Cline#

Connect ClipKit to Cline — the open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains — so it can author and preview ClipKit videos in your IDE.

Two ways to use ClipKit#

Cline is a coding agent, so it can work with ClipKit two ways — call ClipKit's hosted MCP tools, or write code against ClipKit's npm packages right in your repo. Both are first-class; pick by where you want the video to live.

	MCP tools (hosted)	npm packages (code)
Wire-up	add a remote server in the MCP panel	`npx @clipkit/cli init` in your repo
The agent	calls tools (`add_element`, `preview_still`, `render_video`)	edits a `video.ts` Source, runs `clipkit validate` / render
Your video is	scratch state on clipkit.dev, shareable by link	a `video.ts` in your repo — version-controlled, reviewable
Installs	nothing	`@clipkit/cli`, `@clipkit/protocol`, `@clipkit/runtime`
Best for	quick authoring, preview stills inline	videos that live in your codebase, CI renders, reuse

They're not exclusive — wire the MCP tools for fast iteration and keep finished videos as code. New to ClipKit? Start with the connector (Option A) — it's zero-install.

Option A — hosted MCP connector#

Open the MCP Servers panel → Add remote server, and when prompted for the transport pick Streamable HTTP (not SSE). Or edit cline_mcp_settings.json directly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clipkit": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://www.clipkit.dev/mcp",
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Verify the connector#

The clipkit entry in the MCP Servers panel shows a green indicator and expands to list its tools. Or prompt Cline: "use the clipkit tools to validate my project."

Option B — npm packages (code)#

No MCP server involved — Cline writes ClipKit code directly in your project. Scaffold once:

npx @clipkit/cli init my-video
cd my-video && npm install

That pins @clipkit/cli, @clipkit/protocol, and @clipkit/runtime, writes a starter video.ts (a plain, typed Source object), and drops an AGENTS.md so any AI agent working in the directory picks up the authoring guide. Then ask Cline to:

edit video.ts — typed by @clipkit/protocol, so the schema drives its edits;
npx clipkit validate video.ts — the same Zod check the runtime and the MCP server run;
render — @clipkit/renderer locally, or POST the Source to the hosted API.

Add @clipkit/patterns for prebuilt scene and data-viz units, @clipkit/lint for soft checks. Full walkthrough: Quickstart.

Notes#

Critical (connector): the type must be exactly "streamableHttp" (camelCase, no hyphen). Omitting it — or using "streamable-http" / "http" — makes Cline fall back to legacy SSE, which hits ClipKit's disabled /sse endpoint and fails.
No Authorization header — the hosted server is open. A CLIPKIT_API_KEY (Settings → API keys) is only needed for the paid render path in Option B (clipkit render / the hosted render API), never by the connector.

New to the tools? The MCP server overview has the full tool list and how projects work.