FFmpeg Media Tools MCP server

This server provides a standardized interface (MCP - Model Context Protocol) for interacting with FFmpeg, allowing you to perform common media operations through a simple stdio server. It enables structured communication between your application and FFmpeg for media processing tasks.

Installation Requirements

Before using the ffmpeg-mcp server, ensure you have the necessary dependencies installed:

1. Install FFmpeg on your system
2. Have Node.js installed to run the npx command

Running the Server

To start the ffmpeg-mcp server, run the following command in your terminal:

npx -y ffmpeg-mcp

This command downloads and runs the latest version of the ffmpeg-mcp server using Node.js.

Custom FFmpeg Path

By default, the server uses the FFmpeg executable from your system PATH. If you need to specify a custom path to FFmpeg, you can set the FFMPEG_PATH environment variable:

FFMPEG_PATH=/path/to/ffmpeg npx -y ffmpeg-mcp

Available Tools

The ffmpeg-mcp server provides several media processing tools that you can use through the MCP protocol. These tools allow you to perform operations such as:

• Video/audio conversion
• Media information extraction
• Thumbnail generation
• Other common FFmpeg operations

Each tool accepts specific parameters and returns structured results according to the MCP specification.

Integration with MCP Clients

To use ffmpeg-mcp with your MCP-compatible application, configure your client to connect to the server using the command above. The server communicates via standard input/output, making it compatible with any MCP client implementation.

For specific tool documentation and usage examples, refer to the official documentation or explore the available tools through your MCP client's interface.

How to add this MCP server to 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 > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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 explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.