Instagram’s Mac editor lets AI agents build video rough cuts
The free Edits desktop app connects creators’ chosen agents to its tools through MCP, while retaining manual control and direct Instagram publishing.
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Instagram has released a free Mac version of its Edits video editor, adding 4K, watermark-free exports and a Model Context Protocol interface that lets creators connect AI agents to the application’s editing tools.
The desktop app allows an agent, including Meta’s Muse, to assemble a rough cut that a creator can then open and refine manually. It is the first desktop edition of Edits, which began on mobile in 2025, and responds to heavy creator demand for a larger-screen version.
Matthew Simari, Instagram’s head of product management for Edits, told The Verge that the app exposes all of its tools through MCP. Users can connect an agent of their choice rather than being confined to a built-in assistant, and can move between agent-driven and manual editing.
In the example described by Simari, a creator asks Muse to use Edits’ MCP with a video held in the Downloads folder. The agent accesses the interface, makes tool calls and creates a rough cut; the resulting project file then opens in Edits for the creator to continue work.
The Mac release retains conventional desktop editing features alongside the AI connection. It has a multi-track timeline, keyframes for transitions, audio waveforms for precise cuts and colour-grading controls including wheels and curves. Creators can import custom LUTs and fonts, carry over keyboard-shortcut conventions from another editor, and use Instagram’s licensed and royalty-free audio libraries.
Edits also offers automatic captions, sound and video effects, and support for horizontal and vertical formats. Saved audio and text styles from the mobile app are available on desktop, while finished videos can be published directly to Instagram, including with tagging, location and trial-reel options, without first being transferred to a phone.
As we reported in September, Instagram had already added an Edits Assistant that analyses account metrics, audience signals and trends to suggest what a creator might make next. That tool was designed to provide personalised performance feedback while leaving creative decisions to the user; the new MCP integration instead allows connected agents to work directly with editing tools.
The desktop version is limited to Macs with Apple silicon, starting with M1 machines, and requires an Instagram account. There is no Windows or Linux edition. Creators also cannot yet edit the same project across mobile and desktop, although Instagram is working on cross-platform project editing.
The release follows Instagram’s push into longer, widescreen video, which is easier to edit on a larger display. Edits launched on mobile in April 2025 as a competitor to ByteDance-owned CapCut, which has offered desktop editing on Mac and Windows since 2021. Instagram plans weekly updates to the Mac app.