Illustrator MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for reading, manipulating, and exporting Adobe Illustrator design data.

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

Usage Examples

Extracting design data:

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 ...

SVG export:

You:    Export the "pc" artboard as SVG with outlined text
Claude:  → get_artboards → export
         Exported to /path/to/output.svg (text converted to outlines)

Pre-press preflight:

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

Object manipulation:

You:    Create a red rectangle and place it in the top-left corner
Claude:  → create_rectangle
         Created a 200×100 red rectangle at (0, 0) (uuid: abc-123...)

Features

26 tools — 15 read / 8 modify / 2 export / 1 utility
Web coordinate system — Y-axis down, artboard-relative (same as CSS/SVG)
UUID tracking — Stable object identification across tool calls

Prerequisites

macOS (osascript)
Adobe Illustrator CC 2024+

On first run, allow automation access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation.

Setup

Claude Code

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

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

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

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

Tool Reference

Read Tools (15)

Click to expand

Tool	Description
`get_document_info`	Document metadata (dimensions, color mode, profile, etc.)
`get_artboards`	Artboard information (position, size, orientation)
`get_layers`	Layer structure as a tree
`get_document_structure`	Full tree: layers → groups → objects in one call
`list_text_frames`	List of text frames (font, size, style name)
`get_text_frame_detail`	All attributes of a specific text frame (kerning, paragraph settings, etc.)
`get_colors`	Color information in use (swatches, gradients, spot colors, etc.)
`get_path_items`	Path/shape data (fill, stroke, anchor points)
`get_groups`	Groups, clipping masks, and compound path structure
`get_effects`	Effects and appearance info (opacity, blend mode)
`get_images`	Embedded/linked image info (resolution, broken link detection)
`get_symbols`	Symbol definitions and instances
`get_guidelines`	Guide information
`get_selection`	Details of currently selected objects
`find_objects`	Search by criteria (name, type, color, font, etc.)

Modify Tools (8)

Click to expand

Tool	Description
`create_rectangle`	Create a rectangle (supports rounded corners)
`create_ellipse`	Create an ellipse
`create_line`	Create a line
`create_text_frame`	Create a text frame (point or area type)
`create_path`	Create a custom path (with Bezier handles)
`modify_object`	Modify properties of an existing object
`convert_to_outlines`	Convert text to outlines
`apply_color_profile`	Apply a color profile

Export Tools (2)

Tool	Description
`export`	SVG / PNG / JPG export (by artboard, selection, or UUID)
`export_pdf`	Print-ready PDF export (crop marks, bleed, downsampling)

Utility (1)

Tool	Description
`preflight_check`	Pre-press check (RGB mixing, broken links, low resolution, white overprint, etc.)

Architecture

flowchart LR
    Claude <-->|MCP Protocol| Server["MCP Server\n(TypeScript/Node.js)"]
    Server <-->|execFile| osascript
    osascript <-->|do javascript| AI["Adobe Illustrator\n(ExtendScript/JSX)"]

    Server -.->|write| PF["params-{uuid}.json"]
    PF -.->|read| AI
    AI -.->|write| RF["result-{uuid}.json"]
    RF -.->|read| Server
    Server -.->|generate| JSX["script-{uuid}.jsx\n(BOM UTF-8)"]
    Server -.->|generate| AS["run-{uuid}.scpt"]

Coordinate System

All tools accept a coordinate_system parameter.

Value	Origin	Y-axis	Use case
`artboard-web` (default)	Artboard top-left	Positive downward	Web / CSS implementation
`document`	Pasteboard	Positive upward (Illustrator native)	Print / DTP

Testing

# Unit tests
npm test

# E2E smoke test (requires Illustrator running with a file open)
npx tsx test/e2e/smoke-test.ts

The E2E test suite runs all 30 cases automatically (16 read + 4 export + 2 utility + 8 modify).

Known Limitations

Limitation	Details
macOS only	Depends on osascript. Windows support may be considered in the future
Live effects	ExtendScript DOM limitations prevent reading parameters for drop shadows, etc.
Color profile conversion	Only profile assignment is supported; full ICC conversion is not available
Bleed settings	Not accessible via the ExtendScript API (undocumented)
WebP export	Not supported — ExportType does not include WebP in ExtendScript
Japanese crop marks	`PageMarksTypes.Japanese` may not be applied correctly in PDF export

Project Structure

illustrator-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # Entry point
│   ├── server.ts             # MCP server
│   ├── executor/
│   │   ├── jsx-runner.ts     # osascript execution + concurrency control
│   │   └── file-transport.ts # Temp file management
│   ├── tools/
│   │   ├── registry.ts       # Tool registration
│   │   ├── read/             # 15 read tools
│   │   ├── modify/           # 8 modify tools
│   │   ├── export/           # 2 export tools
│   │   └── utility/          # 1 utility tool
│   └── jsx/
│       └── helpers/
│           └── common.jsx    # ExtendScript common helpers
├── test/
│   └── e2e/
│       └── smoke-test.ts     # E2E smoke test
└── docs/                     # Design documents

License

MIT

illustrator-mcp-server

Quick Install