mcp-apple-image-playground

AI image generation for macOS via Image Playground. 17 tools. Zero API keys. On-device styles (animation, illustration, sketch) + ChatGPT external styles (oil painting, watercolor, vector, anime, print). Auto-crops for 40+ social media platforms. Built for AI agents.

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:

• 8 styles — on-device (animation, illustration, sketch, emoji) + ChatGPT external (oil painting, watercolor, vector, anime, print) via Shortcuts.app
• 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

Option A — npx (recommended, zero setup)

npx mcp-apple-image-playground

That's it. Python deps install automatically on first run.

Option B — npm install

npm install -g mcp-apple-image-playground
mcp-apple-image-playground

Option C — From source

pip install "mcp[cli]" pillow
python3 apple_intelligence_community_manager.py

IDE Integration

Cursor / Windsurf / VS Code

Add to your MCP config (.cursor/mcp.json or Settings → MCP):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple_image": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-apple-image-playground"]
    }
  }
}

Note: If Cursor can't find npx, use the full path:"command": "/Users/YOU/.nvm/versions/node/v20.x.x/bin/npx"

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple_image": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-apple-image-playground"]
    }
  }
}

OpenCode

Add to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json under "mcp":

{
  "mcp": {
    "apple-image": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "mcp-apple-image-playground"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Claude Code / opencode CLI

claude mcp add apple_image \
  --scope user \
  -- npx mcp-apple-image-playground

Available Tools

Image Generation

Image Processing

Discovery

Engine Details

On-Device (Apple Intelligence)

• Styles: animation, illustration, sketch, emoji
• Requires: macOS 15.4+ with Apple Intelligence enabled, Apple Silicon Mac
• Privacy: Runs entirely on your machine. No images leave your device.
• Speed: ~5-10 seconds per image

ChatGPT External Styles

• Styles: oil_painting, watercolor, vector, anime, print
• Requires: Internet connection, ChatGPT integrated into Siri
• How it works: Routes through Siri's ChatGPT integration via Shortcuts.app
• Speed: ~10-30 seconds per image (network dependent)

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 a social media pack

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

Generate an oil painting

generate_image(
    prompt="a serene mountain landscape at golden hour",
    style="oil_painting"
)
# → 1536×1536 oil painting via ChatGPT external style

Generate a bundle for your blog

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

Create a text post for social

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

Configuration

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

ImagePlayground.ImageCreator.Error.creationFailed

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

1. Open Image Playground.app and generate one image manually
2. Confirm Apple Intelligence is enabled in System Settings
3. 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.

ChatGPT external styles timeout

ChatGPT external styles (oil_painting, watercolor, vector, anime, print) require an active internet connection and ChatGPT integration. If they timeout, check your network and ensure Siri/ChatGPT is configured in System Settings.

Architecture

┌──────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│  MCP Client      │────▶│  npx launcher            │────▶│  Python MCP     │
│  (Claude, Cursor │◀────│  (Node.js, auto-deps)    │◀────│  (FastMCP)      │
│   OpenCode, etc.)│     │                          │     │                 │
└──────────────────┘     └──────────────────────────┘     ├─ Shortcuts.app │
                                                          │  (on-device)   │
                                                          │  styles:       │
                                                          │  animation,    │
                                                          │  illustration, │
                                                          │  sketch, emoji │
                                                          │                │
                                                          ├─ ChatGPT       │
                                                          │  (external)    │
                                                          │  via Siri      │
                                                          └─────────────────┘

The Node.js launcher handles Python dependency management and Swift compilation automatically. The Python server exposes 17 MCP tools via stdio transport. All image generation goes through Shortcuts.app's GenerateImageIntent — on-device styles use Apple's Image Playground directly, external styles route through Siri's ChatGPT integration.

Project Structure

apple-image-mcp/
├── bin/
│   └── mcp-apple-image-playground   # Node.js launcher (npx entry point)
├── apple_intelligence/              # Python package
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── server.py                    # 16 MCP tool definitions
│   ├── engines.py                   # Shortcuts.app engine
│   ├── processing.py                # PIL crop, resize, font utilities
│   ├── platforms.py                 # 40+ platform presets & bundles
│   └── response.py                  # Structured response helpers
├── apple_intelligence_community_manager.py  # Python MCP server entry point
├── imagegen_helper.swift            # Swift binary source
├── postinstall.js                   # Auto-setup on npm install
├── package.json
├── README.md
└── LICENSE

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
• FastMCP — the MCP server framework
• Pillow — image processing