Insta Edits for Claude

Let Claude Code edit in Instagram Edits for Mac, with the full editor and not just the home screen.

_{One prompt, a real Claude Code session, nothing scripted. Edits found no beats, so Claude analysed the music itself (122 BPM), cut every clip on a beat, checked its own frames and exported the reel. Watch with sound.}

Edits for Mac, which Meta launched on 5 November 2026, has a built-in automation server that speaks MCP: in Meta's words, you can connect AI agents "to the desktop editor through MCP so they can help with your projects". You can point Claude Code at it directly, but you only get part of it.

Edits changes its tools with the screen. The home screen offers 32 tools: projects, imports and catalogs. Open a project and it offers 274, with text, captions, effects, transitions, keyframes, audio and export. Edits says it will announce that change (tools.listChanged: true) but never sends the notification. Claude keeps the 32 home tools for the whole session and never sees the editor.

This bridge sits between the two. After every tool call it asks Edits which tools it offers now. If the set has changed, it tells Claude, and Claude refreshes the list. It also fixes a reply format that some Claude Code builds reject, gives readable errors, and keeps your token out of config files.

Claude Code ──stdio──▶ insta-edits ──HTTP──▶ Edits for Mac (127.0.0.1:19501)
             ◀── tools/list_changed ──┘  checks the tool set after each call

Works with Claude Code in the terminal and in the Code tab of the Claude desktop app. It's a standard stdio MCP server, so other MCP clients (the Claude desktop chat, Cursor, Codex) can run insta-edits serve too, though we've only tested Claude Code.

What you get

• The full editor. Claude receives notifications/tools/list_changed as soon as Edits moves between home (32 tools) and the editor (274). Without the bridge, that notification never arrives.
• Replies that every Claude Code build accepts. Edits marks each result "resultType": "complete" without the caching fields that newer MCP schemas pair with it. Some Claude Code builds then dropped every tool, with Invalid result for tools/list: ttlMs … cacheScope. The bridge removes the marker only when those fields are missing.
• Your token stays private. The plugin keeps it in the macOS keychain. The CLI keeps it in a 0600 file. It never appears in ~/.claude.json, in logs or in error messages.
• Errors you can act on. "Cannot reach Edits: open it and enable the Automation Server" replaces a stack trace. A rejected token says how to update it.
• doctor checks every link from the app to the sign-in, and --json gives you a report to attach to a bug.
• An edits skill that teaches Claude how the server behaves: discover before guessing, work in normalised canvas coordinates, check rendered frames, and never publish without your explicit go-ahead.
• Python standard library only. Nothing to pip install for the plugin, and it runs on the python3 that comes with macOS.

Requirements

• A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and Edits for Mac, free and signed in to Instagram
• Claude Code
• python3 3.9 or newer. Run xcode-select --install if macOS asks for the command line tools.

Install

1. Turn on the automation server in Edits

Go to Edits › Settings › Automation, switch on Enable Automation Server, and copy the Access token. Keep Edits open while Claude works.

2a. As a Claude Code plugin (recommended)

Start claude in a terminal and type:

/plugin marketplace add faisalkhanzemi/insta-edits-for-claude
/plugin install insta-edits@insta-edits

Claude Code asks for the access token with a masked prompt and stores it in your keychain. Restart Claude Code, then run /mcp: edits should show as connected. The plugin also installs the edits skill.

claude plugin marketplace add faisalkhanzemi/insta-edits-for-claude

claude plugin install insta-edits@insta-edits

2b. As a standalone MCP server

pipx install git+https://github.com/faisalkhanzemi/insta-edits-for-claude

insta-edits set-token

claude mcp add --scope user edits -- insta-edits serve

set-token asks for the token with a hidden prompt and saves it to ~/.config/insta-edits/token with 0600 permissions. Never put the token itself on the claude mcp add line: it would end up in plain text in ~/.claude.json and in your shell history.

Check the connection

insta-edits doctor

insta-edits 0.1.0 doctor

  ✓ macOS                      27.0.1
  ✓ Edits app installed        /Applications/Edits.app
  ✓ Automation server          answering at http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp (HTTP 403 without a token, as expected)
  ✓ Access token               from ~/.config/insta-edits/token
  ✓ Sign-in                    metapilot-native 1.0.0, protocol 2025-06-18
  ✓ Tools                      32 on the current screen (home screen; Edits offers more once a project is open)
  ✓ Reply format               normalised for older Claude Code builds (resultType without caching fields)
  ✓ Edits automation schema    2026.10.19-1
  ✓ Tool-change notifications  Edits announces them but never sends any; the bridge checks after each call and tells Claude

All good. Claude can drive Edits.

Each ✗ line names its fix. Plugin users who want doctor can install the CLI as in 2b. The plugin token lives in the keychain, so without set-token the doctor checks stop at the sign-in step.

Using it

Ask for edits in plain words:

Open my latest Edits project and tell me what's on the timeline.

Import ~/Movies/broll/ into a new project, cut it to the beat of the voice-over, and add word-by-word captions in a clean sans.

Add a soft zoom on every product close-up and a whoosh on each cut, then render a preview so I can check the frames.

Claude opens the project, the editor tools appear, and it works from them. It doesn't post. Publishing stays in the Edits window unless you explicitly tell Claude to share a specific video.

How it works

Settings come from the environment: EDITS_MCP_URL (default http://127.0.0.1:19501/mcp), EDITS_MCP_TOKEN, and EDITS_MCP_TOKEN_FILE. Logs go to stderr.

Tested with

Edits updates often and its automation server is undocumented. If a new build breaks something, run insta-edits doctor --json and open an issue with the output. It contains no token.

Troubleshooting

Security

• The bridge only connects to the URL you configure, which defaults to 127.0.0.1. It sends nothing anywhere else and has no telemetry.
• The token is redacted in every log line, error message and repr. doctor --json reports where the token came from, never its value.
• Edits is signed in to your Instagram account. The bundled skill tells Claude never to publish, share or schedule without your explicit go-ahead for that specific post.
• Report vulnerabilities privately as described in SECURITY.md.

FAQ

How do I connect Claude to Instagram Edits? Install Edits for Mac, switch on Settings › Automation › Enable Automation Server, then add this plugin with the two /plugin lines under Install. Claude can then open your projects and edit them.

Can Claude edit Instagram Reels? Yes, inside Edits for Mac. It can import clips, cut them on the beat, add captions, text, transitions, zooms and speed ramps, check rendered frames and export. You post the reel from Edits yourself.

Does it work with claude.ai in the browser? No. Edits runs on your Mac and only listens locally, so it needs Claude Code (or another MCP client) running on the same Mac.

Is this official? No. It's an independent open-source project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta, Instagram or Anthropic. "Instagram" and "Edits" are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc.

Does it work on Windows or with the Edits phone app? No. Edits on desktop is only available on macOS, and the automation server only exists there.

Do I still need this if my Claude Code build accepts Edits' replies? Yes, for the editor tools. Edits never announces that its tools changed, and no client can find that out without asking.

Can Claude post to Instagram for me? The bridge won't stop Claude from calling Edits' share tools, but the bundled skill tells it to wait for your explicit go-ahead. Posting from the Edits window is the safer default.

Development

git clone https://github.com/faisalkhanzemi/insta-edits-for-claude && cd insta-edits-for-claude
python3 -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e . pytest ruff
pytest && ruff check . && ruff format --check .

The tests run against tests/fake_edits.py, a stand-in that behaves like the real server: it sends no notifications, changes its tool set when a project opens, and replies with resultType. You don't need a Mac or Edits to run them. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Credits

Demo footage: stock clips from Pexels (Pexels License). Music: "Tech House vibes" by Alejandro Magaña, Mixkit (Mixkit License).

License

MIT © Faisal Khan