cli-anything-shotcut

A stateful command-line interface for video editing, built on the MLT XML format. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to create and edit Shotcut projects without a GUI.

Installation

This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-shotcut package:

pip install cli-anything-shotcut

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.10+
• melt (MLT CLI) — required for rendering and playback
• ffmpeg / ffprobe — required for media probing
• shotcut must be installed on your system

Usage

Basic Commands

# Show help
cli-anything-shotcut --help

# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-shotcut

# Create a new project
cli-anything-shotcut project new -o project.json

# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-shotcut --json project info -p project.json

REPL Mode

When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session with undo/redo support:

cli-anything-shotcut
# or with a project:
cli-anything-shotcut --project my_project.mlt

REPL Commands

Workflow: Always media import first to get a clip_id, then use add-clip to place it on the timeline.

Project & Session:

• new [profile] — Create new project (default: hd1080p30)
• open <path> — Open .mlt file
• save [path] — Save project
• info — Show project info
• xml — Print raw MLT XML
• status — Show session status
• undo / redo — Navigate operation history

Media (two-step model):

• media import <file> [--caption name] — Import file into project bin, returns clip_id (e.g., clip0)
• media — List all imported media
• probe <file> — Analyze a media file

Timeline:

• add-track <video|audio> [name] — Add a track
• tracks — List all tracks
• show — Visual timeline overview
• add-clip <clip_id> <track> [in] [out] [--at time] — Place imported clip on track
• clips <track> — List clips on a track
• remove-clip <track> <clip> — Remove a clip
• trim <track> <clip> [--in tc] [--out tc] — Trim clip
• split <track> <clip> <at> — Split clip at timecode

Filters:

• list-filters [video|audio] — Browse available filters
• filter-info <name> — Show filter details
• add-filter <name> [--track n] [--clip n] [key=val ...] — Add filter to clip, track, or global
• filters [--track n] [--clip n] — List active filters
• remove-filter <idx> [--track n] [--clip n] — Remove filter by index
• set-filter <idx> <param> <value> [--track n] [--clip n] — Set filter parameter
• volume-envelope [--track n] [--clip n] TIME=LEVEL ... — Keyframed volume (e.g., 00:00:00.000=1.0 00:00:03.000=0.35)
• duck [--track n] [--clip n] START..END ... — Ducking envelope (e.g., 00:00:06.000..00:00:09.000)

Export:

• presets — List export presets
• render <output> [--preset name] — Render to video file

Command Groups

Project

Project management: new, open, save, info.

Timeline

Timeline operations: tracks, clips, trimming.

Filter Group

Filter operations: add, remove, configure effects.

Media

Media operations: probe, list, check files.

Export

Export/render operations.

Transition Group

Transition operations: dissolve, wipe, and other transitions.

Composite Group

Compositing: blend modes, PIP, opacity.

Session

Session management: status, undo, redo.

Preview

Preview bundles and live preview sessions for iterative editing review.

Typical quick bundle contents:

• preview.mp4
• several sampled frames
• midpoint hero.png
• summary.json with project facts

Poll mode is supported:

cli-anything-shotcut --json --project edit.mlt preview live start --recipe quick --mode poll --source-poll-ms 500

preview live status --json includes session refs and a compact trajectory_summary so agents can cheaply understand the latest few publishes.

Viewer commands:

cli-hub previews inspect /path/to/bundle-or-session
cli-hub previews html /path/to/bundle-or-session -o page.html
cli-hub previews watch /path/to/session --open
cli-hub previews open /path/to/bundle-or-session

Examples

Create a New Project

Create a new shotcut project file.

cli-anything-shotcut project new -o myproject.json
# Or with JSON output for programmatic use
cli-anything-shotcut --json project new -o myproject.json

Interactive REPL Session

Start an interactive session with undo/redo support.

cli-anything-shotcut
# Enter commands interactively
# Use 'help' to see available commands
# Use 'undo' and 'redo' for history navigation

Export Project

Export the project to a final output format.

cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.json export render output.mp4 --overwrite

Deterministic Timeline Reconstruction

For rebuilds, prefer absolute placement over append-only clip insertion:

cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt media import intro.mp4
cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt timeline add-clip clip0 \
  --track 1 --in 00:00:00.000 --out 00:00:04.000 --at 00:00:00.000

cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt media import broll.mp4
cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt timeline add-clip clip1 \
  --track 1 --in 00:00:10.000 --out 00:00:16.000 --at 00:00:08.000

• --at inserts blanks automatically when the target time lands in empty space.
• The CLI rejects overlap with an existing clip.
• Prefer explicit --in and --out values so later absolute placement remains unambiguous.

Audio Automation

cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt filter volume-envelope \
  --track 2 \
  --point 00:00:00.000=1.0 \
  --point 00:00:03.000=0.35 \
  --point 00:00:05.000=1.0

cli-anything-shotcut --project myproject.mlt filter duck \
  --track 2 \
  --window 00:00:06.000..00:00:09.000 \
  --window 00:00:15.000..00:00:18.000 \
  --normal 1.0 --duck 0.25

The CLI maintains session state with:

• Undo/Redo: Up to 50 levels of history
• Project persistence: Save/load project state as JSON
• Session tracking: Track modifications and changes

Output Formats

All commands support dual output modes:

• Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
• Machine-readable (--json flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption

# Human output
cli-anything-shotcut project info -p project.json

# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-shotcut --json project info -p project.json

For AI Agents

When using this CLI programmatically:

1. Always use --json flag for parseable output
2. Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
3. Parse stderr for error messages on failure
4. Use absolute paths for all file operations
5. Verify outputs exist after export operations
6. Prefer timeline add-clip --at when recreating a known edit
7. Review final renders after keyframed volume or ducking changes
8. Use preview capture or preview live ... to validate pacing, cuts, and filter effects visually
9. Read returned artifact paths such as hero.png and preview.mp4; JSON payloads reference files on disk
10. Use preview live status --json before reading the full trajectory.json
11. Use cli-hub previews ... only to inspect/open existing bundles or live sessions

More Information

• Full documentation: See README.md in the package
• Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package
• Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin

Version

1.0.0