Encoding MCP server for AI agents

The Encoding DevOps MCP Server connects Anthropic's Claude AI to your video encoding workflow, providing real-time analysis and human-friendly solutions for encoding issues. This assistant helps translate cryptic error messages, monitor encoding jobs, and draft client communications, making troubleshooting much easier.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Python 3.11 or higher
Claude Desktop
Your encoding workflow API credentials
OMDB API key (optional, for movie metadata)

Installation

Install the package using UV:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
uv pip install encoding-devops

Set up your environment:

# Copy the example config
cp .env.example .env

# Add your API keys
nano .env

uv run mcp install ./src/encoding_devops/main.py

Usage

Start the MCP server:

uv run mcp dev ./src/encoding_devops/main.py

Once the server is running, you can interact with Claude Desktop using natural language queries such as:

"What's wrong with job XYZ-123?"
"Draft an email about the failed encoding job"
"Check the encoding cluster status"

Key Features

Smart Error Translation: Converts technical encoding errors into understandable explanations
Real-time Analysis: Connects directly to your workflow and database for accurate diagnostics
Human-Friendly Responses: Provides clear, actionable solutions
Auto-Email Draft: Creates contextual client communications
Continuous Monitoring: Keeps track of encoding jobs 24/7
Assisted Decision Making: Suggests actions while letting you maintain control

How It Works

The MCP server utilizes three main components:

Resources: Email templates, error guides, and documentation
Tools: Job status checks, log analysis, and email drafting
Prompts: Instructions that help Claude understand encoding issues

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 "encoding-devops" '{"command":"uv","args":["run","mcp","dev","./src/encoding_devops/main.py"]}'

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": {
        "encoding-devops": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "mcp",
                "dev",
                "./src/encoding_devops/main.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "encoding-devops": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "mcp",
                "dev",
                "./src/encoding_devops/main.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect