# Connect an external agent to Katechon Arc

Connect the current agent host to Katechon Arc by completing the steps below. The installed skills and MCP tools describe the video creation workflow.

## 1. Install the video creation skills

Run this command in the current agent's working directory:

```bash
npx skills add ArcReel/skills
```

Confirm that both `setup-arcreel-skills` and `video-workflow` are installed.

## 2. Obtain connection details

Ask the user to open [Katechon Arc settings](https://arc.katechon.technology/app/settings?section=api-keys&create=true) and create an API key with the `arc-` prefix. Every signed-in user can create a personal key. It uses that account’s current permissions and project access; MCP-created projects belong to that account. Users can list and revoke only their own keys, and API keys cannot manage other keys. The full key is displayed only once. The user may provide it to the agent they explicitly choose. The `setup-arcreel-skills` skill saves this connection using the host and workspace's local configuration conventions so future sessions and video creation skills can reuse it.

MCP endpoint:

```text
https://arc.katechon.technology/mcp
```

## 3. Configure the connection

Use the `setup-arcreel-skills` skill immediately after installation. Follow its instructions to configure the MCP endpoint and Bearer API key, then verify connectivity. The `video-workflow` skill runs as needed for subsequent creation requests.

## 4. Verify completion

Setup is complete when `list_projects` succeeds and returns a structured `projects` list, and both the host MCP configuration and workspace configuration use the same connection. An empty project list is a successful result.

## Visual style and cinematography

Read `get_project_content` before editing an existing project's direction. Uploaded documents remain source material; use `get_source_text` to read their contents and save the intended direction explicitly. A saved text brief counts as a style even without a preset or reference image.

Use `patch_project` with `settings` to set or change the two independent briefs:

```json
{
  "project": "my-film",
  "settings": {
    "style": "Painterly realism, dusty ochre palette, hard sunlight and weathered textures.",
    "cinematography": "Wide static frames, long lenses through heat haze, slow push-ins; handheld close-ups for combat."
  }
}
```

`style` controls how the film looks; `cinematography` controls how it is shot. To choose a built-in look, pass `style_template_id` instead of `style` (for example, `live_cinema`). Set a field to `null` to clear it. Both briefs are visible and editable in project settings. Changes apply to subsequent generation and can mark affected outputs as stale; existing media files are preserved. Cinematography does not change character, prop or scene reference sheets.