How to Make AI Videos from Claude with the CraftStory MCP Server

October 8, 2026 · CraftStory Team

What you can ask for

• “Turn this photo into a 10-second clip where I say ‘Welcome to our spring collection’.”
• “Make a vertical 9:16 ad: my product photo on the table, a woman presents it, calm studio sound.”
• “Use my avatar Alex and have him say the three lines below, 4:5 for Instagram.”
• “Make a 2-minute explainer from this script with the voice ‘Daniel’ and the photo attached.”

Before you start

Setup in claude.ai and Claude Desktop (2 minutes)

1. Open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
2. Fill in the connector. Name: CraftStory. URL: https://mcp.craftstory.com/mcp. Open the advanced settings and set OAuth Client ID to hAlwpyaDeO0CmuEKMibZxiXxtTT09NXL; leave the client secret empty. The client ID is public, it only tells CraftStory which app is asking.

   

   

3. Click Connect and sign in with the account you use at app.craftstory.com. If you started from Claude Desktop, the browser first asks you to confirm that you are finishing a connection you began yourself, and at the end offers to switch back to the desktop app.

   

   

4. Turn the tools on in a chat. Open the tools menu in the message box and make sure CraftStory is enabled. Each tool asks for approval the first time unless you change that in the connector settings.

   

Setup in Claude Code (1 minute)

claude mcp add --scope user craftstory -e CRAFTSTORY_API_KEY=sk-cs-paste-your-key-here -- npx -y @craftstory/mcp

Cursor, Windsurf, Zed and other local MCP clients

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "craftstory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@craftstory/mcp"],
      "env": { "CRAFTSTORY_API_KEY": "sk-cs-paste-your-key-here" }
    }
  }
}

Your first video: a 5-second clip from a photo

1. Claude calls list_models to see what is available and what it costs.
2. It calls request_file_upload and sends you a link; you open it, drop the photo and say “uploaded”. (With a public URL, or with the local server, this step is skipped.)
3. It starts a MiniMax H3 job with the photo and your line in the description.
4. It polls the job with wait_for_job; a 5-second clip takes about 2–4 minutes.
5. You get a link to the MP4 (valid for 7 days; the video also appears in your CraftStory library).

The three ways to make a video

• Put the spoken words in quotes; everything else is scene direction.
• Add up to three extra files to keep things consistent: a product photo, a logo, a colleague’s portrait, a music bed. Tell Claude what each file is: “the second file is our logo, keep it on the cup”.
• Pick a shape: “make it 9:16” (vertical), 16:9, 1:1, or 4:5 for Instagram ads. Leaving it out follows the photo.

Useful prompts

• “What does a 30-second 720p video cost?” → preview_cost
• “Show the status of my last job.” → get_job_status
• “Upscale that video to 1080p.” → upscale_video (0.2 credits per second)
• “Which voices sound British?” → list_voices
• “Make five variants of the same ad with different hooks: …” → Claude runs them one after another.

What to expect

Troubleshooting

• “Won’t take a local file.” Ask Claude for an upload link (“send me a link to upload the photo”), or give it a public URL. Nothing is charged for a job that did not start.
• The upload link expired or was already used. Links live 15 minutes and take one file; ask Claude for a new one.
• The connector asks for a plan. The account you signed in with is not on a plan with API access. Upgrade to Producer at craftstory.com/pricing and reconnect.
• The connector is missing in a chat. Open the tools menu in the message box and switch CraftStory on; in Settings → Connectors it should say Connected, otherwise click Reconnect.
• The local server’s tools don’t show up. Restart the client after editing the config; check node -v (20+); the key must start with sk-cs-.
• “Low credits”. Buy a pack in the app (Account → Credits) or wait for the monthly grant; the job was not charged.
• “Photo didn’t pass moderation”. The photo was refused; credits are refunded, try another one.
• A job failed. Failed jobs are always refunded; ask Claude for the failure reason.
• Privacy. The hosted connector verifies your sign-in and forwards each request to the CraftStory API, storing nothing. The local server runs on your computer and only talks to api.craftstory.com; files you pass as paths are uploaded to your account and can be deleted there.

Frequently asked questions