🎬 ShortsCut MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that analyzes YouTube creators' Shorts styles and generates shot-by-shot filming guides in their style. Plug it into any MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenCode, etc.) and start creating viral Shorts.

What It Does

1. Analyze a creator's style — fetches their recent Shorts, pulls transcripts, and uses GPT-4o to profile their hooks, pacing, tone, visual patterns, editing, and structure
2. Generate a filming guide — produces a complete shot-by-shot script with timestamps, camera angles, dialogue, text overlays, B-roll notes, and music cues — all matching the analyzed creator's style
3. List saved profiles — view all previously analyzed creator profiles

Prerequisites

• Bun (runtime)
• OpenAI API key (GPT-4o access)
• YouTube Data API key (get one here)
• Tavily API key (get one here) - Required for web research features

Setup

# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/your-username/shortscut-mcp.git
cd shortscut-mcp

# 2. Install dependencies
bun install

# 3. Create .env file
cp .env.example .env

Add your API keys to .env:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
YOUTUBE_API_KEY=AIza...
TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-...

Connecting to an AI Client

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortscut": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "/absolute/path/to/shortscut-mcp/src/index.ts"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-...",
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "AIza...",
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor / Windsurf

Add to your MCP config (.cursor/mcp.json or similar):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortscut": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "/absolute/path/to/shortscut-mcp/src/index.ts"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-...",
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "AIza...",
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace /absolute/path/to/shortscut-mcp/ with the actual path to this project on your machine.

Tools

analyze_creator

Analyzes a YouTube creator's Shorts style and saves a profile.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | channel | string | ✅ | YouTube channel handle (e.g. @JeffNippard) | | maxVideos | number | ❌ | Max Shorts to analyze (default: 15) | | forceRefresh | boolean | ❌ | Re-analyze even if profile exists (default: false) |

Example prompt:

Analyze @JeffNippard's YouTube Shorts style

generate_filming_guide

Generates a shot-by-shot filming guide in a creator's style. Now features:

• Web research on the topic (via Tavily) for factual depth
• "Research Summary" output with sources
• Specific music recommendations (track/vibe) matching the creator's style

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | topic | string | ✅ | Topic for the Short (e.g. "3 protein myths debunked") | | style | string | ✅ | Channel handle whose style to use (must be analyzed first) | | direction | string | ❌ | Additional creative direction | | targetDurationSec | number | ❌ | Target duration in seconds (default: 60) |

Example prompt:

Generate a filming guide about "3 protein myths debunked" in JeffNippard's style

list_profiles

Lists all saved creator style profiles. No parameters required.

Example Workflow

You: Analyze @MrBeast's Shorts style
AI:  ✅ Analyzed 10 Shorts from MrBeast — profile saved.
     Hooks: bold claims, visual shock ...

You: Now make me a filming guide about "I gave away $10,000 to strangers" in MrBeast's style
AI:  📹 FILMING GUIDE: "I Gave Away $10,000 to Strangers"
     ⏱️ SEC 0–3 | HOOK
     📷 Wide shot, handheld, pointing at cash stack
     📢 "I'm giving away TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS today..."
     ...

Project Structure

src/
├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point
├── config/               # Environment variable validation
├── services/
│   ├── llm.ts            # OpenAI GPT-4o calls (analyze + generate)
│   ├── youtube.ts         # YouTube API (channel resolution, Shorts fetching)
│   └── profiles.ts        # Profile save/load (JSON files)
├── tools/
│   ├── analyze.ts         # analyze_creator handler
│   ├── generate.ts        # generate_filming_guide handler
│   └── list.ts            # list_profiles handler
├── schemas/
│   └── zodSchemas.ts      # Zod validation schemas
├── prompts/
│   ├── analyzePrompt.ts   # Style analysis system/user prompts
│   └── guidePrompt.ts     # Filming guide system/user prompts
├── utils/
│   ├── retry.ts           # Exponential backoff retry wrapper
│   └── logger.ts          # Winston logger
└── types.ts               # TypeScript interfaces

License

MIT