A
licenseA
qualityA
maintenanceEnables AI assistants to query and export from the macOS Apple Photos library using natural language, backed by osxphotos.
21
920 npm
26
MIT
iphoto
by bklassen3434
Read-only access to a local library of photos downloaded from iCloud Photos, providing tools to browse library info, search photos by date, camera, GPS, place, on-device content labels and OCR text, fetch detailed metadata for individual photos, view photo files, and refresh the local index.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@iphotofind photos of my dog at the beach from last summer"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
photos-mcp
Read-only MCP server for iCloud Photos, all local — no Apple ID credentials stored.
Registered as the iphoto connector (iphoto_server.py) in the Claude desktop app and Claude Code.
It serves a folder of photos downloaded with icloudpd, indexed to SQLite (folder_server.py).
Tools: library_info, search_photos, get_photo_details, view_photo, refresh_index.
Setup
./install-connector.sh # set PHOTOS_FOLDER first to use a folder other than ~/Pictures/icloudThe folder index (<folder>/.photos-index.sqlite) holds date, camera, GPS, an offline place name,
and on-device Apple Vision content labels + OCR text.
Related MCP server: semantic-image-search-mcp
Updating the photos
uvx icloudpd --username YOUR_APPLE_ID --directory ~/Pictures/icloud --folder-structure "{:%Y/%m}" --cookie-directory ~/.pyicloud
uv run python folder_index.py ~/Pictures/icloudBoth are incremental. Apple's sign-in session expires after ~2 months; icloudpd will re-prompt for 2FA.
Or ask Claude to call refresh_index after downloading.
Notes
server.py(Mac Photos.app library via osxphotos) is not part of the connector.Desktop config:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json(backup at.bak).
This server cannot be deployed
Maintenance
ActivityMaintained
ResponsivenessNo issues
Related MCP Connectors
Search photos/videos; manage collections, people and duplicates. Requires paid OwAI Cloud Access.
Read-only MCP server over the JENRIKS daily photoblog: one photo per day since 2006. No auth.
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Search, read, and safely update Markdown notes in your connected Phasoric knowledge vaults.
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