io.github.ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server

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Illustrator MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for reading, manipulating, and exporting Adobe Illustrator design data — with 66 built-in tools.

Control Illustrator directly from AI assistants like Claude — extract design information for web implementation, verify print-ready data, and export assets.

Everything Adobe's official Illustrator MCP (beta) can do — and more. See the comparison.

[!NOTE] In Claude's extension directory and plugin marketplace, this project is listed as Design Bridge by IE3. Anthropic's directories don't allow other companies' brand names in listing names, so the listing name differs — it is the same project, and the npm package is still illustrator-mcp-server. If you installed the Claude Code plugin under its earlier name (illustrator@ie3jp-illustrator), see Claude Code to reinstall it.

🎨 Gallery

All artwork below was created entirely by Claude through natural language conversation — no manual Illustrator operation involved.

Event Poster	Logo Concepts
Business Card	Twilight Geometry

See detailed breakdowns below for prompts, tool usage, and artboard structure.

[!TIP] Developing and maintaining this tool takes time and resources. If it helps your workflow, your support means a lot — ☕ buy me a coffee!

🚀 Quick Start

🛠️ Claude Code

Requires Node.js 20+.

claude mcp add illustrator-mcp -- npx illustrator-mcp-server

Or install it as a plugin, which bundles the MCP server with a pre-press preflight skill (also works in Claude Cowork):

/plugin install ie3-design-bridge --marketplace ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server

On Claude Code earlier than v2.1.275, add the marketplace first:

/plugin marketplace add ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server
/plugin install ie3-design-bridge@ie3

If you already added the server with claude mcp add, remove it first (claude mcp remove illustrator-mcp) so it doesn't run twice.

🖥️ Claude Desktop

1. Download illustrator-mcp-server.mcpb from GitHub Releases
2. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions
3. Drag and drop the .mcpb file into the Extensions panel
4. Click the Install button

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "illustrator": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["illustrator-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

[!CAUTION] AI can make mistakes. Do not over-rely on the output — always have a human perform the final check on submission data. The user is responsible for the results.

[!NOTE] macOS: On first run, allow automation access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation.

[!NOTE] Most modify tools bring Illustrator to the foreground during execution. Read tools and export run without switching apps; export_pdf brings Illustrator forward only when drawing Japanese crop marks.

[!NOTE] Your files are protected by default. close_document will not throw away unsaved changes unless you explicitly choose to (save: false), and export, export_pdf, save_document (save as) and extract_design_tokens will not replace an existing file unless overwrite: true is set. If that is what you want, just tell Claude to "close without saving" or "overwrite the file".

Multiple Illustrator Versions

If you have multiple versions of Illustrator installed, you can tell Claude which version to use during conversation. Just say something like "Use Illustrator 2024" and the set_illustrator_version tool will target that version.

Supported versions: Illustrator 2024 (v28) and later are verified. Illustrator 2020–2023 (v24–v27) are expected to work — every ExtendScript API this server uses has existed since v24 — but they are not verified, so tools return a warning when running on them. Versions older than 2020 (v24) are rejected. If something breaks on an unverified version, please open an issue.

[!NOTE] If Illustrator is already running, the server connects to the running instance regardless of the version setting. The version is only used to launch the correct version when Illustrator is not yet running.

Environment Variables

Raise these when a single call needs longer than the default: importing a large SVG with import_svg_as_editable (100+ objects), or running get_document_structure / export_pdf on a big document.

Values must be positive integers in milliseconds. Anything else (0, a negative number, a non-numeric string, or a value above 2147483647) falls back to the default. They are read once at server startup.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "illustrator": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["illustrator-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "ILLUSTRATOR_MCP_TIMEOUT_NORMAL": "60000",
        "ILLUSTRATOR_MCP_TIMEOUT_HEAVY": "180000"
      }
    }
  }
}

🎬 What You Can Do

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 ...

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 frames

You:    Check text for inconsistencies
Claude:  → check_text_consistency
         📝 Consistency Report:
         ⚠ "Contact Us" vs "Contact us" — capitalization mismatch
         ❌ "Lorem ipsum" (2 places) — placeholder text remaining

You:    Create banner size variations from this A4 flyer
Claude:  → get_document_info → resize_for_variation
         Created 3 size variations:
         - 728×90 / 300×250 / 160×600

🆚 Comparison with Adobe's Official Illustrator MCP

In short: everything the official MCP does, this project does too — plus a lot more. Adobe ships a built-in MCP server in Illustrator Beta (30.4+, still beta-only as of August 2026), focused on analyzing and batch-processing existing documents. This project covers those same workflows — analysis, bulk recoloring, variations, batch artboard export, font / broken-link checks — and adds what the official server doesn't have: creating artwork from scratch, saving documents, print & prepress checks, and design-system tools. And it runs on stable Illustrator, no beta required.

* Based on user reports as of April 2026 (beta). The official server is under active development — see Adobe's documentation for the latest status.

📖 Recipes

You:    Summarize the colors and typography in this design

Claude:  → get_colors → list_text_frames → get_text_frame_detail

         ■ Color Palette
         - Primary: #1A73E8 (CMYK: 85,50,0,0)
         - Secondary: #34A853
         - Text: #202124
         - Background: #FFFFFF

         ■ Typography
         - Headings: Noto Sans JP Bold / 32px
         - Body: Noto Sans JP Regular / 16px / line-height: 1.75
         - Captions: Noto Sans JP Medium / 12px

You:    Export all artboards as SVG with outlined text

Claude:  → get_artboards → convert_to_outlines → export (repeated)

         Exported 4 artboards:
         - /output/header.svg
         - /output/hero.svg
         - /output/feature.svg
         - /output/footer.svg

You:    Check if this document is PDF/X-1a compliant

Claude:  → preflight_check (target_pdf_profile: "x1a")

         ❌ PDF/X-1a compliance errors:
         - Transparency on 3 objects (X-1a prohibits transparency)
         - RGB colors found in 2 places (X-1a requires CMYK/spot only)

         ⚠ Warnings:
         - 5 non-outlined fonts (embedding recommended)
         - Image "photo_02.jpg" at 150dpi (300dpi recommended)

You:    Check placed image quality for print

Claude:  → get_images (include_print_info: true)

         ■ Image Quality Report:
         ✅ hero.psd — CMYK, 350ppi effective
         ⚠ icon_set.png — RGB (mismatch with CMYK document), 300ppi effective
         ❌ photo_bg.jpg — CMYK, 72ppi effective (over-enlarged)
           → Replace with a 300dpi+ image at actual size

You:    Check text contrast ratios

Claude:  → check_contrast (auto_detect: true)

         ■ WCAG Contrast Report:
         ❌ "Caption" on "light gray" — 2.8:1 (AA fail)
         ⚠ "Subheading" on "white" — 4.2:1 (AA Large OK, AA Normal fail)
         ✅ "Body text" on "white" — 12.1:1 (AAA pass)

Workflow Templates

Pre-built workflow templates available in the Claude Desktop prompt picker.

Tool Reference

Read Tools (21)

Modify Tools (39)

Export Tools (2)

Utility (4)

Coordinate System

The server automatically detects the coordinate system from the document:

• CMYK documents use Illustrator's native coordinate system, matching what print designers expect
• RGB documents use a web-style coordinate system that is easier for AI to work with
• Use set_workflow to override the auto-detected coordinate system if needed
• All tool responses include a coordinateSystem field indicating which system is active
• If auto-detection fails, tools return an error instead of guessing — pass coordinate_system explicitly or call set_workflow

Example: SMPTE Test Pattern

A 1920×1080 SMPTE color bar test pattern, created entirely through natural language instructions to Claude.

Prompt:

Make a 1920x1080 video test pattern

Result:

Artboard structure (via get_document_structure):

Labels
├── title-safe-label        (text)    — "TITLE SAFE (10%)"
├── action-safe-label       (text)    — "ACTION SAFE (5%)"
├── credit-label            (text)    — "Generated by illustrator-mcp-server"
├── test-label              (text)    — "SMPTE COLOR BARS — TEST PATTERN"
├── format-label            (text)    — "Full HD — 16:9"
└── resolution-label        (text)    — "1920 x 1080"

Center Cross
├── title-safe              (path)    — 1536×864 stroke rectangle
├── action-safe             (path)    — 1728×972 stroke rectangle
├── cross-circle            (path)    — 150×150 center circle
├── cross-v                 (path)    — vertical crosshair
└── cross-h                 (path)    — horizontal crosshair

Color Bars
├── pluge-black … pluge-navy   (path ×9)  — PLUGE / grayscale bottom strip
├── rev-white … rev-blue       (path ×7)  — reverse color middle strip
└── bar-white … bar-blue       (path ×7)  — 75% SMPTE color bars

Tools used: create_document, manage_layers, create_rectangle ×23, create_line ×2, create_ellipse, create_text_frame ×6, modify_object ×4, save_document, export

Example: Twilight Geometry

An abstract geometric landscape artwork — created entirely by Claude, with no human design direction beyond "make whatever art you want."

Prompt:

Make an art piece of your own imagination in Illustrator. Take your time. Create whatever you like.

Claude's process:

I'll create "Twilight Geometry" — an abstract landscape with geometric celestial elements. A deep gradient twilight sky, layered mountain silhouettes, a crescent moon with decorative rings, and stars scattered across the canvas.

Diamond-shaped stars in different colors — warm whites, cool blues, lavender purples — each one subtly different to suggest different types of stars. Constellation lines connecting them. Wireframe triangles and a hexagon floating in the sky for a mystical atmosphere.

A water surface at the bottom with the moon's light reflected as shimmering wavy lines, fading as they descend.

Claude's reflection:

It turned out better than I expected. I think the hybrid world of geometry and nature came through well.

Result:

Tools used: create_document, manage_layers ×4, create_rectangle ×2, create_gradient ×2, create_path ×11, create_ellipse ×14, create_line ×4, create_text_frame ×2, modify_object, set_z_order, export

Known Limitations

For Developers

Architecture

flowchart LR
    Claude <-->|MCP Protocol| Server["MCP Server\n(TypeScript/Node.js)"]

    Server -.->|generate| Runner["run-{uuid}.scpt / .ps1"]
    Server -.->|generate| JSX["script-{uuid}.jsx\n(BOM UTF-8)"]
    Server -.->|write| PF["params-{uuid}.json"]

    Runner -->|execFile| osascript
    Runner -->|execFile| PS["powershell.exe"]

    osascript -->|do javascript| AI["Adobe Illustrator\n(ExtendScript/JSX)"]
    PS -->|DoJavaScript| AI

    JSX -.->|execute| AI
    PF -.->|read| AI
    AI -.->|write| RF["result-{uuid}.json"]
    RF -.->|read| Server

Building 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.js

Verify

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx illustrator-mcp-server

Testing

# Unit tests
npm test

# E2E smoke test (requires Illustrator running)
npm run build   # E2E runs dist/index.js
npx tsx test/e2e/e2e-test.ts        # every tool (192 cases)
npx tsx test/e2e/e2e-behaviors.ts   # behavior & regression checks (91 cases)
npx tsx test/e2e/e2e-cmyk-only.ts
npx tsx test/e2e/svg-import-test.ts

The E2E suites create their own documents, never touch other open documents, and close them without saving. e2e-test.ts exercises every registered tool (RGB + CMYK, coordinate-system auto-detection); e2e-behaviors.ts checks behaviors that must hold on the real app — notes are preserved, partial failures are reported, files are not overwritten, crop marks and PDF export leave your artwork intact.

Privacy Policy

illustrator-mcp-server runs entirely on your computer. It collects no personal data, has no telemetry, and makes no network connections of its own. Tool parameters and document data go only to your local Illustrator and back to the MCP client that called the tool; temporary files are deleted after each call. See the full Privacy Policy.

Disclaimer

This tool automates many Illustrator operations, but AI can make mistakes. Extracted data, preflight results, and document modifications should always be reviewed by a person. Do not rely on this tool as your sole quality check. Use it as an assistant alongside your own manual verification, especially for print submissions and client deliverables. The authors are not responsible for any damages or losses arising from the use of this software or its outputs.

License

MIT