MCP and the dreamcut command

DreamCut comes with an MCP server and a dreamcut command, so an AI agent can record your screen, edit the project open in DreamCut and export it. They run the same commands as Sakura in the editor, and every edit is one step you can undo with ⌘Z.

#Before you start

• DreamCut is in your Applications folder, and you've opened it once and signed in with a Pro trial or plan. See Install and permissions.
• DreamCut has Screen Recording access, for the record and screenshot commands. Recording video needs macOS 15 or later.
• The project you want an agent to edit is open in DreamCut's editor, and DreamCut isn't exporting it. Edits work while DreamCut records.
• DreamCut doesn't need to be in front. If it isn't running, the first command opens it in the background.

#Connect an agent over MCP

1. Click the DreamCut icon in the menu bar and choose DreamCut MCP Instructions. It's also in Capture Options, under the gear on the capture bar. The DreamCut MCP window opens.
2. Under Choose your AI tool, pick Codex, Claude Code, Cursor or Other. The server is inside the app, so the window reads "MCP helper is included in this app" and there's nothing else to install.
3. In step 2 of the window, press Copy (Copy JSON for Cursor), then set up your tool as its section below shows.
4. Restart your tool or start a new session, then check with the command in step 3 of the window, or /mcp inside the tool. dreamcut_status should appear in its tool list.

#Codex

Run this once in Terminal, then check it:

codex mcp add dreamcut -- '/Applications/DreamCut.app/Contents/MacOS/DreamCutMCP'
codex mcp get dreamcut

#Claude Code

This adds DreamCut for your user account, so every project sees it. Start a new Claude Code session afterwards.

claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio dreamcut -- '/Applications/DreamCut.app/Contents/MacOS/DreamCutMCP'
claude mcp get dreamcut

#Cursor

Press Copy JSON and merge it into ~/.cursor/mcp.json, Cursor's global MCP settings, keeping the servers already there. Then restart Cursor or reload its window, and check that dreamcut is on under Customize > MCP.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dreamcut": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/Applications/DreamCut.app/Contents/MacOS/DreamCutMCP",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

#Other MCP tools

Add a local server in your tool's MCP settings with these values. Copy Path copies the command, and Show MCP Helper shows the file in Finder.

#Ask for your first edit

1. Open the project in DreamCut's editor.
2. In step 4 of the DreamCut MCP window, press Copy Prompt under Safe starter prompt and paste it into a fresh agent session. It tells the agent to check that DreamCut isn't busy, read the project first, try each edit before applying it and export to a new file.

3. Ask for what you want in plain words, for example:

Add captions, then remove the ums and uhs and every pause longer than 2 seconds.
Tell me your plan before you apply it, then export to ~/Movies/demo-edited.mp4.

The edits appear in the editor as the agent applies them. If one isn't right, press ⌘Z in DreamCut or ask the agent to undo it. Filler words are found in the captions, so a project needs captions before they can be cut, which is why the example asks for captions first. Making the captions spends AI credits; the cuts and the export don't.

#Use the dreamcut command

The dreamcut command runs the same commands from Terminal, or from an agent that runs shell commands instead of MCP.

1. In the DreamCut MCP window, pick Terminal.

2. Under Install the dreamcut command, click Link dreamcut. Or press Copy and run the command in Terminal yourself. Neither needs an administrator password: both link the command into a folder in your home folder.

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && ln -sf '/Applications/DreamCut.app/Contents/MacOS/DreamCutCLI' ~/.local/bin/dreamcut

3. Read the message next to the button, such as "Linked at ~/.local/bin/dreamcut." If it says your shell doesn't look there yet, press Copy on the line it shows and run it in Terminal. That line is:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

4. Open a new Terminal window, as step 3 of the window says, and check that it works. dreamcut commands lists every command, and dreamcut status shows whether DreamCut is busy:

dreamcut commands
dreamcut status

Options go after the command:

• Write each one as --name value. Times can be seconds or minutes and seconds (1:05).
• To pass them all at once, use --json with a JSON object: dreamcut add_zoom --json '{"start": 65, "duration": 3, "zoom": 160}'.
• dreamcut commands --json lists every command and its options as JSON.
• With Terminal picked, Command Reference at the top right of the window opens the full list on the DreamCut MCP page.

#Export from Terminal

dreamcut export_project exports the open project to a new file, then checks the file's size, length and frames before it reports success. It never overwrites a file that's already there.

dreamcut export_project --output-file-path ~/Movies/demo.mp4

dreamcut export_video exports with your current export settings to your export folder instead.

#Record the screen or take a screenshot

dreamcut record records for as long as you say, then prints the file's path. dreamcut screenshot takes a still, and captures a window even when other windows cover it.

dreamcut record --app Safari --seconds 20 --output-path ~/Movies/demo.mp4
dreamcut record --app Safari --seconds 10 --output-path ~/Desktop/demo.gif
dreamcut screenshot --app "Google Chrome" --output-path ~/Desktop/shot.png

They're quiet by default: no countdown, preview card, sound or capture bar, and your saved capture settings stay as they are. For a recording that ends when the work is done, run dreamcut start_screen_recording, then dreamcut stop_screen_recording --output-path …. Agents on MCP have the same tools, such as dreamcut_record and dreamcut_screenshot.

A recording started with start_screen_recording stops by itself after 30 minutes unless you set --maximum-duration-seconds (up to 3,600), and dreamcut status shows it while it runs.

#If it doesn't connect

#What spends credits

Commands that use AI take credits from your DreamCut account, the same as those features in the editor. dreamcut status shows what you have left.

Other edits, such as zooms, cuts, removing pauses and filler words, text, layouts and transitions, spend no credits, and neither do screenshots and exports. Plans and credits explains your monthly allowance.

#What's next

• Sakura: the same edits from a chat in the editor.
• Export settings: choose the format and quality export_video uses.
• Plans and credits: your credits and how to top them up.
• Install and permissions: sign in and allow Screen Recording.