How do I use photoshop-mcp?

1. Click on "Deploy Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@photoshop-mcp Open the image, add a text layer saying 'Sale', and export as JPEG." 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.

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photoshop-mcp

by francisanderson

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Photoshop MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants (Claude, opencode, Cursor, etc.) drive Adobe Photoshop on Windows through ExtendScript + COM automation.

Built for Photoshop 2020 (v21.x) but compatible with newer versions. ~122 tools covering documents, layers, text, filters, color adjustments, selections & masks, layer styles, export, layout analysis, design QA, and Photoshop state introspection.

Unofficial community project. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe.

How it works

MCP client (opencode/Claude) 
   → Node MCP server (server.js, stdio)
   → bridge.ps1 (PowerShell)
   → Photoshop COM (Application.DoJavaScriptFile)
   → ExtendScript DOM

ExtendScript, not UXP — external automation via COM can only use ExtendScript, which works on all Photoshop versions (2012–2025+). UXP is for in-process plugins and cannot be invoked externally.
Unicode-safe — non-ASCII text (e.g. £, —) is escaped to \uXXXX in generated JSX and a UTF-8 BOM is prepended, so prices/accents round-trip correctly.
Retry on busy — transient COM RPC_E_SERVERCALL_RETRYLATER ("application is busy") errors are retried with backoff.

Related MCP server: ImageMcp

Requirements

Windows
Adobe Photoshop installed (tested on PS 2020 / v21.2)
Node.js 18+

Install

npm install

Configure as an MCP server

Add to your MCP client config (e.g. ~/.config/opencode/opencode.jsonc, Claude Desktop, Cursor):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "photoshop": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\photoshop-mcp\\server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Restart your MCP client after changes so the updated tool list loads.

Tool highlights

Area	Tools
Documents	`create_document`, `open_image`, `save_psd`, `export_image`, `export_as`, `crop_document`, `resize_image`, `close_document`, `generate_variants`
Layers	`create_layer`, `add_text`, `add_text_box`, `add_rectangle`, `add_image`, `place_image`, `duplicate_layer`, `delete_layer`, `rename_layer`, `rasterize_layer`, `group_layers`, `merge_visible_layers`, `flatten_image`, opacity / blend mode / visibility / lock
Layer ops	`move_layer`, `resize_layer`, `rotate_layer`, `move_layer_up/down/to_position`, `fit_layer_to_document`, `align_layers`, `distribute_layers`, `center_in_canvas`, `snap_to_safe_area`
Text	`list_fonts`, `check_font_available`, `set_font`, `set_color`, `set_text_alignment`, `update_text_content`, `fit_text`, `fit_text_to_box`
Filters	`apply_gaussian_blur`, `apply_sharpen`, `apply_noise`, `apply_motion_blur`
Color	`adjust_brightness_contrast`, `adjust_hue_saturation`, `auto_levels`, `auto_contrast`, `desaturate_layer`, `invert_layer`, `adjust_curves`, `apply_lut`, `adjust_vibrance`, `adjust_exposure`, `apply_photo_filter`, `apply_gradient_map`
Selections & masks	`select_rectangle`, `select_all`, `deselect`, `invert_selection`, `create_layer_mask`, `delete_layer_mask`, `apply_layer_mask`, `apply_gradient_mask`, `content_aware_fill`
Layer styles	`apply_layer_style` (drop shadow / outer glow / stroke)
History	`undo`, `redo`, `get_history`, `save_checkpoint`, `restore_checkpoint`
Layout / QA	`analyze_layout`, `detect_overlaps`, `validate_layout`, `design_qa`, `visual_hierarchy`, `brand_check`, `execute_design_plan`, `apply_constraints`
Design system	`save_design_system`, `load_design_system`, `list_design_systems`, `capture_design_system`, `create_component`
Introspection	`get_version`, `get_capabilities`, `get_state`, `get_session_info`, `get_active_document_info`, `get_selection_info`, `get_document_info`, `list_layers`, `get_layer_bounds`, `get_preview`, `render_preview`
Data-driven	`image_stack`, `list_datasets`, `import_datasets`, `generate_from_datasets`
Automation	`play_action`, `execute_script`

Run tools/list in your MCP client to see all ~122 tools.

Configuration reference


`run/`	Temp JSX files (auto-created)
`snapshots/`	Named PNG snapshots for visual regression (`render_snapshot`)
`checkpoints/`	PSD backups for rollback (`save_checkpoint`)
`design-systems/`	Saved design systems (`save_design_system`)

Known limitations

Generative AI (Firefly) and Neural Filters require PS 24+ / a UXP bridge plugin and cannot be driven via ExtendScript.
select_subject needs PS 23+. export_as WebP/AVIF needs PS 23.2+.
On PS 2020, some commands prompt a "Photoshop is busy" if a modal dialog is open — dismiss it and retry.

Credits

Capability design inspired by:

Both are MIT licensed. This project is an independent implementation with additional tools (layout analysis, design QA, design systems, visual regression).

License

MIT

This server cannot be deployed

RayrunBuild, deploy, and operate MCP servers without becoming an infrastructure team.ray.runAd

Maintenance

ActivityMaintained

ResponsivenessNo issues

Resources

GitHub Repository

Need Help?

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