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.

Command	Description
new	Create a new blank project
open	Open an existing .mlt project file
save	Save the current project
info	Show detailed project information
profiles	List available video profiles
xml	Print the raw MLT XML of the current project

Timeline

Timeline operations: tracks, clips, trimming.

Command	Description
show	Show the timeline overview
tracks	List all tracks
add-track	Add a new track to the timeline
remove-track	Remove a track by index
add-clip	Add an imported clip to a track by clip_id; supports --at for absolute placement
remove-clip	Remove a clip from a track
move-clip	Move a clip between tracks or positions
trim	Trim a clip's in/out points
split	Split a clip into two at the given timecode
clips	List all clips on a track
add-blank	Add a blank gap to a track
set-name	Set a track's display name
mute	Mute or unmute a track
hide	Hide or unhide a video track

Filter Group

Filter operations: add, remove, configure effects.

Command	Description
list-available	List all available filters
info	Show detailed info about a filter and its parameters
add	Add a filter to a clip, track, or globally
remove	Remove a filter by index
set	Set a parameter on a filter
list	List active filters on a target
volume-envelope	Create or replace a keyframed volume envelope on a track or clip
duck	Build a practical ducking envelope over one or more time windows

Media

Media operations: probe, list, check files.

Command	Description
import	Import a media file into the project bin
probe	Analyze a media file's properties
list	List all media clips in the current project
check	Check all media files for existence
thumbnail	Generate a thumbnail from a video file

Export

Export/render operations.

Command	Description
presets	List available export presets
preset-info	Show details of an export preset
render	Render the project to a video file

Transition Group

Transition operations: dissolve, wipe, and other transitions.

Command	Description
list-available	List all available transition types
info	Show detailed info about a transition type
add	Add a transition between two tracks
remove	Remove a transition by index
set	Set a parameter on a transition
list	List all transitions on the timeline

Composite Group

Compositing: blend modes, PIP, opacity.

Command	Description
blend-modes	List all available blend modes
set-blend	Set the blend mode for a track
get-blend	Get the current blend mode for a track
set-opacity	Set the opacity of a track (0.0-1.0)
pip	Set picture-in-picture position for a clip

Session

Session management: status, undo, redo.

Command	Description
status	Show current session status
undo	Undo the last operation
redo	Redo the last undone operation
save	Save session state to disk
list	List all saved sessions

Preview

Preview bundles and live preview sessions for iterative editing review.

Command	Description
preview recipes	List preview recipes
preview capture	Render a low-res preview bundle
preview latest	Return the latest existing bundle
preview live start	Start a live preview session and publish the first bundle
preview live push	Publish a new bundle into the live session
preview live status	Query current live-session state without rendering
preview live stop	Stop the live session without deleting artifacts

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