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This page registers the Pictory MCP server directly in Claude Code.
If you have already added the Pictory connector in Claude and Claude Code is signed in to the same account, you can use that connection: claude mcp list shows it under the name you gave the connector, prefixed claude.ai, and its tools are available in every session. The steps below are for a machine that is not signed in to claude.ai, or for a project-wide setup shared with a team.
Motion graphics for Pictory 3.0 accounts. Create animated text, charts, and diagrams through conversation, then open the same project in Pictory 3.0 for further editing. Explore the motion graphics guide.

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Prerequisites

  • Claude Code installed: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  • A Pictory account with an active subscription or eligible Free Trial: app.pictory.ai. Available video minutes, voice-over usage, and AI Credits depend on your plan.
You do not need an API key or an API subscription. Sign in with your Pictory account.

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Add the Server

pictory-ai-video is the name you will use to refer to the server; any name works. --callback-port 3118 is required, see why the callback port is fixed.

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Sign In

A browser window opens on the Pictory sign-in page. Sign in with your Pictory email and password, or Continue with Google. The browser returns to Claude Code, which stores the sign-in for future sessions. You can also sign in from inside a session: type /mcp, select pictory-ai-video, and choose Authenticate.

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Verify

The server shows as connected. Start a session and ask for a video:
Pictory 2.0 and Pictory 3.0 are versions of the Pictory video app. Your account determines the only type of new video you can create through the MCP connector: Claude checks your account automatically. It does not ask you to choose between these video types. Pictory 3.0 users do not need separate activation for Motion Graphics. The MCP server rejects Motion Graphics creation requests from Pictory 2.0 accounts.
Moving to Pictory 3.0 is a one-way change. If you use Pictory 2.0 and want Motion Graphics, contact Pictory support to enable Pictory 3.0 for your account. After your account moves to Pictory 3.0, you cannot switch back to Pictory 2.0. New videos you create through MCP will use Motion Graphics only.
For motion graphics, choose a Brand Kit 2.0 from Pictory 3.0 or None. Settle narration, music, and transitions. Claude asks about stock media, AI-generated media, both, or none only if you have not already given a preference. Finalize narration, narrator, music, and scene count before creation. Later chat revisions can change the visual design. The project is saved automatically and opens in the Motion Studio editor in Pictory 3.0. On plans that charge render credits, Motion Graphics videos made through MCP cost 200 AI Credits per video minute for the project’s first successful render. Before rendering a motion video, Claude shows your available credits and the cost, then waits for your confirmation. This applies even if you asked to render in your first message or the render costs zero credits. See credits and rendering. Only Standard videos ask whether Pictory designs the scenes or you design them together. They offer the choice to save an editable project. A Standard preview takes 2–5 minutes and a final render 5–15 minutes; AI-generated media adds preparation time.

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Why the Callback Port Is Fixed

Claude Code completes the sign-in on a local listener at http://localhost:<port>/callback. Pictory’s sign-in service checks that address against an exact list of registered return addresses, and http://localhost:3118/callback is the one registered for Claude Code. Without --callback-port, Claude Code picks a random free port for each sign-in, the address does not match, and the sign-in page shows an error before you can log in. Always pass --callback-port 3118.

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Scope

By default the server is registered for the current project only, for you. Two other scopes are available: For example, to make it available everywhere:

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Sign Out, Refresh, Remove

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Get the New Features: Existing Users

If this connection comes from the connector in your Claude account, follow the disconnect, remove, and add again steps in Claude first, then start a new Claude Code session. If you registered Pictory directly in Claude Code, sign out and remove that server registration. Follow the setup and sign-in steps on this page to add it again, using the same scope as before. Start a new session after reconnecting. Your saved Pictory projects stay in your account. Claude Code does not show the upload panel used for your own images and videos. Give Claude a public link to the file instead.

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Troubleshooting

Cause: The server was added without --callback-port, so Claude Code used a random port and the return address did not match the registered one.Resolution:
  1. Remove the server: claude mcp remove pictory-ai-video
  2. Add it again with the flag: claude mcp add --transport http --callback-port 3118 pictory-ai-video https://mcp.pictory.ai/mcp
  3. Sign in: claude mcp login pictory-ai-video
Cause: Another process is listening on port 3118, so Claude Code cannot open the callback listener. The port cannot be changed, because it is the one registered with Pictory.Resolution:
  1. Find the process: lsof -i :3118
  2. Stop it, or wait for it to finish, then sign in again.
Cause: Claude Code reads the server’s tool list when it connects, so a tool added since then is not visible.Resolution:
  1. Follow Get the new features: existing users.
  2. Start a new session and confirm Pictory is connected.
Cause: The stored sign-in has expired, or the Pictory account does not carry a plan with access to the requested feature and sufficient remaining usage.Resolution:
  1. Sign out and in again: claude mcp logout pictory-ai-video, then claude mcp login pictory-ai-video
  2. Check your subscription at app.pictory.ai.

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Next Steps

Pictory MCP Server

Standard videos, motion graphics, and the options available through your connection

Text-to-Video Skill

The Claude Code skill that works with your API key and carries its own design playbook