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licenseA
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maintenanceEnables AI assistants to query and export from the macOS Apple Photos library using natural language, backed by osxphotos.
21
129 npm
33
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 and video moments by visual meaning, people, dates, and folders across local libraries, Apple Photos, and OneDrive. Manage collections, groups, favorites, people, and duplicate review. Synced metadata remains searchable while the desktop is offline; local and Apple Photos media access needs the owning device online with remote access enabled. OneDrive media can be accessed directly from the cloud. OAuth or Bearer API keys. Paid Cloud Access required; hosted visual search uses prepaid credits. Text-in-image search is semantic matching, not guaranteed exact OCR. Setup: https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/connect-ai-assistants
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.
Personal asset search engine: everything you make or upload is searchable by what's inside it.
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