Palmier Pro is a free, open-source video editor for Mac that lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Claude Desktop edit your timeline directly, over a local MCP server, instead of you copying AI-generated clips in and out of a separate app. You download the DMG, connect an agent to 127.0.0.1:19789, and from then on the agent can trim, reorder, and generate footage alongside you in the same project.
Short answer: Palmier Pro is a free, open-source (GPL-3.0) Swift video editor for macOS 26 on Apple Silicon. It runs a local MCP server at
127.0.0.1:19789/mcpthat Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Claude Desktop can connect to for direct timeline edits. The editor and MCP layer cost nothing; AI generation (Kling, Seedance, Veo 3.1) needs a $29/month Pro or $69/month Max subscription.
In my testing, I downloaded the DMG, wired up Claude Code over MCP, and ran a real generate-and-edit loop before writing any of this down, since a tool that hands an AI agent write access to your timeline is worth checking before you trust it with a project. Here's what setup actually takes, what the subscription tiers cost, and where I'd slow down before recommending it.
What you'll need
A Mac on Apple Silicon running macOS 26 (Tahoe) — Palmier Pro won't launch on Intel Macs or older macOS versions, so check About This Mac before you download anything. You'll need one AI agent already installed if you want the MCP integration: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or the Claude Desktop app all work, and you pick whichever one you already use for coding rather than installing something new just for this. No account or login is required for basic editing — the timeline, trims, transforms, and exports are free and local. You only need to sign in and subscribe if you want the built-in AI generation models (Kling, Seedance, Veo 3.1, Grok Imagine) to render new footage inside the timeline. Budget about 15 minutes for setup, most of it spent connecting the MCP server to your agent of choice.
Step-by-step: setting up Palmier Pro
1. Download and install the app
Grab the DMG from the latest release on Palmier Pro’s GitHub page or from palmier.io directly, drag it into Applications, and open it. Since the app isn't in the Mac App Store, you'll need to right-click and choose "Open" the first time to clear Gatekeeper.
2. Open a project and confirm the editor works standalone
Before touching any AI features, import a clip and try the basics — trim, split, add a text layer, adjust opacity. Palmier Pro is a real multi-track editor on its own, and confirming that first tells you whether the core app is solid before you add an agent into the mix.
3. Connect your AI agent over MCP
This is the part that makes Palmier Pro different from a normal editor. With the app running, its MCP server listens locally at http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp. Connect from Claude Code with:
“ claude mcp add --transport http palmier-pro http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp “
Codex uses codex mcp add palmier-pro --url http://127.0.0.1:19789/mcp. Cursor needs a manual entry in ~/.cursor/mcp.json pointed at the same URL, and Claude Desktop has a one-click installer under its Help menu. Because the server binds to localhost only, nothing about your timeline leaves your machine through this connection.
4. Ask your agent to make an edit
Once connected, tell your agent something concrete: "trim the second clip on the timeline to 4 seconds" or "list every clip and its transcript." The MCP server exposes tools for clip management, transcription lookups, and timeline manipulation, and you'll see the edit land in the timeline in real time, not in a preview you have to import.
5. Sign in only if you want AI generation
If you want the app to generate new video or image clips with Kling, Seedance, Veo 3.1, or Grok Imagine, you'll hit a login wall and a plan prompt. Skip this step entirely if you only want the free editor plus MCP-driven manual edits.
6. Export in the format your next step needs
Palmier Pro exports MP4 in H.264, H.265, or ProRes, and it also writes an NLE XML file that opens in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, so a Palmier Pro project isn't a dead end if you need to finish somewhere else.
Example prompts you can copy
These are the kinds of instructions that get useful results once your agent is connected over MCP, rather than vague requests that leave the agent guessing at what "make it better" means:
- "Pull the transcript for clip 3 and tell me where the speaker pauses longer than 2 seconds — I want to cut there."
- "Generate a 5-second B-roll clip of rain on a window using Seedance, and drop it after the intro clip."
- "Reorder the timeline so the highest-energy clip comes first, based on the audio waveform peaks."
- "Match the color and exposure of clip 5 to clip 1 so the cut doesn't jump."
Each one names a specific clip, a specific action, and a specific constraint — the same pattern that gets better output out of any coding agent, applied to a timeline instead of a codebase.
Common mistakes to avoid
The mistake I'd flag first: assuming the free tier includes generation, then being surprised by the login wall. The editor, the MCP server, and manual editing are genuinely free with no account — only the AI models behind Kling, Seedance, Veo, and Grok Imagine sit behind the $29 or $69 plans. Second, skipping step 2 and jumping straight to agent control — if you haven't confirmed basic trims and exports work on your machine, you won't be able to tell whether a weird result is the agent's fault or the app's. Third, forgetting this only runs on macOS 26 and Apple Silicon; I've seen people burn 20 minutes troubleshooting a DMG that simply won't launch on an Intel Mac or an older OS version. Fourth, treating the MCP connection as read-only — it isn't. The agent can reorder and delete clips on the actual timeline, so don't hand it control of a project you haven't backed up or duplicated first. Fifth, expecting the open-source GPL-3.0 license to cover the generative models too — it doesn't. The editor and MCP layer are open source; the video and image generation runs as a closed, paid service on Palmier's servers.
Tools that make this easier
Palmier Pro is one piece of a bigger AI-agent workflow, not a replacement for it, so most people run it next to the coding agent they already use. If you're setting up the MCP connection through Claude Code for the first time, my how to use Claude AI guide covers account basics and connector permissions that carry over directly. Since Codex is one of the four supported agents, how to use ChatGPT Codex walks through installing the CLI you'll point at Palmier Pro's MCP server. If you're already running other MCP connectors alongside your agent, Unabyss for Claude is a useful comparison for how a second local-first MCP tool behaves and what it costs to run more than one at a time. For the editing side rather than the AI-agent side, my best AI tool for content creation roundup covers Descript and other editors worth comparing before you commit to a Mac-only, Apple Silicon-only tool. My running AI tool reviews index is where I track every tool I've actually tested against its own claims, this one included. And if the $29–$69 subscription is more than you want to spend before you've decided the workflow is worth it, free AI tools is a good place to see what else is available at no cost while you use Palmier Pro's editor for free in the meantime.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly price | What you get | Login required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Full multi-track editor, exports, MCP server access | No |
| Pro | $29/mo (launch price, was $49) | Free tier plus AI video/image generation (Kling, Seedance, Veo 3.1, Grok Imagine) | Yes |
| Max | $69/mo (launch price, was $99) | Higher generation limits and priority rendering over Pro | Yes |
Prices above are the current launch pricing listed on Palmier’s own pricing page as of this writing; the vendor lists the regular rate as $49 and $99 respectively once the launch discount ends, so don't assume $29 is permanent. The editor itself, the GPL-3.0 source on GitHub, and the MCP server cost nothing regardless of which tier you pick.
My take
Palmier Pro solves a real, specific annoyance: the generate-download-import-edit loop that anyone using AI video models has dealt with. Putting the agent and the timeline in the same place is a genuinely different design than bolting a chatbot onto an existing editor, and the fact that the core editor and MCP layer are free and open source (GPL-3.0, backed by Y Combinator's Palmier, Inc.) means you can try the whole workflow before paying anything. What holds it back from a broad recommendation is the platform lock: macOS 26 on Apple Silicon only, nothing for Windows or Intel Macs, and no roadmap I could find for either. If you're already deep in the Claude Code or Cursor ecosystem and edit video on a recent Mac, it's worth the 15-minute setup. If you're on Windows, an older Mac, or you just need a straightforward editor without an agent attached, a tool like Descript will get you there with fewer constraints.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Palmier Pro free?
The editor, exports, and the local MCP server are free with no login required. AI-generated video and images require a subscription — $29/month for Pro or $69/month for Max, both currently discounted launch prices per Palmier's pricing page.
How long does setup take?
About 15 minutes if you already have Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Claude Desktop installed — most of that time goes into confirming the DMG opens on your Mac and connecting the MCP server to your agent, not the editor itself.
What is the easiest way to get started?
Install the app, test basic edits on your own footage first, then connect one agent over MCP and ask it a specific, narrow question like "list the clips on this timeline" before asking it to make changes.
Does Palmier Pro run on Windows or Intel Macs?
No. It requires macOS 26 (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon. There's no Windows build or Intel-Mac support as of this writing.
Can the AI agent damage my project?
Yes, if you let it. The MCP connection gives your agent real write access to the timeline — it can reorder or delete clips, not just view them — so duplicate a project before handing it to an agent for the first time.