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claude-real-video MCP Server: Let Claude and Cursor Watch Videos

CommunityLocal
GetPyPIclaude-real-videohuangchihhungleo/claude-real-video
Tools
5
4 read · 1 change
Stars
2.3K
on GitHub
Works in
12
apps
Risk
Medium
can write
Auth
None

Lets Claude or Cursor watch a video link or file, then search everything it has watched.

This is a community project by HUANGCHIHHUNGLeo. Everything runs on your computer: it downloads the video, picks key frames and transcribes the audio with Whisper. You need ffmpeg installed.

It keeps a cache and a searchable memory of what it watched on your disk.

Good for

  • People who want a video summarised or checked frame by frame
  • Researchers who keep a searchable record of talks and meetings

Works in

12 should work

Tap an app to see how to set it up and any known problems.

Install claude-real-video MCP

Claude Code

  1. 1

    Copy this prompt.

    Add the claude-real-video MCP server to Claude Code. Run this command:

claude mcp add claude-real-video -- uvx --from "claude-real-video[mcp,whisper]" crv-mcp

Then check that it loaded and tell me if I need to sign in or restart.
  2. 2

    Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires uv (Python), ffmpeg.

Install ffmpeg first (brew install ffmpeg on macOS, sudo apt install ffmpeg on Linux, winget install Gyan.FFmpeg on Windows). The server is the crv-mcp command from the claude-real-video package, and it needs the mcp extra. The whisper extra adds transcription. The README shows pip install and a bare crv-mcp command; the uvx form here is adapted by us.

Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us.

Tools

  • Watches a video for you

    Downloads a video link or reads a local file, picks the key frames, and transcribes the audio with Whisper on your machine. It returns the transcript plus the first batch of frames as images.

    Try: “Watch https://youtu.be/example and summarise what is shown on screen.”

    Write · watch_video

  • Gets more frames from a watched video

    Pages through the remaining key frames of a video that was already analysed.

    Try: “Show me the next 12 frames of that video.”

    Files · get_frames

  • Gets just the words of a video

    Returns the transcript only, without frames, so a long talk does not use image tokens. Output is capped at 20,000 characters by default.

    Try: “Give me the transcript of that talk.”

    Files · get_transcript

  • Searches every video you have watched

    Searches the transcripts and notes of all videos watched so far to find the one that covered a topic.

    Try: “Which video did I watch about database indexing?”

    Files · search_memory

  • Lists videos already watched

    Shows the videos in the local cache so the assistant does not watch the same one twice.

    Try: “What videos have you watched so far?”

    Files · list_watched

Read from the source code

Permissions

medium risk · 2 things to watch

Medium risk

It downloads videos and writes frames, transcripts and a search memory to your disk, and sends frames to your AI app. Avoid videos with private content unless you are fine with that.

What it can do

  • Read your data
  • Create and change things
  • Delete things
  • Read-only mode

Watch out for

  • It downloads videos and stores them on your disk

    watch_video downloads the source and caches frames and transcripts under ~/.cache/crv-mcp. Clear that folder when you are done with sensitive videos. github.com

  • It reads any local video path you give it

    Pass only files you want analysed. The frames are sent to your assistant, so they leave your machine if the assistant is cloud-hosted. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 1, 2026.

Technical details
Turning on read-onlyNo read-only mode. The README says memory can be turned off with CRV_NO_MEMORY=1.
Talks toThe video site you give it (downloads through yt-dlp)

Questions

Is claude-real-video official?

No. It is a community project by HUANGCHIHHUNGLeo and is not made by YouTube or any video site.

Does it need an API key?

No. Transcription runs locally with Whisper and no account is needed.

What do I need to install first?

You need ffmpeg on your machine. The install box has the command, which also adds the transcription (Whisper) extra.

Is my video sent to the cloud?

Analysis runs locally. The frames and transcript do go to your AI app, so they leave your machine if that app is cloud-hosted.

Can I stop it from remembering what it watched?

Yes. The README says the memory can be disabled with the CRV_NO_MEMORY=1 environment variable.

Which videos work?

Links from sites that yt-dlp supports, such as YouTube and Instagram, and local video files.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Publisher
Community
Package
claude-real-video
Registry
PyPI
Transport
stdio
Auth
None
Version
0.10.7
License
MIT
Last commit
Oct 23, 2026
Open issues
1
Listed in
Official MCP registry

WebsiteGitHubPyPIOfficial MCP RegistryChangelogIssues

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from. Issues, quotes and findings above link to their own source.

Show all 2
  1. claude-real-video README · github.com
  2. claude-real-video MCP server source · github.com

Facts from the official MCP registry, GitHub, npm, PyPI and the Docker catalog. Updated Nov 2, 2026.