Shaka Packager MCP server

This server integrates Shaka Packager with Claude AI applications for video processing, enabling you to analyze, convert, and package video files directly through Claude Desktop. It works alongside the Filesystem MCP server to help Claude access and process media files on your computer.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Shaka Packager installed and in your PATH
• An MCP-compatible client (like Claude Desktop)

Install Options

Using pip (coming soon)

pip install shaka-packager-mcp

Or with uv:

uv pip install shaka-packager-mcp

From source (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/coderjun/shaka-packager-mcp.git
cd shaka-packager-mcp
pip install -e .

Setting Up Claude Desktop Integration

Since Claude Desktop doesn't directly support video file uploads, you'll need two servers working together:

Step 1: Set Up the MCP Filesystem Server

docker pull mcp/filesystem

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Locate your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add both servers to your configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/PATH/TO/VIDEOS/DIRECTORY,dst=/projects/video-drop",
        "mcp/filesystem",
        "/projects"
      ]
    },
    "shaka-packager": {
      "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--with",
        "mcp[cli]",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/shaka_packager_mcp.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "VIDEO_PATH": "/PATH/TO/VIDEOS/DIRECTORY",
        "SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH": "/PATH/TO/PACKAGER"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace all placeholder paths with absolute paths on your system.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Restart Claude Desktop to apply the configuration changes.

Usage

Once both servers are running in Claude Desktop:

Browsing and Processing Videos

1. Access your video files:

   Please show me the files in my Videos directory
   

2. Analyze a video:

   Please analyze this video: /Users/username/Videos/my_video.mp4
   

3. Package a video:

   Please package this video for HLS and DASH streaming: /Users/username/Videos/my_video.mp4
   

Available Tools

The server provides these key tools:

1. analyze_video: Examines video files and provides detailed stream information
2. run_shaka_packager: Executes any Shaka Packager command with proper path handling
3. get_shaka_options: Retrieves available command options and version information
4. get_shaka_documentation: Provides documentation and examples for Shaka Packager

Configuration

Configure the server using environment variables:

• SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH: Path to the Shaka Packager executable
• VIDEO_PATH: Path to your local video directory
• DOCKER_PATH: Docker container mount path (default: "/projects/video-drop")
• TEMP_DIR: Custom temporary directory for file uploads
• LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL)
• COMMAND_TIMEOUT: Timeout in seconds for commands (default: 300)

You can set these in your Claude Desktop configuration file or a .env file:

SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH=/usr/local/bin/packager
VIDEO_PATH=/Users/yourusername/Videos
LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Verify both servers are properly configured with absolute paths
2. Ensure Shaka Packager is installed and accessible
3. Check the video directory exists and contains media files
4. Review Claude Desktop logs:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "shaka-packager" '{"command":"/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uv","args":["run","--with","mcp[cli]","/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/shaka_packager_mcp.py"],"env":{"VIDEO_PATH":"/PATH/TO/VIDEOS/DIRECTORY","SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH":"/PATH/TO/PACKAGER"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "shaka-packager": {
            "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--with",
                "mcp[cli]",
                "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/shaka_packager_mcp.py"
            ],
            "env": {
                "VIDEO_PATH": "/PATH/TO/VIDEOS/DIRECTORY",
                "SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH": "/PATH/TO/PACKAGER"
            }
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "shaka-packager": {
            "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--with",
                "mcp[cli]",
                "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/shaka_packager_mcp.py"
            ],
            "env": {
                "VIDEO_PATH": "/PATH/TO/VIDEOS/DIRECTORY",
                "SHAKA_PACKAGER_PATH": "/PATH/TO/PACKAGER"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect