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name: adobe-edit-quick-cut description: > Create a punchy highlight cut from a video with Adobe Quick Cut — for requests like "make a sizzle reel", "make a highlight reel", "quick cut this", "cut the best parts", "shorten this video", "make a highlight clip", or "summarize this video visually". Works from the user's original request without follow-up questions and produces one highlight cut. Do NOT use it for exact-timestamp trims ("cut from 0:30 to 1:15") or other deterministic edits — Quick Cut selects moments by relevance, not exact instructions; those need manual editing. Requires a video file (an upload or an already-referenced Creative Cloud asset). license: Apache-2.0 compatibility: "Runs on widget-capable surfaces (e.g. Claude Cowork, which supports the asset_add_file picker and asset_preview_file preview widgets) and on surfaces where those widgets aren't available. The default flow uses the widgets; each widget step has a text-only fallback used only when that widget isn't available on the current surface. Raw local paths are never passed to video tools." allowed-tools: adobe_mandatory_init asset_add_file asset_initialize_file_upload asset_finalize_file_upload video_create_quick_cut asset_preview_file video_resize video_render metadata: version: 3.0.0 visibility: public surface: [claude, codex]

Adobe Edit Quick Cut

Produces one AI-edited highlight cut from a source video, working entirely from the user's original request. No follow-up questions — infer the intent and duration from what the user already said, fall back to a sensible default when they said nothing, and deliver a single preview.

Surface note: The default flow uses Adobe's MCP App widgets — the asset_add_file file picker (Step 2) and the asset_preview_file preview (Step 5). Use a step's No-widget fallback only when that widget isn't available on the current surface — decide by availability, not by client name.

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How Quick Cut Works — and What to Design Around

video_create_quick_cut is an AI rough-cut tool. Its user_prompt is a description of the video and the kind of result you want (e.g. "interview with a nonprofit for social fundraising"), not a list of pacing directives. It selects moments itself. Key limits, each mapped to a rule below:

Quick Cut behavior / limit	Consequence	How this skill handles it
user_prompt describes what the video is / is for	Vague energy adjectives do little on their own	Send a clear description; merge the user's own words when given (Step 3)
target_duration is a soft target, not a hard trim	Output can overshoot	Always pass a number — the user's length when given, else a 30s default (Step 3)
Output is a transient presigned URL, not a CC asset	The URL expires; can't feed video_resize directly	Preview immediately on completion (Step 5); re-ingest for resize (see Known Gap)
An identical prompt tends to produce a similar cut	Re-runs give little variety	Offer another only with a different intent or duration (Step 6)
video_create_quick_cut runs async (status: "working" → result on completion)	Proceeding on a "working" status skips the real result	Wait for the widget's completion event — never act on a "working" status (see Async handling below)

Async handling (video_create_quick_cut): A status: "working" response is pending — not a failure and not missing output; never treat it as either. Polling is managed by the widget — wait for its completion event; do not call any poll tool yourself. Only after a completed result — or a terminal failure — do you read the output or apply any fallback.

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Tool Reference

Tool	Purpose
adobe_mandatory_init	Required init; returns file-handling rules and tool routing.
asset_add_file	File picker; the widget injects the selected CC assetId into context on confirmation — wait for that, don't poll.
asset_initialize_file_upload	No-widget staging fallback (step 1); begins a local-file upload.
asset_finalize_file_upload	No-widget staging fallback (step 2); completes the upload and returns the assetId.
video_create_quick_cut	Creates the highlight cut (one call). Async — may return status: "working"; the finished cut arrives when the job completes (widget-tracked).
asset_preview_file	Renders the finished cut immediately on completion.
video_resize	Resize workaround only, after re-ingesting a downloaded cut.
video_render	For edits Quick Cut can't do — exact-timestamp trims, and adding/replacing music, audio, or images.

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Workflow

Step 0 — Initialize Adobe Tools

Call adobe_mandatory_init first.

{ "skill_name": "adobe-edit-quick-cut", "skill_version": "3.0.0" }

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Step 1 — Entitlement Check

adobe_mandatory_init confirms the "Adobe for creativity" connector is live. Confirm video_create_quick_cut and asset_preview_file are available. If asset_add_file or asset_preview_file is unavailable on this surface, use that step's No-widget fallback. If a tool result carries an importantNote or "Asset Storage & Display" guidance, it overrides the presentation defaults here.

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Step 2 — Get the Source Video

If the user's message already references a Creative Cloud asset (a CC assetId), use it directly. Otherwise — including a raw chat upload or a local file, which isn't usable until it reaches Creative Cloud — get it in first via the picker (or the no-widget staging fallback below):

"Let's create a highlight cut from your video. Start by selecting your file:"

asset_add_file()

Extract assetId (the CC asset ID) from the widget context — the widget injects it on confirmation, so wait for that (don't poll).

video_create_quick_cut requires a CC asset ID (assetId), not presignedAssetUrl.

No-widget fallback (only if asset_add_file is unavailable on this surface) — get the assetId from where the file is. A file already in Creative Cloud is referenced directly by its CC assetId. To stage a local file, use the upload path adobe_mandatory_init routes to for this surface (surfaces differ — it may name a surface-specific upload tool, or the asset_initialize_file_upload → PUT → asset_finalize_file_upload sequence). Staging requires egress — check egress status from adobe_mandatory_init first; if egress is disabled and no picker exists here, tell the user staging isn't possible. For the initialize/finalize sequence: get file size and MIME type, call asset_initialize_file_upload({ path, media_type }), PUT the bytes to the returned URL, then asset_finalize_file_upload({ filename, transfer_document }), and extract the assetId.

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Step 3 — Build the Intent from the Original Request (no questions)

Do not ask the user anything. Derive both inputs from their original message.

user_prompt — start from the generic intent, and merge the user's own words only if they gave any:

• Generic intent (default when the user gave no detail):

  An engaging highlight reel of this video that keeps its most compelling, high-energy, and visually interesting moments, with a strong opening and a natural flow, ready to share on social media.

• User gave intent or output details (content, occasion, purpose, a topic focus such as "the parts about pricing", or a vibe such as "cinematic", "hype", "for our fundraiser") — put their description first and keep the highlight framing:

  <user's description>. Edit into an engaging highlight reel that keeps the strongest, most compelling moments with a natural flow, suitable for social sharing. Fold any named vibe adjective ("cinematic", "energetic") into the sentence. If the user's own description already fully specifies the desired output, use it as-is.

target_duration (seconds) — always pass a number:

• User stated a length → use that number. It's a soft target — Quick Cut aims for it but may run slightly over. For an upper bound ("under a minute"), target a few seconds under the cap (e.g. ~50) and note it's approximate; if they need a strict cap or an exact runtime, use video_render instead.
• No length stated → use a 30s default.

Note (API gap): the Quick Cut UI offers Duration: Auto, but the MCP video_create_quick_cut requires a numeric target_duration — so pass the user's length, or the 30s default.

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Step 4 — Run One Cut, Then Wait for Completion

video_create_quick_cut({
  assetIds: [assetId],
  target_duration: <stated_length_or_30>,
  user_prompt: "<generic-or-merged intent>"
}) // → taskId

Acknowledge briefly: "Creating your highlight cut — I'll preview it as soon as it's ready."

video_create_quick_cut is async too (returns status: "working"). Wait for the completed result before previewing (see Async handling above) — don't act on a working status. On completion, store outputUrl (the completed presignedAssetUrl). The URL is time-limited — go straight to the preview.

If the completion event never arrives: don't stall or invent a status — the last known state is processing. If a tracker exists but is slow, tell the user the cut is still processing and its preview will appear when it completes; if this surface has no async tracker at all, tell them the cut was submitted and is processing but this session can't retrieve the result, and suggest a widget-capable client such as Adobe Express.

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Step 5 — Preview the Result (mandatory, do this first)

The moment the job completes, call asset_preview_file as your very next action, before writing any summary. Do not describe the video in prose instead of previewing it — the call must actually run, promptly, or the URL may expire.

asset_preview_file({
  assets: [
    {
      name: "Highlight cut.mp4",
      presignedAssetUrl: outputUrl,
      mediaType: "video/mp4",
      source: "acp"
    }
  ]
})

Include mediaType and source — without them the widget may fail to render the video.

No-widget fallback (only if asset_preview_file is unavailable on this surface) — present the URL directly (Highlight cut.mp4 → <outputUrl>). UI clients render media URLs inline; where inline rendering isn't available, download it (curl -L -o highlight_cut.mp4 "<outputUrl>") and reference the local path. If asset_preview_file errors, immediately fall back to posting the URL as a link.

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Step 6 — Summary + Offer Another

After the preview renders, give a one-line summary of what was made (and the actual length if it came out longer than any requested length — say so honestly). Then offer:

"Want another version? Tell me a different focus (e.g. a specific moment or vibe) or a different length — that's what actually changes the cut. I can also resize it for a specific platform, or you can download it from the preview above."

If the user asks for another, return to Step 4 with the new intent/length. Re-running the same intent tends to produce a very similar cut, so steer them toward a change.

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⚠️ Known Gap — Output Cannot Feed Downstream Video Tools Directly

video_create_quick_cut returns a temporary presigned URL, not a CC-stored asset ID. video_resize and media_enhance_speech require a CC asset ID, so you cannot chain Quick Cut → Resize / Enhance directly. To resize a Quick Cut output: tell the user to download it, re-ingest it exactly as in Step 2 (asset_add_file() or the staging fallback), then run video_resize on the fresh assetId. Surface this proactively when the user asks to resize or enhance a Quick Cut output.

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What Quick Cut Does NOT Support

Quick Cut selects the most relevant moments for you — working from the video's transcript/dialogue when there's enough speech (and you can steer it to a topic, e.g. "the parts about pricing" or "the dog-washing parts"), and falling back to visual content (the footage captioned in chunks) when there's little speech. It always produces a highlight. It does not:

• Remove repeats or disfluencies ("um", "uh"), or do other deterministic transcript surgery you dictate — it selects a highlight, not exact edits.
• Trim to specific timestamps ("cut from 0:30 to 1:15"), or add/replace music, audio, or images — the video_render tool does these (use it for precise trims and for adding music/audio/images).

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Error Handling

• video_create_quick_cut returns 403 (entitlement): Do not retry. Tell the user Quick Cut isn't on their current Adobe plan and offer to upgrade or trim manually in Premiere Rush / Premiere Pro.

• Any tool returns 401 (not authenticated): Ask the user to re-authenticate via Adobe OAuth and retry.

• Output overshoots any requested length: Expected — target_duration is a soft target. Report honestly. If they want it tighter, re-run once with a shorter length; for an exact runtime, use video_render.

• Job fails with any other error on the first attempt: Retry once only for a confirmed transient 5xx (500/502/503/504). For 429, wait for Retry-After (or a short backoff) before a single retry. Do not blindly retry other 4xx responses — report them. If submission timed out and the job may have been accepted, wait for the existing job's completion event instead of submitting again (a second job wastes an expensive async run). If the permitted retry also fails, report and suggest re-uploading the source video.

• Progress stalls at the same % for a long time: Inform the user, suggest re-uploading the source.

• User uploads an image by mistake: Detect from mediaType — if not video/*, say so and re-open the picker (or re-run the staging fallback).

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Constraints

• Never pass a raw local filesystem path to video_create_quick_cut or any other video tool. Local files must reach Creative Cloud first — via the asset_add_file picker or the asset_initialize_file_upload → PUT → asset_finalize_file_upload staging fallback; only the resulting assetId is valid.
• video_create_quick_cut requires assetId (CC asset ID), not presignedAssetUrl.
• Produce one cut per request. Never fire multiple video_create_quick_cut jobs in parallel — additional versions are made one at a time, only when the user asks (Step 6).
• Do not ask the user clarifying questions — work from the original request and the generic intent.