cli-anything-shotcut

Apps & Automation

Command-line interface for Shotcut - A stateful command-line interface for video editing, built on the MLT XML format. Designed for AI ag...

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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:

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