separate bed. Scene schedules remain unsupported. Listen to seams and gain recovery before acceptance.
   • For mixed source rates, use version4 with required source_resampling.profile: soxr_vhq_pcm16_guarded_v1; see docs/SOUND_RATE_CONVERSION.md. It normalizes clips, bed and layers before trimming/routing and preserves original source identities. Same-rate copies need no backend; rate changes require FFmpeg/libsoxr with no fallback. Verify conversion hashes and all source-window evidence. Channel conversion, other sample formats and dither remain unsupported.
   • Cue in/out points select source samples before placement and crossfades; post-roll must remain inside that selection. Verify source_windows in the receipt. A ducked bed adds to existing ambience clips.
4. Produce release artifacts before publishing:
   • video-quality-check
   • storyboard or thumbnail
   • video_release_checkpoint through MCP or Client.release_checkpoint() through Python
5. Ask for human visual/audio review before treating generated media as final. Stream-shorts packages still require a separate listening gate (G004); automation does not close it. Do not claim full-episode sound completion from the thin S12 public join alone.

CLI Examples

kino doctor
kino --format json info interview.mp4
kino trim interview.mp4 -s 00:02:15 -d 45
kino video-ai-transcribe clip.mp4 --output captions.srt
kino subtitles clip.mp4 captions.srt
# subtitles accept .srt, .vtt, or authored .ass; SRT/VTT render dimension-aware.
# Add --style "FontSize=24,PrimaryColour=&H00FFFFFF&" to override force_style;
# omit --style to preserve an authored .ass file's PlayRes, styles, and positions.
kino resize clip.mp4 --aspect-ratio 9:16
kino composite-layers --spec layers.json --dry-run --save-layer-plan layer-plan.json
kino composite-layers --spec layers.json -o composite.mp4 --save-layer-plan layer-plan.json
kino video-quality-check clip.mp4
kino repurpose-plan clip.mp4 --platforms youtube-shorts instagram-reel tiktok
kino repurpose clip.mp4 --platforms youtube-shorts instagram-reel tiktok
# Saved-plan stream shorts (after a plan exists under PLAN_DIR):
kino shorts-plan-show PLAN_DIR --format json
kino shorts-review PLAN_DIR --candidate-id candidate_01 --decision approve
kino shorts-render PLAN_DIR --candidate-id candidate_01
kino shorts-package PLAN_DIR --candidate-id candidate_01
# Thin sound public join (local-first; not full-episode completion):
kino --format json sound-capabilities
kino --format json sound plan-validate
kino --format json sound-voice-batch
kino --format json sound-qa-loudness

Python Example

from kinocut import Client

video = Client()
plan = video.composite_layers(
    "layers.json",
    output="composite.mp4",
    save_layer_plan="layer-plan.json",
    dry_run=True,
)

MCP Setup

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kinocut": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "kinocut", "kino"]
    }
  }
}

Guardrails

• Do not publish or hand off media without a quality check and human review.
• Prefer structured Kinocut tools over raw FFmpeg shell commands; use composite-layers/video_composite_layers for ordered layer stacks instead of hand-written filtergraphs.
• Keep output paths explicit so generated media is easy to inspect.
• For Hyperframes, verify project structure and rendered snapshots before full video export.