Can Claude run a Sume Format over MCP? Not today; use the API
Sume's hosted MCP has generation, job and asset tools but none that starts a Format run. Formats run over REST. What Claude can do instead.
No. The hosted MCP tool inventory in Sume's docs covers generation, jobs, assets, avatars, crawl and media tools, and it does not include a tool that starts a Format run. Formats are called over REST with POST /v1/formats/{handle}/{slug}/runs. Claude over MCP can still make single images, videos, audio and avatar clips, and wait on them with jobs_wait.
MCP tools vs the REST surface
| You want to | Hosted MCP | REST |
|---|---|---|
| Generate one video from a prompt | generate_video (needs mcp:write or an API key, plus idempotency_key) | Developer API video routes |
| Start a saved Format run | Not in the documented inventory | POST /v1/formats/{handle}/{slug}/runs, scope formats:write |
| Start a scheduled run | Not exposed over MCP | POST /v1/actions/{action_id}/runs, scope actions:write |
| Wait for a job | jobs_wait | GET the job or run status_url |
| Cap spend | dry_run and max_spend_usd on paid tools | generation_spend_cap_usd on the run |
Check it in your own session
Docs lag releases, so verify against the live list. The docs say to discover the live contract with tools_list and tools_schema and not to assume parity with HTTP; catalog_list can show HTTP capabilities that have no matching MCP tool. Ask the connected client:
Call tools_list and print every tool name. Then tell me whether any of them
starts a Format run or a scheduled run. Do not call any paid tool.A pattern that works today
Let Claude plan and write the integration, and let your backend make the Format call. The service holds an API key with formats:read and formats:write, sends an Idempotency-Key built from the order, sets generation_spend_cap_usd, and reads the receipt by webhook or polling. Service-account keys cannot create Format runs, so use a user or team key.
When MCP is enough
- A single image, clip or voiceover that Claude chooses a model for.
- Reading balance, usage, jobs and assets while you chat.
- Anything where a person is in the loop and one tool call is the whole job.
Sources
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