mcp-indesign

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Control Adobe InDesign directly from Codex, Claude, OpenCode, and other MCP clients.

Installation · Tools · Security · Development

InDesign MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that automates Adobe InDesign on Windows through COM and ExtendScript. It enables AI assistants to inspect documents, edit content, and perform exports using structured tools.

✨ Highlights

• 19 tools ready for editing, inspection, and export.

• npm installation, with no InDesign plugin or startup script required.

• Native integration with Codex, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and OpenCode.

• Local execution over stdio; your documents are not sent through MCP.

• Secure by default, with arbitrary JSX execution disabled.

Related MCP server: indesign-mcp-server

📋 Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11

• Adobe InDesign 2024 or later

• Node.js 18 or later

• PowerShell 5.1 or later

InDesign must be open while the server is in use. No startup script or firewall configuration is required.

📦 npm Installation

You do not need to clone the repository or install the package globally. Configure your MCP client to run:

npx -y mcp-indesign

Codex

Add the following to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.indesign]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "mcp-indesign"]
startup_timeout_sec = 30

[mcp_servers.indesign.env]
INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE = "en"

Claude Desktop or Claude Code

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-indesign"],
      "env": { "INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE": "en" }
    }
  }
}

OpenCode

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "indesign": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "mcp-indesign"],
      "environment": { "INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE": "en" },
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Restart the client, open InDesign, and run check_connection.

🧰 Tools

🔐 Security

The runtime defaults to English. Set the interface language in your MCP environment when needed:

INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE=en     # English
INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE=pt-BR  # Portuguese (pt and pt-PT are also accepted)
INDESIGN_MCP_LANGUAGE=es     # Spanish

run_jsx allows arbitrary ExtendScript execution and is disabled by default. Enable it only in trusted environments:

INDESIGN_MCP_ENABLE_RUN_JSX=1

To use an external installation of BatchExportProfessional.jsx:

INDESIGN_MCP_BATCH_SCRIPT=C:\path\BatchExportProfessional.jsx

🛠️ Development

git clone https://github.com/SanNw/Indesign-MCP.git
cd Indesign-MCP
npm install
npm test

The test starts the server, validates all 19 tools, and confirms that run_jsx remains blocked by default.

🩺 Troubleshooting

• Run check_connection before using the other tools.

• Confirm that InDesign is open in the same Windows session.

• Restart the MCP client after changing its configuration.

• Export presets vary by InDesign version and language.

⚠️ Limitations

• The 0.1.x series supports Windows only.

• Operations may modify the open document but do not save it automatically.

• Compatibility has been directly validated with InDesign 2025; other versions should be tested by the community.

📄 License

MIT

Built to bring artificial intelligence and editorial design closer together.