DaVinci Resolve MCP · Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting & limits
The most common issues and how to fix them, followed by the honest limits of the product. If yours isn't here, open a support ticket.
The tools say DaVinci Resolve is not connected
Symptom: The client loads the server, but the tools answer with a connection error.
Fix: Open DaVinci Resolve with a project and load the connector: Workspace → Console, choose Lua and paste the line from the install guide. Do it again every time you restart Resolve.
The Console shows an error when I paste the line
Symptom: Resolve's Console answers with an error instead of saying the connector is ready.
Fix: Check that the Console is in Lua mode (not Py) and that you replaced the user name with yours. The file is created the first time your MCP client starts the server with a valid license: start the client before pasting the line.
Resolve opens an upgrade dialog and stops responding
Symptom: A tool asked for a feature that only DaVinci Resolve Studio has. The free edition opens its upgrade dialog, which blocks every window of Resolve until it is closed.
Fix: Close the dialog with its Not Yet button: Resolve and the tools work again. Ask your AI client not to use Studio-only features (see the limits below).
Invalid license error
Symptom: The tools answer that the license is missing or invalid, or the client logs say DAVINCI_RESOLVE_MCP_LICENSE is not set.
Fix: The license in your config doesn't match the one on /dashboard/licenses. Recopy it — check for leading/trailing spaces when you pasted it into the JSON — and restart the MCP client.
The tools stopped working after an update
Symptom: The server updated itself and the tools now fail when they talk to Resolve.
Fix: An update can bring a new connector. Ask your AI client to run resolve_reload_server, or restart DaVinci Resolve and paste the line again.
On a Mac, Connect asks for a permission or does not connect
Symptom: The Synthetic DaVinci Resolve MCP window says that macOS needs your permission, or that it could not find the Workspace menu or the Console.
Fix: Turn on «Synthetic DaVinci Resolve MCP» in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and press Connect again. If Resolve is in a language other than English, Connect may not find the menu: use Connect by hand (Workspace → Console, Lua mode, paste the line from the install guide), which does not depend on the language.
The window says Node.js was not found
Symptom: The Synthetic DaVinci Resolve MCP window opens with a message about Node.js instead of the connection status.
Fix: Install Node.js (LTS) from nodejs.org and open the window again. The MCP server itself also needs it.
Limits
What DaVinci Resolve MCP does not do, or has not been tested with. We say it here so you know before you buy.
- Verified on Windows with the free edition of DaVinci Resolve 21.1.1. macOS is in beta: it has not been fully tested and may have errors. Linux is not supported.
- DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cloud were not tested. Features that only Studio has (for example voice isolation, Magic Mask, transcription and audio classification) open the upgrade dialog in the free edition.
- Resolve has to be open, with a project, and the connector has to be loaded once per session from the Console.
- Fusion: macros cannot be created inside a composition (install them as files with the add-ons tools), and a Fusion composition cannot be rendered on its own: render through the render queue.
- Workflow Integration and codec plug-ins cannot be installed with the add-ons tools.
- Resolve has no permanent IDs for clips: tools find a clip by its track and position, so after moving clips your AI client should read the timeline again.
- On a Mac, use DaVinci Resolve downloaded from the Blackmagic Design website: the Mac App Store version runs in a sandbox that may not let the connector open its local connection.
If none of this helps
Open a ticket at your support dashboard with: (1) your DaVinci Resolve version, (2) your MCP client and its version, (3) the client's logs when it tries to launch the server, and (4) the config snippet you pasted (without the license key). You can also ask in our Discord.