# Palmier Pro: a macOS video editor that lets Claude and Codex edit your timeline over MCP

> Palmier Pro is a Swift-native macOS video editor with built-in generative models and an MCP server on localhost. The open source story ended at v0.7.6, and that split is the first thing an adopter needs to understand.

**palmier-io/palmier-pro** — macOS video editor built for AI. Integrates with your agents Connects your Claude/Codex/Cursor via MCP, or use the in-app agent to work on the same project together.

- Repository: https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro
- Website: https://palmier.io
- Stars: 14,469 · Forks: 1,125
- Language: Swift
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-08-08 · Updated: 2026-08-18 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/palmier-io-palmier-pro

## The problem: agents write code, but they cannot touch a timeline

Most AI video tooling sits outside the editor. You prompt a model in a browser, download a clip, then import it and cut by hand. The model never sees the sequence, the track order or the trim points, so every round trip costs you a manual step.

Palmier Pro takes the opposite position. The editor itself is the surface the agent operates on. The README describes it as a macOS video editor with built-in AI generation and MCP support, "allowing agents to create and edit directly on the timeline." The audience is narrow and specific: a single editor on an Apple Silicon Mac who already uses Claude Code, Codex or Cursor and wants those tools to act on the project rather than on a folder of exported files.

The README also states the design target plainly. The project was built from scratch in Swift, and the stated north star is Premiere Pro, "with our take on integrating AI into the workflow." That is a deliberate comparison, not a claim of parity.

## How the MCP server on 127.0.0.1:19789 actually works

The mechanism is a local HTTP MCP server. When the app is open, it exposes an endpoint at `http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp`. The server is not a background daemon: it exists while the application is running, which means the app window is the session boundary. Close the app and the endpoint is gone.

That design has a consequence worth naming. The agent and the human are working on one project at the same time, not on a copy. The README frames this as a feature ("or use the in-app agent to work on the same project together"), and it is the most interesting part of the architecture. It also means there is no merge step and no versioned handoff: whatever the agent does lands where you are working.

Transport is HTTP rather than stdio, so the client configuration is a URL, not a command to spawn. That is why the setup snippets for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor all reduce to the same address with different wrapper syntax. Claude Desktop is handled differently: the repository ships an `mcpb/` directory and the app bundles an MCP bundle, so installation goes through Help, then MCP Instructions, then Install in Claude Desktop.

## Installing Palmier Pro and connecting your first agent

There is no build-from-source path described for end users. The README links a DMG named `PalmierPro.dmg` from the latest release, and the repository ships `Package.swift` for the Swift package itself, but the README does not document a `swift build` workflow for the editor. Treat the DMG as the install route.

The README states the platform requirement directly: macOS 26 (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon. There is no Intel build and no other operating system mentioned.

Once the app is open, register the MCP endpoint with Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http palmier-pro http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp
```

For Codex the equivalent command uses a URL flag instead of a transport flag:

```bash
codex mcp add palmier-pro --url http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp
```

Cursor is configured through a JSON file. The README says the easiest route is the in-app Help menu, MCP Instructions, then Install in Cursor, but the manual entry in `~/.cursor/mcp.json` looks like this:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palmier-pro": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

After adding the server, restart the client and confirm the connection. If the app is closed, the connection will fail, because the server only exists while the application is running. That is the first thing to check when an agent reports it cannot reach the project.

## The licence split is the real adoption question

The most important paragraph in the README is the notice at the top. Releases through v0.7.6, and source code through the `last-gpl-source` branch, were published under GPLv3. Later binary releases are proprietary and their corresponding source is not published. The repository now preserves historical source and hosts current binary releases plus update metadata, which is what `appcast.xml` is for.

The Contributing section confirms the direction: the repository no longer accepts code contributions, though the published source remains available for use, modification and redistribution under GPLv3. So the code you can read is frozen at a specific point, while the binaries keep moving.

For an engineer, this changes what "open source video editor" means here. If you want to audit, patch or fork the editor, you are working against the v0.7.6-era source, not against the version you download today. If you only want to run it, the binary licence in `BINARY_LICENSE.md` governs. The README does not describe what changed between the last GPLv3 release and current binaries, so the gap is undocumented. That is a real limitation, not a technicality: you cannot reason about the current build from the source tree alone.

## Where Palmier Pro is the wrong tool

Platform is the first hard boundary. macOS 26 (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon only. No Windows build, no Linux build, no Android app. The README does not mention a web version either. If your team is mixed-platform, this is not a tool you can standardise on.

The second boundary is collaboration. The MCP server binds to `127.0.0.1`, so it is local to the machine running the app. The README describes an in-app agent working on the same project as you, not multiple editors on a shared sequence. Nothing in the README describes review workflows, shared project storage or conflict handling between two people editing simultaneously.

The third is the source situation described above. A team that needs to modify the editor, ship a patched build, or vendor the code has a ceiling at the last GPLv3 release. The README does not document rollback, downgrade or migration between the GPLv3 source and later proprietary binaries, so plan for that gap rather than assuming it is smooth.

Finally, the generative features depend on third-party models. The README names Seedance, Kling and Nano Banana Pro as examples of "SOTA models" available inside the timeline. It does not describe pricing, quotas, API keys or what happens when a provider is unavailable. Anyone budgeting for this should treat those terms as unknown from the repository.

## Alternatives: Blender and Kdenlive solve a different problem

Blender and Kdenlive are the obvious comparisons, and the difference is not features, it is the integration model.

Blender's video sequence editor is part of a larger 3D application, and its scripting surface is Python running inside Blender's own runtime. An agent can drive it through that API, but the agent has to live inside Blender's process and speak Blender's data model. Kdenlive is a Qt and KDE application built around MLT, and it runs on Linux, Windows and macOS. It is the platform-portable choice, and it is the one to pick if your team is not all on Apple Silicon.

Palmier Pro inverts the direction. Instead of embedding a script runtime, it exposes an MCP server over HTTP on localhost, so an external agent process (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) connects to a running editor over a protocol those tools already speak. You do not write a plugin; you point an existing agent at a URL. The trade is that you inherit the platform restriction and the licence split in exchange for that integration.

If your actual requirement is cross-platform editing with a scriptable API, Kdenlive is the closer fit. If your requirement is an agent that edits the sequence while you watch, Palmier Pro is the one of the three designed for that.

## Maintenance, releases and what to verify before adopting

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-08-28. Recent releases are v0.8.1 on 2026-08-28, v0.7.6 on 2026-08-19 and v0.7.5 on 2026-08-14. The cadence is close together, but note that v0.7.6 is the last release covered by the GPLv3 notice, so everything after it is binary-only.

Upgrade cost is mostly a licensing question rather than a technical one. The appcast file in the repository root suggests the app checks for updates itself, so upgrades are likely in-place rather than manual reinstalls. The README does not describe a downgrade path, which matters if you adopt a post-v0.7.6 binary and later decide you need the source.

The language coverage is unusually broad for a project this young: the README links translated versions in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Bengali, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese, French, Russian and Turkish under `docs/readme/`. That is documentation reach, not platform reach, and it should not be confused with the macOS-only constraint.

Before adopting, verify your macOS version and chip, confirm which release you are installing and under which licence, and check whether the GPLv3 source at `last-gpl-source` covers the features you actually need. Support runs through the Discord server, the @Palmier_io account on X, and founders@palmier.io.

## Conclusion

Adopt Palmier Pro if you edit on an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 26 (Tahoe) and you want an agent driving the same timeline you are looking at; the MCP endpoint at http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp is the whole reason to care. Do not adopt it if you need Windows, Linux or Android, or if you need a codebase you can fork and ship, because binary releases after v0.7.6 are proprietary and the repository no longer accepts code contributions. Before you commit, verify three things: that your machine meets the macOS 26 and Apple Silicon requirement, which release you are actually installing, and whether the GPLv3 source through last-gpl-source covers the version you plan to redistribute.

## FAQ

### Is Palmier Pro only for Mac?

Yes. The README states it requires macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later on Apple Silicon (M series) only, and no Windows, Linux or Android build is described.

### How do I use Palmier Pro with Claude?

Open the app so the MCP server is running, then register the endpoint with the Claude Code command from the README: claude mcp add --transport http palmier-pro http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp. Claude Desktop uses the bundled mcpb extension instead, installed from Help, then MCP Instructions, then Install in Claude Desktop.

### What is Palmier Pro?

It is a macOS video editor built in Swift with built-in generative AI and MCP support, so agents like Claude, Codex or Cursor can create and edit directly on the timeline. The README describes Premiere Pro as its north star.

### Is Palmier Pro available for Windows?

No. The README lists macOS 26 (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon as the only supported platform, and mentions no Windows version.

### Is Palmier Pro safe?

The MCP server binds to http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp, so it is reachable only from the machine running the app, and it exists only while the app is open. The README does not document additional authentication on that endpoint.

### What is a Palmier Pro alternative?

Blender and Kdenlive are the closest comparisons. Kdenlive runs on Linux, Windows and macOS around MLT, while Blender exposes a Python scripting surface inside its own runtime; Palmier Pro instead exposes an HTTP MCP server that an external agent connects to.

## Sources

- [Official documentation](https://palmier.io)
- [Official README](https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro#readme)
- [Project repository](https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro)
- [Release notes](https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro/releases)

---

Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/palmier-io-palmier-pro