@nanobanana/mcp 🍌

A lean MCP server for Google's Nano Banana (Gemini) image models and Veo video models. It generates and edits images and generates video from any MCP client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor) and hands back file paths instead of base64, so your agent's context stays small.

• Six tools and nothing else: generate_image, edit_image, generate_video, extend_video, get_video_result, list_models

• Defaults to Nano Banana 2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image) and Veo 3.1 Fast (veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview). Switch models per call or via env. If a pinned model id ever goes stale, list_models shows what your key can actually use.

• Multi-image editing: pass reference images for style transfer, characters, or compositing

• Control over aspect ratio (1:1 through 21:9, out to 1:4 and 8:1) and resolution (512, 1K, 2K, 4K)

• Google Search grounding for images that need real-world accuracy, like infographics

• Video as a job, not a blocked call: generation takes 1–6 min, so generate_video returns a job id and get_video_result polls within every client's 60s timeout

• Safe output paths. The server never writes to / when a desktop MCP client spawns it there.

• Auth lives in env vars only, so your API key never passes through chat context

Quick start

Get a free Gemini API key at aistudio.google.com/apikey.

Claude Code

claude mcp add nanobanana -e GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key -- npx -y @nanobanana/mcp

Also listed in the MCP Registry as io.github.getjoystick/nanobanana-mcp.

Claude Desktop / Cursor: add this to claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nanobanana": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@nanobanana/mcp"],
      "env": { "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your_key" }
    }
  }
}

Related MCP server: nano-banana-claude

Tools

generate_image

edit_image

Same params, plus:

Both tools save to disk and return the file path.

list_models

Takes no params. Lists the image and video model ids your API key can use, in two sections. Handy when a pinned model id stops working, which is how earlier Nano Banana servers broke — and Veo's ids are previews that will be renamed.

Video

Veo generation takes 1–6 minutes, and MCP clients kill a tool call at ~60s. So video is a job: you start one, then poll.

generate_video   →  "Video job started: <jobId>"
get_video_result →  "Still processing (<jobId>)…"   ← blocks up to 45s, then call again
get_video_result →  "Saved: /path/to/clip.mp4 (veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview)
                     Veo URI (needed for extend_video; expires ~2 days): https://…"

get_video_result does the waiting for you — each call blocks up to waitSeconds (45 by default, the most that fits inside a client's 60s timeout). Call it right away and call it again the moment it returns; there is no need to pause in between, which matters because an agent has no way to sleep.

The job id carries everything the server needs, so it keeps working even if the server process restarts in between. Download promptly: Google deletes generated videos server-side after ~2 days — and that server-side copy is the only thing extend_video can extend, so keep the Veo URI if you plan to continue the shot.

Animating an image you just generated? Give generate_image an aspectRatio of 16:9 or 9:16 first. Veo only outputs those two ratios and crops the frame you hand it, so a square image loses its edges — and you pay for the clip either way.

generate_video

Frames (image, referenceImages) must be png or jpg.

extend_video

Extends a Veo-generated clip by ~7s, continuing from its final second. Input up to ~141s, output up to ~148s across at most 20 extensions, always 720p. Not supported by Lite.

Extension runs on Google's copy of the video, not on your local file — pass the Veo URI that get_video_result prints. It expires with the video after ~2 days.

get_video_result

Saves the finished video as .mp4 and returns the absolute path, plus the Veo URI of the server-side copy that extend_video needs.

Configuration

Models

Video models

Veo has no free tier — you need a billing-enabled API key, and you are charged per second of output.

All three do text-to-video, image-to-video, and native audio. Extension, reference images, and 4k are Veo 3.1 and 3.1 Fast only. Clips are 4, 6, or 8 seconds, in 16:9 or 9:16.

Development

npm install
npm run build
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key npm run smoke   # end-to-end test against the live API
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key SMOKE_VIDEO=1 npm run smoke   # also generates a 4s clip (~$0.20)

Acknowledgements

Inspired by other Nano Banana MCPs. Built with Claude Code.

License

MIT