import Image from 'next/image' export const meta = { title: "How to Use DaVinci Resolve MCP with Claude, ChatGPT, and Codex", description: "Connect Resolve to your AI assistant from the File menu, then use Aspect to find footage and edit with proxies while the original files download.", tldr: "In DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1, open File → Setup AI Assistants, finish any installer that opens, and restart your assistant. Ask it to check the open project before making an edit. Connect Aspect to help it find footage, then work with lightweight proxies while the original folders pin in the background. Check the originals before your final export.", slug: "davinci-resolve-mcp-claude-chatgpt-codex", publishedAt: "2026-10-07", updatedAt: "2026-10-07", readingTime: 10, thumbnail: "/images/blog/davinci-resolve-mcp-claude-chatgpt-codex/cover-watercolor.png", authors: ["aspect-team"], primaryTopic: "post-production", topics: ["post-production", "aspect-workflows"], tags: ["blackmagic", "editing", "aspect-integrations", "conforming-finishing"], faq: [ { question: "Is there an official DaVinci Resolve MCP?", answer: "Yes. Blackmagic Design includes its own MCP integration with DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1. Open the File menu and choose Setup AI Assistants to connect supported assistants installed on your computer.", }, { question: "Do I need the Studio edition?", answer: "This guide covers the integration included with DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1. Blackmagic documents it as a Studio feature. If Setup AI Assistants is missing, check your edition and installed version.", }, { question: "What do I do after AI Assistants Configured appears?", answer: "Read the list to see which assistants Resolve configured. If Claude Desktop opens an extension installer, finish that installation. Click OK, restart the assistant you want to use, and ask it to check the open Resolve project before making changes.", }, { question: "Do I need a separate community Resolve integration?", answer: "No. Start with the integration included in Resolve Studio. Community projects with similar names are separate products and can have different setup requirements and capabilities.", }, { question: "Can I do this from a ChatGPT browser tab?", answer: "Use an assistant that can work with applications on the computer running Resolve. A browser-only conversation does not automatically gain access to your local editor. After setup, check the connection in the desktop assistant that Resolve configured.", }, { question: "What does Aspect add to Resolve's AI connection?", answer: "Resolve gives the assistant access to the editing project. Aspect helps it find footage, read transcripts, organize selects, and retrieve review notes. The Aspect desktop app makes project files available in Finder or File Explorer so Resolve can open them.", links: [{ substring: "Aspect desktop app", href: "/download" }], }, { question: "Does mounting an Aspect project download every original?", answer: "No. Mounting makes the project available as a drive and streams the parts of files you open. Pinning downloads and keeps complete files or folders. Pin the original footage folder and check that its download has finished before relying on it offline.", links: [{ substring: "Pinning", href: "/docs/instant-access/pin-files" }], }, { question: "Can I finish an edit with any proxy file?", answer: "A proxy must match its original closely enough for the edit to stay in sync. Test a few clips first. Check that the picture, sound, duration, and frame rate match, then test switching back to the originals. If Resolve rejects a proxy, use one made for editing in Resolve.", }, ], } You can connect DaVinci Resolve to an AI assistant from Resolve's own **File** menu. Once connected, you can ask for a first assembly, help organizing a project, or changes to an existing timeline in ordinary language. The connection is called **MCP**, short for Model Context Protocol. It lets an assistant use tools in another application. Blackmagic includes its official integration with **DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1**, so you can start inside the editor you already use. This guide walks through that setup with Claude, ChatGPT, or Codex, then shows how Aspect helps the assistant find the right footage and work with it in Resolve. ## Connect your assistant from Resolve's File menu Install the desktop assistant you want to use on the same computer as Resolve. You need **DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1 or a later version with the AI assistant integration**. Updates are available from [Blackmagic Design's support center](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion). ### Open Setup AI Assistants Open Resolve, click **File** in the top menu, and choose **Setup AI Assistants…** near the bottom of the dropdown.
DaVinci Resolve's File menu open, with Setup AI Assistants near the bottom of the dropdown.
Choose Setup AI Assistants from the File menu in Resolve.
### Finish setup and restart the assistant Resolve opens an **AI Assistants Configured** confirmation. Read the list to see which assistants it found on your computer. Your list may differ from the example below. For **Claude Desktop**, Resolve may open an extension installer. Finish that installation too. Click **OK** in the Resolve confirmation, then quit and reopen the assistant you want to use so it loads the new connection.
Resolve's AI Assistants Configured dialog lists the assistants it configured and asks the user to restart them.
Check which assistants were configured, finish any installer that opened, and restart your assistant.
The screenshot shows **Codex in ChatGPT** among the configured assistants. Use the desktop assistant that Resolve configured and a conversation with access to this computer. A browser-only chat does not automatically get access to your local editor. > **More setup options:** Resolve MCP can also be installed through the CLI or terminal. Our [technical setup guide](/docs/mcp/davinci-resolve) covers those options and individual client settings. ## Check the connection with a small request Open the Resolve project you want to work on. In your assistant, ask: > Check the open DaVinci Resolve project. Tell me its name and how many timelines it contains. Do not change anything yet. The assistant should be able to identify the project. If it cannot, check that Resolve is open and that you restarted the assistant after setup. If the assistant was not listed in the confirmation, use the [Resolve connection guide](/docs/mcp/davinci-resolve) for its setup options. Once the connection works, start with a short task you can easily review: > Create a new timeline called “First assembly” using the clips I selected. Keep my existing timelines intact. Make a short first pass, then tell me which clips you used and whether any media is missing. Watch the result in Resolve. Check the clip order, the in and out points, and the sound before asking for a longer edit. The assistant can perform supported editing tasks, but you still decide whether the cut works. ## Give the assistant the right footage with Aspect A connection to Resolve gives the assistant access to the editor. It still needs to know which footage belongs in the edit, where those files live, and what the client asked to change. Aspect is not a video editor. It gives the assistant the media context that makes editing more useful. An assistant connected to Aspect can search for shots, read interview transcripts, collect selects, and find review notes. Resolve then provides the place to assemble and finish the video. Connect [Aspect MCP](/docs/mcp/index) to the same assistant. You can find connection instructions in **Aspect → Settings → Aspect Agent & MCP**. Complete the Aspect sign-in, then ask the assistant to list the projects you can access. Install the [Aspect desktop app](/download) to make the project available as a drive on your computer. The workflow has three jobs: | Job | What handles it | | --- | --- | | Find the right shots and understand the footage | Your assistant, connected to Aspect MCP. | | Make the files available to the editor | The Aspect desktop app, through a mounted project. | | Assemble the timeline and finish the video | Your assistant, connected to Resolve MCP. | Aspect searches what is in your footage as well as the words in its transcripts. An assistant can use those matches to suggest specific clips and time ranges before opening the edit in Resolve. ## Prepare Resolve before importing footage Ask the assistant to read [Aspect's Resolve workflow](/docs/workflows/davinci-resolve) and help you apply the relevant settings. That includes choosing the mounted media location, keeping temporary editing files on a local SSD, and checking the timeline's frame rate and color settings. Save the active Resolve project in its supported local project library or Blackmagic Cloud. If the assistant cannot change a setting itself, ask it to tell you exactly where to click. The same preparation matters when you work in another application. Our [Agentic Video Editing guide](/docs/workflows/agentic-video-editing) links the settings for [Premiere Pro](/docs/workflows/premiere-pro), [Final Cut Pro](/docs/workflows/final-cut-pro), [After Effects](/docs/workflows/after-effects), and [Avid Media Composer](/docs/workflows/avid-media-composer). ## Start with proxies while the originals download Camera originals can be large. **Proxies** are smaller copies that are easier to play while you build the edit. You can work with those copies while Aspect downloads the originals in the background, then use the originals for your finished video. The important part is keeping track of which original belongs to each proxy. Test that relationship on a few clips before building a whole timeline. ### Find the footage and keep its source information Ask the assistant to search your Aspect project for the material you need: > Find interview passages about the product launch and matching outdoor B-roll. Suggest useful clips and time ranges. Keep a record of where each original lives, and leave the source folders unchanged. Review its suggestions. Keep the original folder locations with the selects, especially when camera cards contain files with similar names. ### Copy the footage folders as proxies In Aspect: 1. Select the raw-footage folders you want to use and choose **Copy**. 2. Choose a separate destination, such as a folder named **Edit / Proxies**. 3. Under **Content**, choose **Copy videos as proxies** and start the copy. 4. Wait for the copies you need to appear, then open a few to check them. This creates smaller video copies and leaves the source originals available. Other file types copy their original content. If some videos are still being processed, their proxy copies may take longer to appear. ### Mount the project in the desktop app A **mount** makes your Aspect project appear as a drive in Finder on a Mac or File Explorer on Windows. Open the Aspect desktop app, select the **drive icon** in the left sidebar, find your project, and choose **Mount**. Select the mounted path to reveal it on your computer. Resolve can open the files from that drive just as it would from another media drive. The [mounting guide](/docs/instant-access/mount-a-project) shows the complete process. Keep the Aspect desktop app open while you work. ### Pin the original folder you copied from In the mounted project, select the **original raw-footage folder** and choose **Pin**. Pinning downloads and keeps the complete files on your computer. Check that you have enough space, and let the download continue while you edit the lighter proxies. Pin the source folder you copied **from**, rather than only the new proxy folder. If the originals live in another project, mount that project too. The [pinning guide](/docs/instant-access/pin-files) explains how to follow the download's progress. Aspect can pin the original footage folders while you work from a separate proxy set. Check that pinning has finished before relying on those originals offline, because choosing Pin starts the download rather than completing it. ## Keep a reliable path back to the originals When the files are compatible, import the originals from the mounted folder and attach their matching proxies using **Link Proxy Media** in Resolve. Then choose **Playback → Proxy Handling → Prefer Proxies**. Resolve keeps track of the original while playing the smaller copy. Ask the assistant to test a few clips with you. Check that the picture and sound stay in sync, the beginning and end match, and the frame rate is correct. Aspect's streaming proxies are made for viewing and may not satisfy every editing requirement. If Resolve rejects a match, use a compatible proxy made in Resolve. You can also begin with proxy copies imported as ordinary clips. Before committing to that approach, have the assistant test replacing one with its original. Keep the original location for every clip. Different camera formats may need more than changing a folder path to reconnect correctly. A useful instruction is: > Before building the full edit, test one representative clip. Show me its proxy and its original, check that they stay in sync, and confirm that we can switch back to the original for finishing. ### Check the originals before the final export When the edit is ready, check in Aspect that the required original folders have finished pinning. Finishing the cut does not mean the download has finished. Have the assistant switch the timeline to the originals, or reconnect them using the saved source locations. Continue opening the pinned files through the mounted project. Check for missing media and compare several clips, including their sound and color. Make a short test export using the originals before exporting the whole video. If you are combining different cameras, the [Resolve color-management guide](/blog/post-production/how-to-set-up-aces-in-davinci-resolve-for-multi-camera-projects) explains how to keep their color interpretation consistent. ## Use review notes to guide the next edit Upload a review video to Aspect, or save it into the mounted project and wait for synchronization to finish. Share that version for feedback. The assistant can use the comments to help prepare the next timeline revision. Be clear about which review version you mean. A comment on yesterday's cut may point to a different moment in today's timeline. Aspect keeps comments tied to exact frames in the review video. Those positions give an assistant a starting point for the next revision, while you confirm how each note maps to the current edit. Keep saving the project in Resolve. If you export a Resolve project file to Aspect for handoff, remember that the project file alone does not include the footage. Start with one scene and a short first cut. Once the assistant can find the right clips, work with them in Resolve, and return to the originals, you have a workflow you can repeat on a larger edit. Follow the [Agentic Video Editing guide](/docs/workflows/agentic-video-editing) for more detail, or [book an Aspect workflow demo](/book-a-demo) to plan it with your team.