VidSeeds MCP efficiency

Read this before multi-step or charge-bearing workflows.

Orient first (free)

New to this server, or unsure which tool does the job? Call vidseeds_guide - it returns the capability map, the recommended tool chain for a stated goal, and what VidSeeds does not do. It is free and quota-exempt, so it never costs seeds or a call-bucket token. The server's initialize instructions and the vidseeds://guide resource carry the same orientation; workflow prompts (e.g. optimize-youtube-video, make-thumbnail) hand you the ready-made tool chain. Reach for these before concluding a capability is missing. Parameter-level field docs are intentionally omitted from tools/list JSON schemas to save context - use vidseeds_guide (with a goal) or read vidseeds://guide when you need argument semantics beyond types/enums.

Two cost layers

1. Per-tool seeds - Some tools spend seeds (thumbnails, intelligence, translation, etc.). Read-only tools are free. Charge-bearing tools state their seed cost in the first sentence of their compressed tools/list description; when it is not there, call vidseeds_guide with the tool name for the confirmed cost. Confirm with the user before charge-bearing calls. (2026-06: use fields: ["description","tags"] on regenerate for light/correct-price partials; thumbnail edits cost more than generation when using input reference image.)
2. Daily MCP call quota - Almost every tool call counts toward a plan bucket (continuous refill, not midnight reset). When the bucket is empty, each extra call costs 1 seed on top of any per-tool cost.

Plan	Refill / day	Bucket cap
Sprout	1,000	2,000
Growth	3,000	6,000
Harvest	8,000	16,000
Agency	20,000	40,000
Trial	1,000	1,000

Free and quota-exempt: vidseeds_get_seed_balance, vidseeds_get_seed_balance_and_subscription, vidseeds_guide.

Before expensive work

1. vidseeds_get_seed_balance - seeds, remaining included MCP calls, overage rate (free).
2. Tell the user expected per-tool seed cost (from the tool's compressed description, or vidseeds_guide when the description omits it).
3. Prefer async + poll for long jobs instead of hammering sync tools that may time out at the edge.

Promo campaign note: vidseeds_generate_promo_campaign_pack is seed-charged on successful AI generation; conversion to drafts with vidseeds_create_social_posts_from_campaign_pack is not the billable AI step.

Async job pattern

Many writes return immediately with jobId (and often pollTool or a named poll tool in the response):

1. Call the async or generate tool → capture jobId and expectedCostSeeds if present.
2. Poll the indicated tool every ~3s until completed or failed.
3. On failed, surface the error once; do not retry in a tight loop.

Examples:

Start	Poll
vidseeds_generate_thumbnail	vidseeds_get_thumbnail_job
vidseeds_regenerate_project_metadata_async	vidseeds_get_regenerate_project_metadata_job
vidseeds_create_project_metadata_async	vidseeds_get_create_project_metadata_job
vidseeds_optimize_marketing_metadata_async	vidseeds_get_optimize_marketing_metadata_job

Thumbnail generation is typically 70–100s. Project metadata regeneration can be 60–130s - prefer async variants for production.

Errors - do not spin

Code / message	Action
AUTH_REQUIRED / 401	PAT missing - see vidseeds-setup
SUBSCRIPTION_REQUIRED / 402	Trial ended - user must subscribe
MCP_QUOTA_EXCEEDED	Stop retrying; show top-up link from error; wait for bucket refill or add seeds
Insufficient seeds	vidseeds_get_seed_balance; user tops up at https://vidseeds.ai/seeds

Minimize round-trips

• Use vidseeds_get_project_snapshot when you need project + platform rows in one call instead of many get_project loops.
• For connections, vidseeds_list_platform_connections before per-id fetches unless you already have connectionId.
• Batch discovery: vidseeds_get_bulk_video_metadata when comparing many videos.
• Reuse the same requestId / idempotency keys on retries the tool docs allow - avoids double billing.

When tools/list is enough

tools/list descriptions are compressed (first sentence + safety signals: seed cost, destructive warnings, async polling); parameter shapes and full argument semantics live in vidseeds_guide / vidseeds://guide. Skills teach composition; do not duplicate the full catalog here.