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VFX Parsers MCP Server

Parses and generates Nuke (.nk), MaterialX (.mtlx), and USD ASCII (.usda) files via JSON AST representations with round-trip stability. Enables bidirectional conversion of VFX script formats for pipeline automation without modifying files.

glama
Stars
3
Updated
Apr 8, 2026
Validated
Apr 10, 2026

mcp-vfx-parsers

MCP server for VFX file format parsing. Parse and generate Nuke .nk, MaterialX .mtlx, and USD ASCII .usda files — all via the MCP stdio protocol. Round-trip stable.

Tools

ToolDescription
parse_nukeParse .nk script → JSON AST (nodes, properties, DAG wiring)
parse_mtlxParse .mtlx XML → JSON AST (node graphs, inputs, materials)
parse_usdaParse .usda text → JSON AST (prims, attributes, variants, connections)
generate_nukeJSON AST → .nk script (round-trip stable)
generate_mtlxJSON AST → .mtlx XML (round-trip stable)
generate_usdaJSON AST → .usda text (semantic round-trip)

All tools are read-only — they transform text, never touch the filesystem.

Install

npx -y mcp-vfx-parsers

Usage with Claude Code

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfx-parsers": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-vfx-parsers"]
    }
  }
}

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vfx-parsers": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-vfx-parsers"]
    }
  }
}

Supported Formats

Nuke .nk

Foundry Nuke compositing scripts. Parses the stack-based node graph format including:

  • Node types, properties, positions
  • Input wiring via set/push stack directives
  • Root settings
  • TCL expressions and UserKnob blocks (preserved as opaque text)

MaterialX .mtlx

MaterialX shading network definitions. Parses the XML-based format including:

  • Node graphs with typed inputs/outputs
  • Material assignments
  • nodename connection references (DAG edge extraction)
  • Attribute preservation (quote style, order)
  • Comments and XML prolog

USD ASCII .usda

Pixar Universal Scene Description (ASCII layer format). Full grammar support:

  • Prim hierarchy (def, over, class)
  • Typed attributes with uniform/custom modifiers
  • .connect connections (UsdShade node graphs)
  • .timeSamples animation data
  • Relationships (single + array targets)
  • VariantSets with nested variant bodies
  • Composition arcs: references, payloads, inherits, specializes
  • Layer and prim metadata

Round-Trip Guarantee

All parsers maintain a strict round-trip invariant:

parse(generate(parse(input))) === parse(input)

Nuke and MaterialX produce byte-identical output. USDA produces semantically identical output in canonical pretty-print form (comments stripped — documented limitation).

Development

git clone https://github.com/MABAAM/mcp-vfx-parsers.git
cd mcp-vfx-parsers
npm install
npm test
node src/server.mjs

License

MIT

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