Image MCP Server

MCP server for image analysis using GPT-4o-mini

Local serverstdioTypeScript

What is the Image MCP server?

Image mcp server lets Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients work with Image directly. MCP server for image analysis using GPT-4o-mini.

What Image does

An MCP server that receives image URLs or local file paths and analyzes image content using the GPT-4o-mini model.

Key capabilities

  • Receives image URLs or local file paths as input and provides detailed analysis of the image content
  • High-precision image recognition and description using the GPT-4o-mini model
  • Image URL validity checking
  • Image loading from local files and Base64 encoding

Tools it exposes

Once connected, the assistant can call these 2 tools directly:

  • analyze_image — Receives an image URL and analyzes its content
  • analyze_image_from_path — Receives a local file path and analyzes its content

Installing the image mcp server

The server is distributed via npm as @smithery/cli, so most clients can run it without a manual build step. Add it to your MCP client's configuration and restart the client to pick it up — the copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are on this page.

Configuration

Before the server will start you need to supply one environment variable: OPENAI_API_KEY. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than committing them.

Where it fits

Developer-tool servers are usually the first ones people connect, because they turn "help me with this code" into an assistant that can actually read the repo and act on it. Image sits in that group, and the shape of its toolset — analyze_image, analyze_image_from_path — tells you what it is really for. Worth comparing against the other developer tools servers in this directory before you commit to one, since several overlap in scope but differ sharply in setup cost and permissions.

Practical notes

  • This server runs locally, so it operates with whatever access your machine and its credentials already have. Scope that deliberately rather than by default.
  • It will not start until its required credentials are present, so set those before wondering why the tools never appear.
  • Maintained by champierre, written in TypeScript.
  • MCP clients ask for confirmation before each tool call by default. Keep that on while you learn what the image mcp server actually does with your data.
  • Every entry in this directory is reviewed by hand before it goes live, and details are checked against the project's own documentation.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
analyze_imageReceives an image URL and analyzes its content.
analyze_image_from_pathReceives a local file path and analyzes its content.

How to install the Image MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@smithery/cli"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
OPENAI_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Image to analyze image.
  • Use Image to analyze image from path.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Image to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 2 tools (analyze_image, analyze_image_from_path) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Image directly.