DaVinci Resolve MCP · Client setup

Setting up your MCP client

Synthetic Setup does all of this for you. This page shows what it adds to each client, in case you prefer to edit the config by hand: the entry, where it goes per client, and how to check that DaVinci Resolve responds.

1. The entry for your client

Install with Synthetic Setup first: it adds this entry to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code and Codex with your license, and leaves the server on your computer. To edit a client by hand, the command is node with the path to the server that Synthetic Setup left in your user folder, and your license in DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_LICENSE (if Synthetic Setup added Node.js for you, keep the command it wrote instead of node). Replace your-license-key with your real key from /dashboard/licenses and YOUR_USER with your user name on that computer.

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "davinci-resolve": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\.synthetic\\launchers\\davinci-resolve-mcp\\launcher.mjs"],
      "env": {
        "DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_LICENSE": "your-license-key",
        "NODE_USE_SYSTEM_CA": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

macOS

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "davinci-resolve": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/YOUR_USER/.synthetic/launchers/davinci-resolve-mcp/launcher.mjs"],
      "env": {
        "DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_LICENSE": "your-license-key",
        "NODE_USE_SYSTEM_CA": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Where it goes per client

Claude Desktop

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS). Drop the block into the mcpServers object. If you already have other servers, add it as one more key.

Cursor

Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP → Edit Config. Paste the snippet into the JSON and save.

Codex CLI / Other

The file ~/.codex/config.toml uses TOML format. Convert the snippet — example:

[mcp_servers.davinci-resolve]
command = "node"
# Windows
args = ['C:\Users\YOUR_USER\.synthetic\launchers\davinci-resolve-mcp\launcher.mjs']
# macOS
# args = ['/Users/YOUR_USER/.synthetic/launchers/davinci-resolve-mcp/launcher.mjs']
env = { DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_LICENSE = "your-license-key", NODE_USE_SYSTEM_CA = "1" }

3. Restart the client and try it

Quit the MCP client and reopen it — servers are loaded at startup. Then open DaVinci Resolve with a project, load the connector (see the install guide) and ask the client something like:

If it answers with your timelines, the connection works. If not, see the troubleshooting guide.