check_ffmpeg_installedLABSCO SUMMARY
An FFmpeg check before the conversion, which saves the confusing failure.
Almost every problem with a wrapper like this is FFmpeg not being where the process can find it, and having that as its own tool turns a cryptic conversion error into a one-line answer. The conversion tool itself covers audio and images too, so it is more of a general media converter than the name suggests.
What it is
A Python server that wraps FFmpeg. It checks that FFmpeg is installed and reachable, tells you which formats are available, and converts files between them — so "turn this webm into an mp4 at high quality" becomes a request rather than a command you have to remember the flags for.
What you get
check_ffmpeg_installedverifies FFmpeg is present and reachable on the system PATHget_supported_formatslists what you can convert toconvert_videotakesinput_file_path,output_formatandquality, and handles video, audio and image files alike- Video: MP4, WebM, MOV, AVI, MKV, FLV, GIF. Audio: MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC, M4A. Image: WebP, JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF
Requirements
Python 3.10+ and FFmpeg installed and on your system PATH — the server shells out to it and will not work without it. Clone the repository, create a virtual environment, then pip install -e . and pip install fastmcp; run it as python -m mcp_video_converter.server. A Dockerfile and a Smithery config are included, with FFMPEG_PATH and DEFAULT_QUALITY available as container environment variables. Quality accepts low, medium or high, defaulting to medium.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/adamanz/mcp-video-converter.git
USE CASES
01
Getting a screen recording into a format you can share
Convert the webm to mp4 at the quality you name.
02
Pulling the audio out of a video
Convert straight to mp3 or wav without opening an editor.
03
Working out why nothing converts
Check whether FFmpeg is actually installed and reachable first.
04
Choosing a target format
List what is supported before deciding what to convert to.
3 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
get_supported_formatsconvert_videoBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
3 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
Python 3.10+
Where it runs
Both documented setups run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
You clone this one yourself.
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/adamanz/mcp-video-converter.git
cd mcp-video-converter
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e .
pip install fastmcp
python check_installation.pyMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"video-convert": {
"command": "/bin/bash",
"args": [
"-c",
"cd <YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_VIDEO_CONVERTER> && source .venv/bin/activate && python -m mcp_video_converter.server"
]
}
}
}Claude Desktop — Windows
CLAUDE DESKTOP — WINDOWS · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"video-convert": {
"command": "cmd.exe",
"args": [
"/c",
"cd /d <YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_VIDEO_CONVERTER> && .venv\\Scripts\\activate && python -m mcp_video_converter.server"
]
}
}
}
