Captions workflow
Premiere Pro AI Captions Workflow: Build, Import, Style, Verify
Build SRT or VTT caption artifacts from a word timeline, import a caption track into Premiere, apply manual style guidance, and verify render evidence with MCP tools.
Know what the caption tools do and do not do
build_caption_artifact builds a CapCut/Submagic-style SRT or VTT file from a caller-supplied word timeline. It balances word groups, applies sentence-aware breaks, supports style presets (clean, bold_pop, karaoke, podcast, lecture), and can write karaoke word timestamps in VTT. It is local-only and never changes Premiere by itself.
add_text_overlay cannot create caption clips from raw text through Premiere’s scripting API. For on-screen titles use add_title. For captions, import an reviewed .srt/.vtt with create_caption_track.
Build the artifact, then import one caption track
Supply a reviewed word timeline from your transcription source. Ask the assistant to call build_caption_artifact with the format and style preset you want. Inspect the cues before import.
create_caption_track import rejects unsupported formats before host dispatch and reports structural success only when readback shows exactly one new caption track. Unreadable results stay committed_unverified. Captions import with Premiere’s default style.
- Verify the Premiere connection read-only.
- Build the SRT/VTT artifact from the approved word timeline.
- Spot-check cues for timing, speaker breaks, and wording.
- Import with create_caption_track and confirm one new caption track.
Build an SRT caption artifact from my approved word timeline with style_preset podcast. Show the cue list for review. After I approve the file, import it with create_caption_track on the active sequence. Do not style or export yet.Style in Premiere; use guidance tools for the clicks
Premiere has no caption style, per-word colour, or Upgrade Caption to Graphic API in this bridge. get_caption_style_guidance turns a preset or custom style into Properties-panel Track Style steps, keyword highlight steps, and manual upgrade steps. Follow those steps in the Premiere UI.
check_caption_safe_zone compares caller-supplied normalized rectangles against approximate platform UI overlays (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, feed, YouTube, LinkedIn, X). It is local geometry only; it never reads or changes Premiere.
Retime after ripple edits and verify renders
If you ripple-remove timeline ranges after captions exist, Premiere captions do not follow those ripples automatically. retime_caption_file shifts or ripples a local SRT/VTT; then re-import and reapply styling.
verify_caption_render_evidence checks caller-measured caption/title bounds, missing glyphs, and safe-zone review against a rendered-artifact checksum. It does not perform OCR or certify unsampled frames. plan_reaction_captions can plan stacked speaker-colored reaction captions from a word timeline without mutating Premiere.
- Caption tracks render in export_sequence by default; CEP cannot remove or hide them.
- inspect_caption_tracks_uxp inventories mute state and item counts on compatible UXP hosts; it does not read cue text.
- Treat still-frame review and full playback as separate verification steps.
Questions editors ask
Does Premiere Pro MCP transcribe audio automatically?
build_caption_artifact expects a caller-supplied word timeline. Guarded speech-to-text start routes may exist in the published package for supported hosts; a start request is not a completed transcript. Confirm the live tool list with get_capabilities.
Can the assistant style captions through the API?
No. Styling, per-word colour, and Upgrade Caption to Graphic remain manual in Premiere. Use get_caption_style_guidance for the click path.
What formats can I import?
create_caption_track import rejects unsupported formats before dispatch. Build SRT or VTT with build_caption_artifact, review the file, then import.
Keep learning
A practical next step
Start with a safe Premiere connection check.
Connect your assistant, verify the local bridge without changing a project, then inspect the active sequence before requesting a supported edit.
Run a safe connection check