🖼️ Unsplash Smart MCP Server

AI-powered FastMCP server for intelligent stock photo search, download, and attribution management from Unsplash

Local serverstdioTypeScript

What is the 🖼️ Unsplash Smart MCP server?

Most knowledge and memory work still happens through a UI a human drives. 🖼️ Unsplash Smart MCP server moves it into the conversation instead. AI-powered FastMCP server for intelligent stock photo search, download, and attribution management from Unsplash.

The short version

A powerful FastMCP server that enables AI agents to seamlessly search, recommend, and deliver professional stock photos from Unsplash with intelligent context awareness and automated attribution management.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 5 tools. What each one is for:

  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Documentation — The Documentation tool exposed by this server
  • stock_photo — The stock_photo tool exposed by this server
  • get_attributions — The get_attributions tool exposed by this server
  • Testing — The Testing tool exposed by this server

Getting it running

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at tsx on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

What it needs from you

Configuration is passed through the environment: UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY, ATTRIBUTION_DB_PATH. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

  • Node.js 18.x or higher - An Unsplash API access key (get one here)

How it compares

Among the knowledge and memory options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. 🖼️ Unsplash Smart's toolset — Prerequisites, Documentation, stock_photo and 2 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by drumnation; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against 🖼️ Unsplash Smart's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
DocumentationThe Documentation tool exposed by this server.
stock_photoThe stock_photo tool exposed by this server.
get_attributionsThe get_attributions tool exposed by this server.
TestingThe Testing tool exposed by this server.

How to install the 🖼️ Unsplash Smart MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stock_photo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["./node_modules/.bin/tsx", "path/to/unsplash-mcp/src/server.ts"],
      "disabled": false,
      "env": {
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      },
      "shell": false
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

  • Node.js 18.x or higher - An Unsplash API access key (get one here)
VariableDescriptionRequired
UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes
ATTRIBUTION_DB_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use 🖼️ Unsplash Smart to Prerequisites.
  • Use 🖼️ Unsplash Smart to Documentation.
  • Use 🖼️ Unsplash Smart to stock photo.

Frequently asked questions

It is purpose‑built for AI agents with a unified `stock_photo` tool, context‑aware selection, URL‑first delivery, and built‑in attribution management — reducing tool spam and developer effort.