StarReel MCP

Turn a script into a finished, downloadable short-drama episode — from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client.

StarReel is a prepaid AI video-production pipeline. This MCP server exposes the whole factory — 120+ tools covering every stage — so an AI agent can take a raw script all the way to a finished .mp4:

script → AI rewrite → cast / scenes / props extraction → storyboards
       → character portraits & sheets (anchor the people) + scene plates (anchor the backdrops)
       → keyframes → video shots → voiceover (TTS) → final cut (.mp4 link)

It is a thin, open client: all the heavy lifting (character-consistency gates, frame chaining, best-of-N auditing, billing) runs server-side at starreel.ai.

Quick start

Create an API key with produce scope in StarReel → Settings → API Keys (srk_live_..., shown once).
Add the server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add starreel -e STARREEL_API_KEY=srk_live_xxx -- npx -y @starreel/mcp

Or install the Claude Code plugin — MCP server + agent skill in one step (set STARREEL_API_KEY in your shell first):

/plugin marketplace add starreel/starreel-mcp
/plugin install starreel@starreel

Ask your agent: "Take this script and produce a full episode: <your script>" — it will quote each paid stage first and only spend after you confirm.

Works with any MCP client

Requires Node ≥ 18 (npx). The standard config below works as-is in Cursor · Windsurf · Cline / Roo Code · Claude Desktop · Trae · Cherry Studio · Chatbox · DeepChat and any client that reads an mcpServers JSON block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "starreel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@starreel/mcp"],
      "env": { "STARREEL_API_KEY": "srk_live_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

Clients with their own format:

Codex CLI — ~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.starreel]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@starreel/mcp"]
env = { "STARREEL_API_KEY" = "srk_live_xxx" }

VS Code (Copilot agent mode) — .vscode/mcp.json or user mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "starreel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@starreel/mcp"],
      "env": { "STARREEL_API_KEY": "srk_live_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI — ~/.gemini/settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "starreel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@starreel/mcp"],
      "env": { "STARREEL_API_KEY": "srk_live_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

No Node / can't run npx? (Coze, Dify, GPTs, custom agents)

Drive the same pipeline over REST (/v1/produce/*) and paste SKILL.md into your system prompt — it carries the full workflow order, billing disciplines, and failure playbook. See the API docs.

What's inside

Stage	Tools (selection)
Orientation	`get_capabilities_guide` (free, local) — which entry point for which material, pipeline order, gates, billing
Project setup	`create_drama` · `update_project_settings` · `list_project_options`
Script	`set_script` · AI rewrite · `edit_rewritten_script`
Bring your own material	`get_script_format_spec` · `check_script_format` · `adopt_external_script` (rewrite on any AI, then adopt verbatim) · `get_storyboard_table_spec` → `check_storyboard_table` → `import_storyboard_table` (a finished shot list skips rewrite + breakdown) · `get_bulk_import_spec` → `check_bulk_import` → `bulk_import_storyboards` (structured JSON builds cast, scenes and shots in one go) · `upload_*` (own portraits / scene / prop / shot images)
Cast & world	asset extraction · `update_character` · `generate_world_concept` · `generate_art_bible`
Identity anchors	`generate_portraits_and_sheets` (portraits + character sheets = the consistency anchor)
Storyboards	`quote_storyboards` → `generate_storyboards` → `get_storyboards`
Frames & video	`quote_frames` → `generate_frames` · `quote_videos` → `generate_videos`
Audio	`generate_tts` · `generate_bgm` (steerable via `prompt`) · `get_bgm_prompt_guide` · `generate_sfx` · voice management
Finishing	`compose_episode` (free) · `get_final_cut` · `render_multi_aspect` · posters & covers
Localization	`translate_subtitles` · localization jobs
Ads / MV modes	product library & product sheets · MV lyrics → story → script

Project types: drama / ad / mv / brand_film.

Billing is agent-safe by design

Prepaid, never negative. Costs are pre-authorized before any vendor call; insufficient balance returns a clean 402 — nothing half-runs.
Quote before spend. Big-ticket stages are quote_* → show the user → generate_* with the returned quote_id. For video, quote == actual charge (same function computes both).
Final cut is free. Composition, transitions, SFX matching and deliverable packaging don't bill.
API keys are stored hashed and exchanged for 15-minute short-lived tokens; revoke in Settings at any time.

Built for agents: the operating skill

SKILL.md ships inside the package — a platform-agnostic operating manual (full pipeline order + ten operating disciplines + a failure playbook). The server also announces the same guidance at connect time (MCP instructions) and exposes it as a tool, get_capabilities_guide, so an agent that has never seen this file still learns which entry point each kind of material takes. Skill-aware clients load it automatically; on platforms that can't run npx (Coze / Dify / GPTs / custom agents) paste it into the system prompt and drive the same pipeline over REST (/v1/produce/*).

Install it as a standalone agent skill (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode and 70+ agents) via the skills CLI:

npx skills add starreel/starreel-mcp

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Default
`STARREEL_API_KEY`	✅	—
`STARREEL_AUTH_BASE`		`https://api.shortreelai.com`

REST API (OpenAPI)

Prefer plain REST? The full production facade is described in openapi.json (OpenAPI 3.1, 100+ operations — generated from this package's tool surface, so operationIds match MCP tool names 1:1). Browse it rendered at starreel.github.io/starreel-mcp, or generate a typed client for any language:

npx openapi-typescript https://raw.githubusercontent.com/starreel/starreel-mcp/main/openapi.json -o starreel.d.ts

License

MIT — this client is open; the production pipeline is a hosted service.

ai.starreel/starreel

Links

README