Create a DaVinci Resolve project from code
To create a DaVinci Resolve project from code, send an Edit JSON document to the Edit API with the target resolve. You get back a native .drp project, which Resolve opens from its Project Manager with Import Project.
DaVinci Resolve 20.3.3 opened all nine test projects, and its own export matched every picture edit.
Updated
3 exports a month without a key, 10 with a free one. API pricing
What you get for DaVinci Resolve
The resolve/ folder of the zip holds one .drp named after the document. In the Project Manager, right-click an empty spot, choose Import Project and pick it. The free version of Resolve imports .drp files too.
The code
With the Edit API
The same call as on the overview, with only resolve in targets.
{
"edit": {
"cutconvert": "edit/1",
"name": "Edit 09 minimal",
"timeline": { "fps": 25, "width": 1280, "height": 720 },
"media": [
{ "id": "silent", "name": "silent-25.mp4", "duration": 30.0, "fps": 25, "width": 1280, "height": 720 }
],
"video": [
{ "clips": [{ "media": "silent", "start": 0, "in": 2, "out": 12 }] }
]
},
"targets": ["resolve"]
}curl -sS https://cutconvert.com/api/edit/export \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data @request.json \
-o edit.zipresolve/
Edit 09 minimal.drp
report.jsonWhat carries over to DaVinci Resolve
When a loss depends on the document, report.json also warns, with a code and a sentence. A cross dissolve shortened to fit the spare footage comes back as edit-transition-shortened.
| DaVinci Resolve | |
|---|---|
| Captions | Text+ clips on the top track |
| Titles | Text+ |
| Stroke and box | Both |
| Bold | Carried |
| Audio fades | An edge fade; where another clip meets the faded edge, the clip's volume |
| Sound under a cross dissolve | Cross Fade +3 dB |
Media with no path | Offline, by name |
| Picture and sound | Separate clips at the same times |
| Sound at −96 dB or lower | A disabled clip |
| Track names | Kept |
| Start timecode | Carried |
Checked in DaVinci Resolve 20.3.3
We opened the test documents' projects in the editor on October 29, 2026, on macOS, then read back what it kept from its own project file or export.
- Every picture item matched, including in points at 200% and 50% speed.
- Captions are Text+ with their box and outline. A caption with its own style kept it, and a two-line caption wrapped.
- Resolve's scripting API and its exports list each sound item a frame early, because Fairlight counts NTSC frames at a flat 29.97. Playback lands on the right frame.
Relinking media with no path
A document can name a file with no path. Each editor then opens the edit with that file's clips offline, under the file's name, until you link them. This is what DaVinci Resolve 20.3.3 shows.
| On opening | To relink |
|---|---|
| Nothing: the clips are offline in the media pool. | Relink Selected Clips (not checked here). |
Limits
- The open package doesn't write Resolve projects. Only the hosted API does.
- Picture and sound come in as separate clips at the same times. We haven't checked whether Resolve links them.
- Sound at −96 dB or lower comes in as a disabled clip, to enable and then raise.
- We haven't checked relinking media with no path by Relink Selected Clips in Resolve.
- A call is at most 25 MB, media included, and the document on its own at most 8 MB. A document places up to 20,000 clips, captions and titles in all, and a video clip whose file has sound counts twice.
- Version 1 of the format leaves out variable speed, nested timelines, transitions other than cross dissolve, effects, colour, multicam, still images, scale or opacity keyframes, marker colours, and trimming media on the server.
FAQ
How do I open a .drp file?
Open DaVinci Resolve's Project Manager, right-click an empty spot, choose Import Project and pick the .drp. Double-click the project to open it. The free version of Resolve imports .drp files too.
Can I write a .drp without the API?
Not with CutConvert. The open package, @cutconvert/edit, writes Premiere Pro XML and FCPXML only. The Resolve writer runs on CutConvert's server, behind the Edit API.
Are the captions Text+?
Yes. Captions are Text+ clips on the top track, with their outline and box. In Resolve 20.3.3 a caption with its own colour kept it, and a two-line caption wrapped.
Does Resolve keep track names?
Yes. Resolve shows the names you give video and audio tracks. Premiere's XML import numbers its tracks V1 and A1, CapCut tracks have no names, and Final Cut has lanes instead of tracks.
What happens to media with no path?
The clips open offline in the media pool, by name, with the edit intact. Select them and use Relink Selected Clips. We haven't tried that step on these projects yet.
More for developers
- Edit API overviewThe call, the four editors, the free tier and pricing.
- Generate a CapCut draft from codeCaptions become CapCut captions on a caption track, each in its own look.
- Write Premiere Pro XML from Node, the browser or one API callClips come in linked to their sound, and captions are Text generator clips you can edit.
- Generate FCPXML for Final Cut Pro programmaticallyCaptions are Basic Titles with their outline, and audio fades are the clip's own fade handles.
- Edit JSON formatEvery field and rule of the document you send.
- API referenceThe call, the zip, report.json, errors and pricing.
Questions about the Edit API: [email protected]