Turn on the Automation Server
In the Instagram Edits app, go to Settings → Automation and flip the toggle on. The app starts a local MCP endpoint on your Mac (something like http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp)—copy it, you'll need it in the next step.
Guide · AI video editing · Mac
How to automate the Instagram Edits app with Claude Code on Mac
Came here from our reel about turning 500+ trip photos and videos into one finished reel? This is that exact setup: the Instagram Edits app's built-in Automation Server, connected to Claude Code on a Mac—start to finish, including the part that still needs you.
Answer capsule
What does it mean to automate the Instagram Edits app?
The Instagram Edits app ships a local Automation Server you turn on in Settings—it exposes your edit as real tools (import, trim, transition, text, export) that Claude Code can call directly on a Mac, so a folder of raw clips becomes a finished reel without you touching the timeline by hand. This is different from a generic automated video editor that auto-cuts footage into a template. Claude is operating the same timeline, transform, and export tools a human editor would use inside the app—so it can follow specific instructions, not just apply a preset.
It still needs you twice: once to grant file access (below), and once to sanity-check the clip order Claude proposes before you export. Neither takes more than a minute.
Step-by-step
Connect Claude Code to the Instagram Edits app
Do this once per Mac. It takes about two minutes.
1. Turn on the app's Automation Server
Open the Instagram Edits app, go to Settings → Automation, and switch it on. The app shows a local endpoint URL—it looks like http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp, though the port can differ on your build. Leave the app open; the server only runs while it's running.
2. Add it as an MCP server in Claude Code
Open Terminal and run:
claude mcp add --transport http edits-app http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp
edits-app is just a name you're giving the connection—call it whatever you like. This saves the server for the current project only by default. Add --scope user at the end of the command instead if you want it available from every project on your Mac.
3. Confirm it connected
From the terminal, run:
claude mcp list
You should see edits-app marked ✔ Connected. If it says ✘ Failed to connect, make sure the Edits app is open with Automation still switched on, then run claude mcp list again. Inside a Claude Code session, typing /mcp shows the same status plus a Reconnect option, and lists how many tools loaded.
4. If it connects but shows zero tools
This happens on older Claude Code builds. Update it (claude update, or brew upgrade claude-code if you installed it via Homebrew), restart Claude Code, and run /mcp again. We hit this exact issue building our own reel and a CLI update fixed it.
From setup to export
The full workflow, start to finish
Connect Claude Code to it
One terminal command points Claude Code at that endpoint. Full command, verification, and troubleshooting are in the walkthrough below—do this once per Mac.
Grant file access once
macOS sandboxes the app, so the first time Claude tries to read a new folder it will fail with a bookmark error. Manually import one clip from that folder through the app's own UI—that establishes access, and automated imports work from then on.
Describe the edit, not the clicks
Point Claude at the footage folder and say what you want—"a 60-second travel highlight reel," "cut this down to the best 3 shots." It reviews clip durations and content, picks an order, and builds the sequence.
Let it handle trims, transitions, and titles
Claude calls the same trim, transition, text, and transform tools a human editor would use—including fixing a landscape clip that would otherwise letterbox a vertical 9:16 frame.
Export and retrieve the file
Claude renders the export through the app. If the file lands inside the app's own sandboxed storage instead of Downloads, do one manual Share/Save from inside the app—same one-time fix as the import step.
Straight answer
What Claude actually decides vs. what you still should
A commenter on our reel pushed back that AI is good for transitions and speed, not for deciding what footage matters. They're right to be skeptical of anything that claims zero human input—here's the honest split.
| Part of the edit | What Claude does | What still needs you |
|---|---|---|
| Which clips make the cut | Claude reviews every clip (duration, rough content) and proposes a sequence—but the first pass is a draft, not a final answer. | You review the proposed order once and say what's off ("skip the blurry one," "open with the drive, not the beach"). One or two rounds, not a frame-by-frame edit. |
| Narrative arc / pacing | Claude can group by time, location, or a theme you name, and vary shot length so it doesn't feel robotic. | You set the theme up front ("family trip, build to the sunset shot")—Claude won't know your trip's emotional high point unless you tell it. |
| Trims, transitions, framing | Fully mechanical—trim points, dissolve transitions, fixing a landscape clip's crop for 9:16. This is where automation earns its keep. | None needed. This is the part a commenter on our reel correctly called out as the easy win for AI. |
| Music / audio | Claude can add a track from the app's library if the feature is working in your build. | Licensed-music downloads occasionally fail server-side in current builds—treat it as a nice-to-have, not guaranteed. |
Manual vs. automated
What changes when you automate video editing this way
| Task | Manual in Edits | Automated with Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Reviewing footage | Scrub every clip by eye, one at a time | Describe the result you want; Claude screens clips by duration and content and proposes a sequence |
| Trimming & pacing | Drag in/out handles clip by clip | One instruction trims and ripples the whole timeline |
| Transitions & titles | Apply and style each one manually | Added across every clip boundary in one pass, styled consistently |
| Vertical (9:16) framing | Manually crop and scale each landscape clip | Auto-detected and fixed with a fill-frame transform |
| Turnaround for a 60-second reel | 30–60+ minutes of manual editing | A few minutes of review, then one export |
FAQ
Common questions on Instagram Edits app automation
- What is the Instagram Edits app?
- Edits is Instagram's free standalone video editor for creators—separate from the main Instagram app. It has a multi-track timeline, transitions, text and sound tools, and (in recent builds) a local Automation Server that exposes those same editing tools to AI assistants like Claude Code.
- What's the exact command to connect Claude Code to the Instagram Edits app?
- Run claude mcp add --transport http edits-app http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp in Terminal, with the Edits app open and its Automation Server toggle on. Confirm with claude mcp list (should show ✔ Connected) or /mcp inside a Claude Code session. Full walkthrough with troubleshooting is above.
- Can Claude Code really decide which clips to use, or do I still have to pick them myself?
- It proposes a sequence from the footage you point it at, but treat that first pass as a draft. One of our own reel's commenters made this exact point: AI is strong at mechanical work (trims, transitions, framing) and needs your steer on taste—which moment is the emotional high point, which clip to cut. Plan for one review round, not zero.
- Which Claude product does this use—do I need a paid plan?
- This runs on Claude Code (Anthropic's command-line agent), not the consumer Claude chat app. It needs an active Claude subscription or API billing enabled on your account; check claude.com/pricing for current plans, since they change.
- Why do imports or exports fail with a permission error on Mac?
- macOS sandboxes the Edits app, so it can't read or write arbitrary folders without your permission. The fix is a one-time manual action in the app itself (import one file, or export once through its own Share sheet) for each new location—after that, automation works for that path.
- What can't Claude Code automate yet in the Instagram Edits app?
- Two known gaps in current builds: licensed-music downloads inside the app can fail server-side, and exporting directly to a Downloads folder can hit the same sandbox write restriction as other locations. Both are workarounds away, not blockers—export inside the app's storage, then save out manually.
Want AI-generated reels without wiring up an MCP server yourself?
This workflow is great for hands-on creators who already live inside the Instagram Edits app. If you'd rather just describe a video and get a ready-to-post reel back, see prompt-to-video on Swayam AI Labs, or explore the full AI automation hub.