openrouter-image-gen-mcp

Give your AI assistant the ability to generate and edit images. One install, multiple models, no vendor lock-in.

Works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and any MCP client.

Why This

• One API key, every image model. Gemini, GPT-5, and more through OpenRouter. Switch models with a word, not a code change.

• Generate, edit, and batch. Text-to-image, image editing with references, and batch operations (up to 20 parallel tasks).

• Style presets. Say "in watercolor style" or "as pixel art" and get consistent results. 8 built-in styles.

• Variations. Generate up to 4 takes from one prompt. Pick the best one.

• Smart file output. Save to a path or a directory. Files get descriptive names automatically.

• Pay for what you use. OpenRouter's per-token and per-image pricing means no subscriptions.

Related MCP server: OpenRouter Image Generation MCP Server

How to Install

Get an OpenRouter API key, then add the server to your client.

Claude Code

# macOS / Linux
claude mcp add openrouter-image-gen-mcp -s user -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=YOURAPIKEY -- npx -y openrouter-image-gen-mcp@latest

# Windows
claude mcp add openrouter-image-gen-mcp -s user -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=YOURAPIKEY -- cmd /c npx -y openrouter-image-gen-mcp@latest

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code / Windsurf

Add to your MCP config JSON:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openrouter-image-gen-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "openrouter-image-gen-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOURAPIKEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

What You Can Do

Simply chat with your assistant:

Generate a product photo of a ceramic mug on a wooden table, warm lighting

Generate 3 variations of a logo concept for a coffee brand, pixel-art style

Edit /path/to/headshot.png: make the background a gradient, keep the subject

Batch generate 5 social media banners: summer sale, back to school, holiday promo,
new arrivals, free shipping. All in illustration style, 16:9, save to ./banners/

List image models. What's cheapest for quick drafts?

Quality Presets

Skip the model IDs. Just say "fast", "balanced", or "quality":

Or pass any OpenRouter model ID directly:

Generate a cat using model google/gemini-2.5-flash-image

Style Presets

Keywords modifies the style:

Tools Reference

Convenient tools:

Supported output: 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4 aspect ratios. 0.5K, 1K, 2K, 4K sizes. PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF inputs.

Headless Configuration

Security

API keys never appear in logs or error messages. File paths block directory traversal. Image URLs are validated against SSRF patterns. Batch operations are memory-capped at 200MB. All inputs are schema-validated.

For Developers

To build for devs:

pnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm test  # 57 tests

License

MIT

Made with <3 at Bitcoin.com