illustrator-ai-mcp

Let Claude design in Adobe Illustrator — 100% local, private by default.

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI assistants hands and eyes inside Adobe Illustrator: it writes and runs ExtendScript, sees the canvas via window screenshots, reads document structure, exports artwork, and (optionally) remembers techniques that worked — all without a single byte leaving your machine from this server.

📖 New here? Start with the step-by-step USER_GUIDE.md — install, Claude Desktop/Code setup, permissions, and troubleshooting for both platforms.

Platform	Status
🍎 macOS	✅ Fully supported & tested (AppleScript bridge)
🪟 Windows	⚠️ Experimental (COM bridge via pywin32 — testers welcome)

Privacy

• No network code. This package contains zero HTTP clients, telemetry, or analytics. It talks only to Illustrator (via AppleScript/ExtendScript) and your local filesystem.
• History is opt-in and OFF by default. Nothing is logged until you (or the AI, with your permission) call set_memory(True).
• One-command wipe. Everything the server ever stores lives in ~/.illustrator-mcp. Delete that folder and it's gone. There is also a clear_history capability in the memory layer.
• Honest caveat: screenshots of your Illustrator window and script results are sent to the AI model as part of your conversation — that is inherent to how the AI sees the canvas and iterates on the design. If a document is confidential, don't ask an AI to look at it. The server itself, however, never transmits anything on its own.

Features vs. the original

Inspired by spencerhhubert/illustrator-mcp-server, rebuilt with the feedback loop an AI actually needs:

Capability	spencerhhubert/illustrator-mcp-server	illustrator-ai-mcp
Run ExtendScript in Illustrator	Yes	Yes
Script output capture (return values)	No — fire and forget	Yes — scripts return data to the AI
Error messages with line numbers	No	Yes — AI can fix and retry
Window screenshots	Fixed screen region	Dynamic window detection, any display
Document state as JSON (artboards/layers/selection)	No	Yes
Export artwork (png/svg/pdf/jpg)	No	Yes
Undo	No	Yes
Local run history	No	Yes — opt-in, off by default
Reusable snippet library	No	Yes — searchable across sessions

Requirements

• macOS (AppleScript bridge — fully supported) or Windows (COM bridge — experimental)
• Adobe Illustrator (any recent CC version), running
• Python 3.11+
• uv recommended (plain pip works too)

Install

With uv (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/Gokul2/illustrator-mcp-Gokul-Dhatkshina-Moorthy-.git illustrator-ai-mcp
cd illustrator-ai-mcp
uv sync

With plain pip

git clone https://github.com/Gokul2/illustrator-mcp-Gokul-Dhatkshina-Moorthy-.git illustrator-ai-mcp
cd illustrator-ai-mcp
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Hook it up

Claude Desktop

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "illustrator": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/illustrator-ai-mcp",
        "run",
        "illustrator-ai-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

Claude Code

claude mcp add illustrator -- uv --directory /absolute/path/to/illustrator-ai-mcp run illustrator-ai-mcp

First run: macOS permissions

The first time the server touches Illustrator, macOS will ask for two permissions. Grant both to the app hosting the server (Claude Desktop, your terminal, etc.):

1. Automation — lets the server send ExtendScript to Illustrator. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation → enable Adobe Illustrator under your client app.
2. Screen Recording — lets view_canvas screenshot the Illustrator window. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording → enable your client app, then restart it.

If a screenshot comes back black or the tool reports a permission error, Screen Recording is the usual culprit.

Tool reference

Tool	What it does
run_script(code)	Execute ExtendScript on the current document. return <value> sends data back; errors include line numbers for fix-and-retry.
view_canvas()	JPEG screenshot of the Illustrator window — the AI's eyes.
get_document_state()	Structured JSON of artboards, layers, and selection — cheaper than a screenshot for layout logic.
export_artwork(path, format)	Export the document to png / svg / pdf / jpg at a path you choose.
undo_last()	Undo the most recent action (Cmd+Z).
list_history(limit)	Recent script runs (only when memory is enabled).
get_run(run_id)	Full code + screenshot path of one past run.
save_snippet(name, description, code, tags)	Save a technique that worked to the local library.
search_snippets(query, limit)	Search the library before writing complex scripts from scratch.
set_memory(enabled)	Opt in/out of local history logging (default: off).
memory_stats()	What's stored, where, and a privacy statement.

Example prompts

• "Design a minimalist mountain logo — dark blue palette, geometric, on a square artboard."
• "Recreate this layout as 3 variations on separate artboards."
• "Draw a sunburst badge with 24 rays, then export it as an SVG to my Desktop."
• "Look at the canvas and tell me what's misaligned, then fix it."
• "That gradient trick worked great — save it as a snippet for next time."

Your data

Everything the server stores lives in one folder:

~/.illustrator-mcp/

That's the opt-in run history (SQLite), optional screenshots, and your snippet library. To wipe it:

• ask the AI to clear the history (uses the memory layer's clear_history), or
• nuke it yourself: rm -rf ~/.illustrator-mcp

Nothing else is written anywhere, and nothing is ever transmitted by this server.