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MCP Image

MCP Image is an MCP server that adds search and knowledge tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. AI image generation and editing with prompt optimization and quality presets. It has 171 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with npx -y mcp-image.

github.com/shinpr/mcp-image (opens in a new tab)

View on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

Install MCP Image

Generated from the server's MCP registry entry. Replace your-value with your own values.

Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-image": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-image"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-value",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-value",
        "ARK_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env GEMINI_API_KEY=your-value --env OPENAI_API_KEY=your-value --env ARK_API_KEY=your-value --transport stdio mcp-image -- npx -y mcp-image

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-image": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-image"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-value",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-value",
        "ARK_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "gemini_api_key",
      "description": "GEMINI_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "openai_api_key",
      "description": "OPENAI_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ark_api_key",
      "description": "ARK_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "mcp-image": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-image"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "${input:gemini_api_key}",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "${input:openai_api_key}",
        "ARK_API_KEY": "${input:ark_api_key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config formats checked against the official docs on Oct 7, 2026: modelcontextprotocol.io (opens in a new tab), code.claude.com (opens in a new tab), cursor.com (opens in a new tab), code.visualstudio.com (opens in a new tab).

Environment variables

Variables the server reads at startup.

NameRequiredDescription
IMAGE_PROVIDERNoImage provider to use: 'gemini' (default), 'openai', or 'seedream'
GEMINI_API_KEYsecretNoGoogle Gemini API key for image generation when IMAGE_PROVIDER=gemini (get from https://aistudio.google.com/apikey)
OPENAI_API_KEYsecretNoOpenAI API key for image generation when IMAGE_PROVIDER=openai. Requires OpenAI organization verification to access GPT Image 2.5…
ARK_API_KEYsecretNoBytePlus ModelArk AP region API key required when IMAGE_PROVIDER=seedream
IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIRNoAbsolute or working-directory-relative path where generated images will be saved (defaults to ./output)
IMAGE_QUALITYNoDefault quality preset: 'fast' (default), 'balanced', or 'quality'
SKIP_PROMPT_ENHANCEMENTNoSet to 'true' to disable automatic prompt optimization and use direct prompts

About MCP Image

Generate and edit images from Codex, Cursor, Claude Code, or any MCP client. mcp-image adds visual direction to your request before sending it to Gemini, OpenAI, or BytePlus Seedream.

  • gemini
  • image-generation
  • mcp-server
  • codex
  • claude-code
  • generative-ai
  • mcp
  • agent-skills
  • ai-tools
  • image-editing

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FAQ

MCP Image FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is MCP Image?

MCP Image is an MCP server that adds search and knowledge tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. AI image generation and editing with prompt optimization and quality presets. It has 171 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with npx -y mcp-image. The source code is at github.com/shinpr/mcp-image.

How do I install the MCP Image MCP server?

Add the command npx -y mcp-image to your MCP client: put it in claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop, run claude mcp add for Claude Code, or add it to .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor) or .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code). The snippets on this page are ready to paste.

Is MCP Image free?

The server is open source under the MIT license, so running it is free. It needs credentials (GEMINI_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY and ARK_API_KEY) for the service it connects to, which may require a paid account.

Is MCP Image actively maintained?

The most recent commit was on Oct 6, 2026. The latest release is v0.15.0, published Oct 5, 2026. appsgit only lists MCP servers with a commit in the last six months and re-checks every server daily.