Video Probe

Let any MCP client inspect local video and audio files with ffprobe before it ships them.

A narrow Model Context Protocol server. It wraps one system, ffprobe, and does one job: return structured media metadata from a local file.

codex mcp add video-probe-mcp -- npx -y github:omidsaffari/video-probe-mcp

What it does

• Exposes one tool, probe_media, backed by ffprobe.
• Reads a local media file and returns JSON with format, duration, bitrate, file size, and stream metadata.
• Uses the bundled ffprobe-static binary by default, or FFPROBE_PATH when you want to point at a system install.

It does not transcode, edit, upload, call a model, or reach a remote API.

Install

Codex

codex mcp add video-probe-mcp -- npx -y github:omidsaffari/video-probe-mcp

Claude Code and other MCP clients

Add to your MCP config (.mcp.json or the client's mcpServers block):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "video-probe-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:omidsaffari/video-probe-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

From source

git clone https://github.com/omidsaffari/video-probe-mcp
cd video-probe-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Then point your MCP client's command at:

node /absolute/path/to/video-probe-mcp/dist/index.js

Configuration

No API key is needed. By default the server uses the bundled ffprobe-static binary. To use a specific local binary, set FFPROBE_PATH:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "video-probe-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:omidsaffari/video-probe-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FFPROBE_PATH": "/opt/homebrew/bin/ffprobe"
      }
    }
  }
}

See .env.example for local development.

Tool

probe_media

Input:

{
  "filePath": "/absolute/path/to/video.mp4",
  "includeRawJson": false,
  "timeoutMs": 15000
}

Output is JSON text:

{
  "format": {
    "name": "mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2",
    "durationSeconds": 12.48,
    "bitRate": 3091210,
    "streamCount": 2
  },
  "streams": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "codec": "h264",
      "width": 1920,
      "height": 1080,
      "frameRate": "30/1"
    }
  ]
}

Use absolute paths when possible. Relative paths resolve from the MCP server process cwd, which may differ by client.

Why this exists

Agentic video workflows are growing fast, but agents still need a small deterministic check before they publish a render: "what file did I actually make?" Broad media servers mix generation, editing, conversion, and provider APIs. This server is just the inspect step.

License

MIT - see LICENSE. Built by Omid Saffari.