# Popcorn — The first AI Movie Agent > Popcorn is an AI movie agent that produces complete short-form videos from a single natural-language brief. Popcorn produces complete short-form videos (typically 30–90 seconds) from a single natural-language brief. It runs the full pipeline end-to-end: storyboard, AI-generated video clips, narration, background music, lip sync, captions, and final composition — so a creator, marketer, or AI agent can go from idea to finished movie without stitching tools together. ## What you can build with Popcorn ### Original AI-generated short films, ads, and explainers Describe the story, audience, or goal — Popcorn writes the script, generates clips, narrates, scores, and edits. ### Reaction videos Hand Popcorn a YouTube/TikTok URL and get a host reacting to the clip with original commentary and lip-sync. ### UGC-style talking-head videos Use a designed or cloned voice with an avatar host to produce ad-style or testimonial videos. ### Mash-ups and remixes Pull clips from 1700+ supported sites (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.) and splice them with newly generated footage. ### Edits driven by scene clipping Clip a portion of an existing video by exact time range or by AI-detected scene, then re-narrate, re-score, or re-style it. ### Music videos and AI-scored content Generate visuals to fit a track, or generate a custom track to fit visuals — both directions are supported. ## Capabilities - Video generation via Kling, Veo, Sora, Seedance, and HeyGen avatars - Text-to-speech via ElevenLabs - Voice cloning and voice design - Lip-sync for talking-head and avatar shots - Music generation and licensed background scores - Auto-generated captions and animated text overlays - ffmpeg-based composition, transitions, and final render - Scene clipping by time range or AI-detected scene - Source-video downloads from 1700+ sites (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.) ## Connecting an AI agent (MCP) Popcorn ships a Model Context Protocol server at `https://api.popcorn.co/mcp`. Any MCP-compatible agent (Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Zed, Tasklet) can connect. Two connection modes are supported: 1. **OAuth one-click** (recommended) — paste the MCP URL into your agent, sign in to Popcorn in the browser, approve. No keys to copy. 2. **API key (bearer token)** — for clients without OAuth. Generate a key from your Popcorn profile (avatar → ⋯ → API Keys → Generate key) and configure it as `Authorization: Bearer pk_live_...` on the MCP request. Full setup instructions per agent: https://popcorn.co/docs/mcp Comprehensive product, API, and agent docs: https://docs.popcorn.co For agents that support external skills, the Popcorn skill at https://popcorn.co/docs/popcorn-skill.md teaches the agent how to call the tools, poll for completion, and hand back the finished video URL. ## MCP tool reference ### `list_projects(limit?, offset?)` Lists the account's projects, newest first, with the caller's role on each. Start here: every video is made by a project's Showrunner — the AI producer that runs the project — and the other project tools need its `project_id`. ### `create_project(title?)` Starts a new project by hiring a Showrunner for it; the Showrunner then interviews the user in the project chat. Use only when the user has no project or asks for a new one, and confirm first — every call creates another project. ### `get_project(project_id)` Returns one project plus the Showrunner managing it (name, job title, onboarding status). An onboarding status other than `complete` means the Showrunner is still being set up. ### `send_message_to_project_showrunner(project_id, message, thread_id?)` How videos get made and changed: send the user's full request to the project's Showrunner, exactly as the user would type it in the project chat. Returns as soon as the message is accepted; the Showrunner's turn runs asynchronously and can take minutes. Poll `get_project_chat_messages` for the reply. ### `get_project_chat_messages(project_id, thread_id?, limit?, before_index?)` Reads a project chat thread's transcript, newest first, so you can see the Showrunner's reply. Poll every 20–30 seconds after sending. Page backwards with `before_index`. ### `get_project_chat_threads(project_id)` Lists a project's chat threads, most recently active first. Usually unnecessary — the two tools above default to the most recently active thread. ### `get_movie(id)` Reads a movie the Showrunner reported: status, and when `completed` the final `video_url` plus an editable `studio_url`. Share both with the user. ### `get_movie_messages(id)` Reads a movie's production transcript — what the studio did while making it. ### `list_movies(limit?, offset?)` Lists movies belonging to the authenticated account, most recent first. ### `get_balance()` Returns the credit balance available to the authenticated account. ## Polling and result contract Agents make and change videos through the user's Showrunner: `list_projects` to find the project, then `send_message_to_project_showrunner` with the full request. It returns as soon as the message is accepted; the Showrunner then works for several minutes (typically 3–10). Poll `get_project_chat_messages(project_id)` every 20–30 seconds, relaying the Showrunner's questions. When it reports the finished movie, `get_movie(id)` returns `video_url` and `studio_url` once status is `completed`. **Critical edge case:** if status is `completed` but `video_url` is missing or null, production stopped before delivering the final video. Do *not* report success — ask the Showrunner to finish it. The old `create_movie`, `send_movie_message`, and `search_elements` tools are retired and do nothing. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Popcorn? Popcorn is an AI movie agent. You give it a brief (a sentence, a script, a link, or an idea) and it returns a finished short-form video — script, visuals, narration, music, captions, and edit included. ### What can I build with Popcorn? Original AI-generated short films, ads, and explainers; reaction videos to existing clips; UGC-style talking-head videos with cloned or designed voices; mash-ups that splice clips from YouTube/TikTok/Instagram with newly generated footage; and edits that clip a scene from an existing video and re-narrate or re-style it. ### How do I connect Popcorn to my AI agent? Popcorn ships an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server at https://api.popcorn.co/mcp. Any MCP-compatible agent — Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Zed, Tasklet — can connect via OAuth one-click or via a Popcorn API key. Comprehensive docs for humans and agents live at https://docs.popcorn.co; per-client setup at https://popcorn.co/docs/mcp; agent reference at https://popcorn.co/for-agents. ### Where are the full Popcorn docs? Comprehensive product, API, and agent documentation lives at https://docs.popcorn.co. It's the canonical source for both human readers and AI agents — start there if you're not sure where to look. ### How long does a movie take to generate? Most movies finish in 3–10 minutes. Over MCP, send the request to the project's Showrunner with `send_message_to_project_showrunner`, then poll `get_project_chat_messages` every 20–30 seconds; when the Showrunner reports the finished movie, `get_movie(id)` returns the `video_url`. ### What video sources can Popcorn pull from? Over 1,700 sites including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, Vimeo, Facebook, and most major video hosts. Reaction, mash-up, and clip-edit workflows all start by pointing Popcorn at a URL. ### Which AI models does Popcorn use under the hood? Video generation routes between Kling, Veo, Sora, Seedance, and HeyGen avatars depending on the shot. Voice is ElevenLabs (with cloning and voice design). Music is generated. Composition runs through ffmpeg. ### Where do I get a Popcorn API key? Sign in to popcorn.co, open your profile, click the ⋯ menu, and choose API Keys → Generate key. Copy the key immediately — it is shown only once. Keys are revocable from the same page. ## Canonical links - Home: https://popcorn.co - Full documentation (humans and agents): https://docs.popcorn.co - For-agents page: https://popcorn.co/for-agents - MCP setup guide: https://popcorn.co/docs/mcp - About: https://popcorn.co/about - Terms: https://popcorn.co/terms - Privacy: https://popcorn.co/privacy - X: https://x.com/Popcorn_Co - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@popcorn.coai - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popcorn.coai/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Popcorn_co