Extracts design information, such as colors, dimensions, and object coordinates, from Illustrator documents using a web-aligned coordinate system for CSS implementation.
Utilizes macOS-specific AppleScript (osascript) capabilities to automate and retrieve data from Adobe Illustrator instances.
Supports exporting Adobe Illustrator artboards, selections, or specific objects as SVG files, including options for converting text to outlines.
Illustrator MCP Server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for reading, manipulating, and exporting Adobe Illustrator design data.
Control Illustrator directly from AI assistants like Claude — extract design information for web implementation, verify print-ready data, and export assets.
Usage Examples
Extracting design data:
You: Show me all the text information in this document
Claude: → list_text_frames → get_text_frame_detail
There are 12 text frames in the document.
The heading "My Design" uses Noto Sans JP Bold 48px, color #333333 ...SVG export:
You: Export the "pc" artboard as SVG with outlined text
Claude: → get_artboards → export
Exported to /path/to/output.svg (text converted to outlines)Pre-press preflight:
You: Run a pre-press preflight check
Claude: → preflight_check
⚠ 2 warnings:
- Low resolution image: image_01.jpg (150dpi) — 300dpi or higher recommended
- Non-outlined fonts: 3 text framesObject manipulation:
You: Create a red rectangle and place it in the top-left corner
Claude: → create_rectangle
Created a 200×100 red rectangle at (0, 0) (uuid: abc-123...)Features
26 tools — 15 read / 8 modify / 2 export / 1 utility
Web coordinate system — Y-axis down, artboard-relative (same as CSS/SVG)
UUID tracking — Stable object identification across tool calls
Prerequisites
macOS (osascript)
Adobe Illustrator CC 2024+
On first run, allow automation access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation.
Setup
Claude Code
claude mcp add illustrator-mcp -- npx illustrator-mcp-serverClaude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"illustrator": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["illustrator-mcp-server"]
}
}
}From source
git clone https://github.com/ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server.git
cd illustrator-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
claude mcp add illustrator-mcp -- node /path/to/illustrator-mcp-server/dist/index.jsVerify
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx illustrator-mcp-serverTool Reference
Read Tools (15)
Tool | Description |
| Document metadata (dimensions, color mode, profile, etc.) |
| Artboard information (position, size, orientation) |
| Layer structure as a tree |
| Full tree: layers → groups → objects in one call |
| List of text frames (font, size, style name) |
| All attributes of a specific text frame (kerning, paragraph settings, etc.) |
| Color information in use (swatches, gradients, spot colors, etc.) |
| Path/shape data (fill, stroke, anchor points) |
| Groups, clipping masks, and compound path structure |
| Effects and appearance info (opacity, blend mode) |
| Embedded/linked image info (resolution, broken link detection) |
| Symbol definitions and instances |
| Guide information |
| Details of currently selected objects |
| Search by criteria (name, type, color, font, etc.) |
Modify Tools (8)
Tool | Description |
| Create a rectangle (supports rounded corners) |
| Create an ellipse |
| Create a line |
| Create a text frame (point or area type) |
| Create a custom path (with Bezier handles) |
| Modify properties of an existing object |
| Convert text to outlines |
| Apply a color profile |
Export Tools (2)
Tool | Description |
| SVG / PNG / JPG export (by artboard, selection, or UUID) |
| Print-ready PDF export (crop marks, bleed, downsampling) |
Utility (1)
Tool | Description |
| Pre-press check (RGB mixing, broken links, low resolution, white overprint, etc.) |
Architecture
flowchart LR
Claude <-->|MCP Protocol| Server["MCP Server\n(TypeScript/Node.js)"]
Server <-->|execFile| osascript
osascript <-->|do javascript| AI["Adobe Illustrator\n(ExtendScript/JSX)"]
Server -.->|write| PF["params-{uuid}.json"]
PF -.->|read| AI
AI -.->|write| RF["result-{uuid}.json"]
RF -.->|read| Server
Server -.->|generate| JSX["script-{uuid}.jsx\n(BOM UTF-8)"]
Server -.->|generate| AS["run-{uuid}.scpt"]Coordinate System
All tools accept a coordinate_system parameter.
Value | Origin | Y-axis | Use case |
| Artboard top-left | Positive downward | Web / CSS implementation |
| Pasteboard | Positive upward (Illustrator native) | Print / DTP |
Testing
# Unit tests
npm test
# E2E smoke test (requires Illustrator running with a file open)
npx tsx test/e2e/smoke-test.tsThe E2E test suite runs all 30 cases automatically (16 read + 4 export + 2 utility + 8 modify).
Known Limitations
Limitation | Details |
macOS only | Depends on osascript. Windows support may be considered in the future |
Live effects | ExtendScript DOM limitations prevent reading parameters for drop shadows, etc. |
Color profile conversion | Only profile assignment is supported; full ICC conversion is not available |
Bleed settings | Not accessible via the ExtendScript API (undocumented) |
WebP export | Not supported — ExportType does not include WebP in ExtendScript |
Japanese crop marks |
|
Project Structure
illustrator-mcp-server/
├── src/
│ ├── index.ts # Entry point
│ ├── server.ts # MCP server
│ ├── executor/
│ │ ├── jsx-runner.ts # osascript execution + concurrency control
│ │ └── file-transport.ts # Temp file management
│ ├── tools/
│ │ ├── registry.ts # Tool registration
│ │ ├── read/ # 15 read tools
│ │ ├── modify/ # 8 modify tools
│ │ ├── export/ # 2 export tools
│ │ └── utility/ # 1 utility tool
│ └── jsx/
│ └── helpers/
│ └── common.jsx # ExtendScript common helpers
├── test/
│ └── e2e/
│ └── smoke-test.ts # E2E smoke test
└── docs/ # Design documents