photoshop-mcp-pro
# Photoshop MCP Pro
A professional [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server that lets AI assistants drive Adobe Photoshop directly — create and edit documents, manage layers, run filters and adjustments, build shapes and text, and apply higher-level design intelligence like palette generation, font pairing, and effect recipes.
It runs locally over stdio and controls Photoshop by executing ExtendScript through a platform-specific executor (macOS and Windows supported). Photoshop is launched **lazily** on the first tool call, so the server starts instantly and only opens Photoshop when you actually use it.
## Features
**Core editing tools**
- **Document** — create, open, save, export, resize, crop, flatten
- **Layer** — create, duplicate, group, reorder, mask, blend modes, opacity
- **Selection** — rectangular/elliptical, by color, invert, feather, modify
- **Transform** — move, scale, rotate, skew, flip
- **Shape & Path** — vector shapes, paths, fills, strokes
- **Text** — text layers, fonts, alignment, color
- **Image** — adjustments, filters, blur, sharpen, noise
- **Adjustment** — brightness/contrast, hue/saturation, levels, curves, color balance
- **Filter** — gaussian/motion blur, sharpen, noise, and more
- **Color** — foreground/background, swatches, sampling
- **Guide** — guides and rulers
- **Smart Object** — create and manage smart objects
- **History** — undo/redo, snapshots
- **Style** — layer styles (drop shadow, stroke, glow, etc.)
- **Export** — PNG, JPEG, and document export
- **Workflow** — multi-step composite operations
- **Script** — run arbitrary ExtendScript
**Design intelligence**
- **Palette** — generate palettes from mood, image, or brand
- **Typography** — suggest font pairings, install fonts, auto-size
- **Recipe** — 12 effect recipes with mood mapping
- **Analysis** — automatic design scoring (color, contrast, typography, composition) via `ps_review`
**Resources & prompts**
- Built-in resources for presets, palettes, fonts, recipes, and design knowledge
- A `create-design` prompt to kick off guided design work
## Requirements
- **Adobe Photoshop** (with scripting enabled — the default)
- **Node.js** >= 18
- **macOS or Windows**
## Installation
```bash
git clone https://github.com/ayushnagvanshi101098-ship-it/photoshop-mcp-pro.git
cd photoshop-mcp-pro
npm install
npm run build
```
This compiles the TypeScript in `src/` to `dist/`.
## Usage
Add the server to your MCP client. The entry point is `dist/index.js`.
### Claude Desktop / Claude Code
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"photoshop": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/photoshop-mcp-pro/dist/index.js"]
}
}
}
```
Restart your client. Photoshop opens automatically the first time a tool is called.
## Development
```bash
npm run dev # tsc --watch — rebuild on change
npm run build # one-off build
npm start # run the compiled server
```
Source layout:
```
src/
index.ts # server entry — registers tools, resources, prompts
platform/ # OS detection + ExtendScript executors (macOS / Windows)
tools/ # MCP tool definitions
scripts/ # ExtendScript generators per tool category
resources/ # presets, palettes, fonts, recipes, design knowledge
prompts/ # design prompts
utils/ # color math, design analyzer, font manager, logging
```
## How it works
Each tool builds an ExtendScript snippet and hands it to a platform executor, which runs it inside Photoshop and returns the result. The connection layer handles lazy launch, reconnection, and relaunch if Photoshop quits mid-session.
## License
[MIT](LICENSE) © Ayush Nagvanshi
TDQS
Scored across 32 tools
Most tools have distinct purposes, but there are clear overlaps: ps_export and ps_save_document both save files with overlapping formats, and ps_place_image and ps_smart_object's 'place-file' action both place external images as smart objects. This could cause an agent to misselect.
All tools start with 'ps_', but naming conventions vary: many use verb_noun (e.g., ps_create_document), but some are single verbs (ps_batch, ps_resize) or nouns (ps_color, ps_history, ps_mask). This inconsistency makes the set less predictable.
At 32 tools, the set is on the high side for an MCP server. While Photoshop is complex and many tools are justified, several tools overlap (e.g., export/save), suggesting some could be consolidated. The count feels slightly bloated.
The tool set covers a wide range of Photoshop operations: document creation, layers, adjustments, filters, text, shapes, selections, masks, guides, transforms, smart objects, color, palettes, typography, history, and export. Missing features like channels or actions are minor, and ps_execute_script acts as an escape hatch.