manim-skill MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Autonomous plan → write → render → refine loop
Scene library patterns for common math / CS visuals
Invokes local manim install (CE)
Handles low-quality preview vs high-quality final renders
Iterates on feedback ('make the graph animate left-to-right')

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

manim-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manim-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
        "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manim-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
        "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manim-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
        "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manim-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
        "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "manim-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
        "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "manim-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill",
          "~/.claude/skills/manim-skill"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add manim-skill -- git clone https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill ~/.claude/skills/manim-skill

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use manim-skill

Animate the intuition behind a math or CS concept

👤 Educators, YouTubers, students explaining to themselves ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: A concept is easier with motion than with words (gradient descent, sorting, Fourier).

Prerequisites

manim installed — pip install manim (or uv add manim); ensure ffmpeg present
Skill installed — git clone https://github.com/Yusuke710/manim-skill ~/.claude/skills/manim-skill

Flow

State the concept

Use manim-skill. Animate gradient descent on a 2D loss surface — ball rolling, learning rate visibly affects step size.✓ Copied

→ Scene plan + code + low-q preview rendered
Iterate

Slower at first, faster once it's in the valley. Label the axes.✓ Copied

→ Code updated, re-rendered preview
Final render

Looks good — render at 1080p60.✓ Copied

→ High-q mp4 produced

Outcome: An explainer video you can embed in a blog post.

Pitfalls

Manim code has breaking changes across versions — Pin your manim version in requirements; the skill's prompts assume recent Community Edition

Combine with: filesystem

Build a series of scenes for a longer explainer

👤 Video creators working on a single concept over multiple shots ⏱ ~180 min advanced

When to use: You have a 5-minute script and need 10+ scenes to go with it.

Flow

Feed the script

Use manim-skill. Here's my script. Break into scene beats and propose a Manim scene per beat.✓ Copied

→ Ordered scene plan
Render in batches

Render scenes 1-3 at preview quality; show me.✓ Copied

→ Three low-q mp4s
Consolidate

Ok, lock scenes 1-3. Move to 4-6.✓ Copied

→ Work proceeds; locked scenes untouched

Outcome: A full scene library ready for final render.

Pitfalls

Rendering high-q for every iteration wastes time — Iterate at -ql (low) and only go -qh once locked

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

manim-skill + filesystem

Organize a project's scenes, renders, and drafts

Keep scenes in project/scenes/, renders in project/renders/preview or /final.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
plan_scenes	concept or script	First step on any new project	0
write_scene	scene spec	Per-scene code generation	0
render_manim	scene file, quality	Preview and final renders	local CPU/GPU
refine_scene	scene + feedback	Iterating on animation	0

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None
Tokens per call: Moderate — code iterations
Monetary: Free; local compute only
Tip: Always iterate at low quality. Final render once.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: None

Data egress: None from skill

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

manim import errors

Manim CE vs GL — make sure you're on Community (pip install manim), not the legacy 3b1b version

Verify: python -c 'import manim; print(manim.__version__)'

Render hangs or is very slow

Use -ql for iteration; -qh only at end. Check ffmpeg presence.

Verify: ffmpeg -version

Weird layout — objects overlap

Use positioning primitives (next_to, align_to) rather than raw coords

Alternatives

manim-skill vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
After Effects / Motion Canvas	You want visual timeline tools	Not code; not LLM-friendly
paperbanana-skill	Static academic diagrams rather than animations	Different output

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills