Edit videos with Claude Desktop

Grab PandaStudio from writepanda.ai and Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download. Install both, then sign in to Claude Desktop with your Anthropic account.

The MCP server runs via npx, which needs Node 18+. Check:

node --version

If missing, install the LTS build from nodejs.org.

PandaStudio's automation server is localhost-only and gated by a bearer token. To find your token:

1. Open PandaStudio on your machine.
2. Go to Settings → Automation.
3. Toggle Enable automation server on. A bearer token will appear — copy it.

The token is a random 32-byte secret stored in your OS keychain. It never leaves your machine — agents only need it because the local HTTP server requires it on every request.

The config file lives at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it. The fastest path on macOS:

open -a "Claude" && open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/

Paste this into the file (merge with existing mcpServers if you already use other servers):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pandastudio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@writepanda/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PANDASTUDIO_TOKEN": "paste-your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace paste-your-token-here with the bearer token you copied in step 3. Save the file.

The Skill teaches Claude what PandaStudio can do — its command surface, editorial defaults, and async job patterns — so you don't have to explain them every session. Run this once in your terminal:

npx skills add kamskans/pandastudio-skills

It installs for Claude Desktop and any other agents you have. Re-run anytime to update the Skill when a new PandaStudio version ships.

Quit Claude Desktop completely (⌘Q on macOS, right-click tray icon → Quit on Windows), then reopen it. You should see a small MCP indicator at the bottom of the composer — clicking it should list pandastudio with ~30 available tools.

• "Open my latest recording, transcribe it, remove filler words and silences, then export an MP4."
• "Create a new 9:16 project, import the file at ~/Recordings/launch.mov, add bold captions, and preview it."
• "List all my projects from this week and tell me which one is longest."

Claude will ask permission the first time it calls a PandaStudio tool — approve it. From then on it can transcribe, trim, caption, generate motion graphics, and export without further prompting.