VidCraft reads ~/.vidcraft/config.yaml. /vidcraft:setup creates it from the template config/config.example.yaml; /vidcraft:configure edits it interactively. If the file is missing, the MCP server uses built-in defaults. Values from the file override the defaults key by key.
paths:
content_root: "~/video-projects"
video_root: "~/video-projects/videos"
assets_root: "~/video-projects/assets"
overrides: "~/video-projects/overrides"
defaults:
language: ["de", "en"]
wpm: 140
platform: "heygen"
heygen:
default_avatar: ""
default_voice: ""
synthesia:
default_avatar: ""
default_voice: ""
brand:
name: ""
primary_color: ""
secondary_color: ""
font: ""
tone: ["professional", "friendly"]
Paths may contain ~ and environment variables.
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
paths.content_root |
Root of all project files (Markdown). Projects live under {content_root}/projects/, ideas in {content_root}/IDEAS.md. File operations and document analysis of the MCP server are restricted to this directory. |
paths.video_root |
Target for finished video files, resolved as {video_root}/projects/{project}. |
paths.assets_root |
Target for screenshots and images, resolved as {assets_root}/projects/{project}. |
defaults.wpm |
Words per minute used for the duration estimate of the pre-generation gates. Default: 140. |
The remaining keys of the template (
paths.overrides,defaults.language,defaults.platform,heygen.*,synthesia.*,brand.*) are not evaluated by the MCP server. A project's language and platform live in the frontmatter of the project README and are set when the project is created (defaults:deandheygen). Thebrand-checkerskill reads brand tone from the project README and the configuration.
Each project is a directory under {content_root}/projects/. The slug is derived from the title.
{project-slug}/
├── README.md # project metadata (YAML frontmatter)
├── episodes/
│ └── 01-episode-slug/
│ ├── README.md # episode metadata
│ ├── scenes/
│ │ ├── 01-intro.md
│ │ └── 02-step.md
│ └── assets/
├── assets/ # project-wide assets
└── research/ # sources, research
Individual skills create further files, for example brief.md, research/RESEARCH.md, research/AUDIENCE.md, episodes/.../assets/ASSETS.md, episodes/.../shot-list.md, promo/*.md and RELEASE.md. See Skills.
Episode directories and scene files are created with a two-digit number in front of the slug.
Status lives in the YAML frontmatter of the Markdown files. The MCP server reads the project state from it.
| Level | Fields |
|---|---|
Project (README.md) |
title, slug, video_type, status, platform, language, target_audience, description, created, updated |
Episode (episodes/*/README.md) |
title, number, slug, status, duration_target, platform, avatar, description |
Scene (scenes/*.md) |
title, number, status, visual_type, duration |
Scene content sits in the sections ## Narration, ## On-Screen Text, ## Visual Direction and ## Assets. The Workflow page explains the status values.
The server builds a cache from the Markdown files at ~/.vidcraft/cache/state.json. The query tools read from it. Newly created files or files you edit by hand show up there only after a rebuild: /vidcraft:session-start or the rebuild_state tool. The Markdown files remain the authoritative source. More in Technical.