How do I use apple-image-mcp?

1. Click on "Install 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., "@apple-image-mcp generate an illustration of a blooming flower using Apple engine" 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.

apple-image-mcp

by vakandi

Overview Schema Related Servers Score Discussions

Python

Hybrid

Why this exists

Other Apple Intelligence MCP servers expose one tool: generate_image. That's it.

apple-image-mcp gives your AI agent a full image pipeline:

Dual engine — Apple on-device stylized art + Pollinations photorealistic (Flux model, free, no API key)
17 tools — generate, crop, batch, watermark, text overlay, filters, social packs
40+ platform presets — Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, blog headers — all one prompt away
Zero config — runs locally on any Apple Silicon Mac with Apple Intelligence enabled

Quick Start

# 1. Compile the Swift helper (one-time)
swiftc imagegen_helper.swift -o imagegen_helper \
  -framework ImagePlayground -framework AppKit

# 2. Install Python deps
pip install "mcp[cli]" pillow

# 3. Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop example)
# Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple_image": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/apple_intelligence_community_manager.py"]
    }
  }
}

# 4. Restart Claude Desktop — 17 tools appear instantly

Available Tools

Image Generation

Tool	Description
`generate_image`	Generate from text prompt. Engine: `apple` or `pollinations`
`generate_social_pack`	One prompt → multiple platform-sized crops (Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn…)
`generate_bundle`	Generate for a predefined bundle (e.g. `full_social`, `blog_set`)
`generate_batch`	Generate multiple images from a list of prompts

Image Processing

Tool	Description
`add_text_overlay`	Add text with custom font, position, color, shadow
`add_watermark`	Brand watermark with opacity control
`create_gradient`	Generate gradient backgrounds (vertical, horizontal, diagonal)
`create_text_post`	Ready-to-post text image (quote, announcement, tip)
`apply_filter`	Blur, sharpen, brightness, contrast, sepia, noir
`smart_crop`	Face-aware crop using Apple's Vision framework
`crop_image`	Crop existing image to multiple platform sizes
`resize_image`	Resize to exact dimensions or scale factor

Discovery

Tool	Description
`list_engines`	Check which engines are available (Apple + Pollinations)
`list_styles`	Show available Apple Intelligence styles on this machine
`list_presets`	All 40+ platform presets with exact dimensions
`list_bundles`	Predefined bundles (full_social, instagram_set, blog_set…)
`detect_faces`	Detect faces using Apple's Vision framework

Engine Details

Apple Intelligence (On-Device)

Styles: illustration, sketch, animation (also emoji, messages-background — may timeout on some macOS versions)
Requires: macOS 15.4+ with Apple Intelligence enabled, Apple Silicon Mac
Privacy: Runs entirely on your machine. No images leave your device.
Speed: ~3-5 seconds per image

Pollinations.ai (Cloud)

Model: Flux — photorealistic, high quality
Requires: Internet connection. No API key needed.
Privacy: Input prompt sent to Pollinations API. Output images are public URLs (regenerate to get new ones).
Speed: ~5-10 seconds per image

Platform Presets

One prompt → perfectly sized for every platform:

Instagram:   post (1080×1080) · portrait (1080×1350) · story (1080×1920) · reel cover
Twitter/X:   post (1200×675)  · header (1500×500)  · card (1200×628)
LinkedIn:     post (1200×628)  · article (744×400)  · banner (1584×396)
YouTube:      thumbnail (1280×720) · channel art (2560×1440) · short (1080×1920)
Pinterest:    pin (1000×1500)  · story (1080×1920)
Blog:         header (1200×630) · hero (1920×1080) · thumbnail (400×300)
Facebook:     post (1200×630)  · cover (820×312)   · story (1080×1920)
TikTok:       video cover (1080×1920)

Full list: call list_platform_presets on the running server.

Example Agent Calls

generate_social_pack(
    prompt="a cozy coffee shop in autumn, warm colors",
    platforms=["instagram_post", "twitter_post", "linkedin_post"],
    engine="apple",
    style="illustration"
)
# → 3 images, each cropped to the perfect platform size

Generate a photorealistic product shot

generate_image(
    prompt="minimalist product photography of a ceramic mug on marble",
    engine="pollinations",
    width=1080,
    height=1080
)
# → photorealistic image, no API key needed

Generate a bundle for your blog

generate_bundle(
    prompt="a rocket launching into a starry sky",
    bundle="blog_set",
    engine="pollinations"
)
# → 5 images: blog_header, blog_inline, blog_thumbnail, og_image, square_thumbnail

create_text_post(
    text="50% OFF everything this weekend",
    width=1080,
    height=1080,
    bg_color="#1a1a2e",
    font_color="#FFFFFF",
    gradient=True
)
# → ready-to-post text image with gradient background

Add text overlay to an image

add_text_overlay(
    image_path="/path/to/image.png",
    text="50% OFF",
    position="center",
    font_size=72,
    font_color="#FF0000",
    bg_color="#000000"
)

Requirements

Requirement	Details
macOS	15.4+ (Sequoia) or 26+ (Tahoe)
Hardware	Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5)
Apple Intelligence	Enabled in System Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri
Image Playground	Open once to download models (one-time, ~2GB)
Xcode CLI	`xcode-select --install`
Python	3.10+
Pip	`pip install "mcp[cli]" pillow`

Non-Apple-Silicon Macs

Apple Intelligence is required for the apple_intelligence engine, but Pollinations works on any machine with Python and internet. You can use the server with only the pollinations engine on Intel Macs.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`APPLE_IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR`	`~/Pictures/AI-Generated`	Where generated images are saved
`APPLE_IMAGE_DEFAULT_ENGINE`	`apple_intelligence`	Default engine (`apple_intelligence` or `pollinations`)
`APPLE_IMAGE_DEFAULT_STYLE`	`illustration`	Default Apple style
`POLLINATIONS_DEFAULT_MODEL`	`flux`	Pollinations model to use

OpenCode / Claude Code Integration

# Quick add via CLI
claude mcp add apple_image \
  --scope user \
  --env "APPLE_IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR=$HOME/Pictures/AI-Generated" \
  -- python3 /absolute/path/to/apple_intelligence_community_manager.py

Troubleshooting

`ImagePlayground.ImageCreator.Error.creationFailed`

This is a known macOS issue, especially on beta builds. Fixes:

Open Image Playground.app and generate one image manually
Confirm Apple Intelligence is enabled in System Settings
Ensure Image Playground models are fully downloaded

Dock icon flashes during generation

Expected behavior. Apple's ImageCreator requires the app to run in the foreground. The helper temporarily sets a Dock icon, generates, then exits. The icon disappears automatically.

Pollinations returns errors

Pollinations is a free service — occasional rate limits or downtime happen. The server retries automatically. For production workflows, use the Apple engine as primary.

Architecture

┌──────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│  MCP Client      │────▶│  apple_image MCP Server  │────▶│  Apple          │
│  (Claude, Cursor │◀────│  (Python + FastMCP)       │◀────│  ImageCreator   │
│   OpenCode, etc.)│     │                          │     │  (on-device)    │
└──────────────────┘     │  ┌──────────────────────┐ │     └─────────────────┘
                         │  │  Pollinations API    │─│────▶ Pollinations.ai
                         │  └──────────────────────┘ │     (cloud, free)
                         └──────────────────────────┘

The Swift helper binary (imagegen_helper) is a thin wrapper around Apple's ImagePlayground.ImageCreator API. The Python MCP server calls it as a subprocess, receives generated images via file polling, then processes them (crop, resize, overlay, etc.) using Pillow.

Project Structure

apple-image-mcp/
├── apple_intelligence/                  # Python package
│   ├── __init__.py                     # Package entry point
│   ├── server.py                       # 17 MCP tool definitions
│   ├── engines.py                      # Apple Intelligence + Pollinations engines
│   ├── processing.py                   # Image crop, resize, font utilities
│   ├── platforms.py                    # 40+ platform presets & bundles
│   └── response.py                     # Structured response helpers
├── apple_intelligence_community_manager.py  # MCP server entry point
├── imagegen_helper.swift               # Swift → ImageCreator bridge
├── imagegen_helper                     # Compiled arm64 binary
├── assets/banners/banner.png           # Repo banner (generated with this MCP)
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── .gitignore

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

Apple ImagePlayground API — the on-device image generation framework
Pollinations.ai — free, open photorealistic image generation
FastMCP — the MCP server framework
Pillow — image processing

This server cannot be installed

license - not tested

quality - not tested

maintenance - not tested

How are these scores calculated?

Resources

GitHub Repository

Need Help?

Related Servers

Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.

Looking for Admin?

If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.

Latest Blog Posts

Your AI Chatbot Just Exposed Your CEO's Salary to an Intern
By Om-Shree-0709 on July 2, 2026.
Agent Identity
MCP Security
OAuth Delegation
Why MCP Servers Need Execution Sandboxing (And Why Your Current Stack Isn't Enough)
By Om-Shree-0709 on June 30, 2026.
Agentic Ai
Prompt Injection
WebAssembly
Lightport: Open-Sourcing Glama's AI Gateway
By punkpeye on April 27, 2026.
OpenAI
open source

MCP directory API

We provide all the information about MCP servers via our MCP API.

curl -X GET 'https://glama.ai/api/mcp/v1/servers/vakandi/apple-image-mcp'

If you have feedback or need assistance with the MCP directory API, please join our Discord server