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Claude · Reference editing

How to match a reference video’s editing style with Claude

Add Shorty to Claude as a custom connector, give Claude the reference video and your clips, and say what to copy. Claude passes the reference to Shorty as the video whose editing style to copy, adds your footage and starts the render; Shorty edits your clips and returns the MP4.

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The short answer

Key takeaways

  • Add Shorty to Claude as a custom connector at https://mcp.shortyedit.com/mcp.
  • Give Claude the reference as a file or direct media link, plus your clips, and list the traits to copy.
  • Shorty edits your footage and returns the MP4; check the run status before retrying.

Connect Shorty to Claude

Shorty connects to ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Cursor and Codex over MCP at https://mcp.shortyedit.com/mcp, with OAuth sign-in in your browser. A free Shorty account is created the first time you authorize.

  1. In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector.
  2. Name it Shorty and paste https://mcp.shortyedit.com/mcp, then sign in to Shorty when asked.
  3. In Claude Code, run: claude mcp add --transport http shorty https://mcp.shortyedit.com/mcp

Sources: Shorty MCP setup · Edit your videos with Claude. Shorty’s published setup steps.

Give Claude the reference and your clips

The choose_reference tool takes the reference as a local file or a direct media link and creates the edit project; add_footage adds your clips; render runs the edit and returns the MP4. A link to a social post is not a media file, so supply the video itself.

Sources: Shorty docs: MCP tools. Tool descriptions from Shorty’s documentation.

Use reel.mp4 as the reference and the clips in this folder as footage. Match the reference’s cut speed, caption placement and highlighted words, and cut on the beat. Recreate its opening title one to one. Render a vertical MP4.

Tell the assistant what to copy

A reference shows the target; your list says which parts of it matter.

Traits to name
TraitSay
Pace“Cut as fast as the reference.”
Captions“Captions in the same place, key words highlighted.”
Music“Cut on the beat of the reference track” or attach your own song.
Opening and titles“Recreate the opening title one to one with my first clip.”
What stays yours“Keep my voiceover; use my brand colour.”

Check the run and revise

If the connection drops, ask Claude to check the run’s status before starting another, so you do not start a duplicate. Watch the MP4, then ask for one focused change. Renders use credits from your Shorty plan.

Keep the ideas coming

Edit your footage to match a reference video

Reference editing

Add your raw clips and the video you want to copy, write “like the reference”, and Shorty edits your footage to match it: where the captions sit and which words light up, how fast it cuts, cuts locked to the beat in music edits, transitions, framing and colour. Ask for a one-to-one recreation and Shorty rebuilds the reference’s opening and titles with your own clips. You get a finished MP4 and revise it by message.

Shorty MCP setup

Product

Connect Shorty to a compatible AI assistant and direct an edit in chat. Bring your footage and a brief; Shorty handles the media processing and rendering.

Edit your clips inside ChatGPT

AI assistants

Yes, with a video editor connected. Add Shorty to ChatGPT as a custom connection with the endpoint https://mcp.shortyedit.com/mcp, sign in to Shorty in your browser, then ask ChatGPT to open Shorty Studio. The real Shorty editor opens inside the chat with your footage, Discovery references, your edits and the revision box. Pick a reference, add clips and send: ChatGPT builds the edit with Shorty and you watch it render without leaving the conversation. Opening Studio uses no credits; rendering uses your plan’s credits.

Edit your videos with Claude

Connected workflows

Shorty provides a remote MCP connector that lets a compatible client such as Claude request edits of your own footage. Connect the Shorty endpoint with OAuth, supply clips and a brief, and request a render. Shorty processes and renders the video; the chat is where you direct the workflow.

When the edit looks different

Help article

A reference guides the treatment of your footage. The result also depends on the shots you supply. Identify the specific difference, check whether the footage supports your target, and request one focused revision.

Questions, answered.

Can Claude edit my video to match a reference?

Yes, with Shorty connected. Claude passes the reference and your clips to Shorty, which edits your footage in the reference’s style and returns an MP4.

Can I give Claude an Instagram link as the reference?

No. Supply the video file or a direct media link; Shorty does not download videos from social platform pages.

Does it work in Claude Code and Cursor?

Yes. Any MCP client with Streamable HTTP and OAuth can use the same endpoint.

Ask an assistant

Take this page into your chat.

Open it in ChatGPT or Claude with the page already loaded, or read the plain-Markdown version.

Ask ChatGPT Ask Claude Read as Markdown

Make it with Shorty

Your next video starts here.

Bring the footage. Tell us the idea. Shape the edit.

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