Kdenlive WebSocket Fork

This is a fork of Kdenlive that adds a JSON-RPC 2.0 WebSocket API for automation. The goal is to enable AI-powered and script-based video editing workflows via an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server.

MCP in Action

WebSocket RPC API

This fork exposes 86 methods across 9 handlers for programmatic control of Kdenlive:

Namespace	Methods	Purpose
rpc.*	5	Connection, discovery, events
project.*	7	Project lifecycle, undo/redo
timeline.*	17	Clip manipulation, tracks, playhead
bin.*	14	Media import, organization
effect.*	14	Effects, keyframes
asset.*	9	Effect discovery, presets
render.*	10	Render jobs, monitoring
transition.*	5	Same-track transitions
composition.*	5	Cross-track compositions

Quick Start

import asyncio
import websockets
import json

async def main():
    async with websockets.connect("ws://localhost:9876") as ws:
        await ws.send(json.dumps({
            "jsonrpc": "2.0",
            "method": "rpc.ping",
            "id": 1
        }))
        print(await ws.recv())  # {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"pong":true},"id":1}

asyncio.run(main())

Documentation

• API Reference: dev-docs/rpc/api.md
• Schema (Source of Truth): src/rpc/rpc-schema.json5
• Implementation Status: TODO.md
• Python Client & MCP Server: IO-AtelierTech/kdenlive-automation

Configuration

RPC settings in Kdenlive: Settings > Configure Kdenlive > RPC

Setting	Default	Description
rpcEnabled	true	Enable/disable server
rpcPort	9876	WebSocket port
rpcAuthToken	(empty)	Optional auth token

Compile-time disable: cmake -DENABLE_RPC=OFF ..

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Kdenlive

Kdenlive is a powerful, free and open-source video editor that brings professional-grade video editing capabilities to everyone. Whether you're creating a simple family video or working on a complex project, Kdenlive provides the tools you need to bring your vision to life.

For more information about Kdenlive's features, tutorials, and community, please visit our official website.

There you can also find downloads for both stable releases and experimental daily builds for Kdenlive.

Contributing to Kdenlive

Kdenlive is a community-driven project, and we welcome contributions from everyone! There are many ways to contribute beyond coding:

• Help translate Kdenlive into your language
• Report and triage bugs
• Write documentation
• Create tutorials
• Help other users on forums and bug trackers

Visit kdenlive.org to learn more about non-code contributions.

Developer Information

Technology Stack

Kdenlive is written in C++ and is using these technologies and frameworks:

• Core Framework: MLT for video editing functionality
• GUI Framework: Qt and KDE Frameworks 6
• Additional Libraries: frei0r (video effects), LADSPA (audio effects)

Getting Started

1. Check out our build instructions to set up your development environment
2. Familiarize yourself with the architecture and coding guidelines
3. If the MLT library is new to you check out MLT Introduction
4. Join our Matrix channel #kdenlive-dev:kde.org for developer discussions and support

Contributing Code

Kdenlive's primary development happens on KDE Invent. While we maintain a GitHub mirror, all code contributions should be submitted through KDE's GitLab instance. For more information about KDE's development infrastructure, visit the KDE GitLab documentation.

Finding Things to Work On

• Browse open issues on KDE Invent
• Check the KDE Bug Tracker for reported issues
• Look for issues tagged with "good first issue" or "help wanted"

Need help getting started? Join our Matrix channel #kdenlive-dev:kde.org - our community is friendly and always ready to help new contributors!