Sharp MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for image session management and processing. Provides tools for storing images in sessions and extracting image metadata and colors.

Features

• create_session: Store base64 images in memory sessions with unique IDs
• create_session_by_path: Create sessions from image file paths (auto base64 conversion)
• list_session: List all active image sessions
• get_dimensions: Get image dimensions and MIME type
• pick_color: Extract average color from a specified region
• remove_background: Remove background from images using ML-based segmentation
• extract_region: Crop a rectangular region from an image
• compress_image: Compress images with format conversion (JPEG, PNG, WebP)
• Built with TypeScript for type safety
• Uses sharp for high-performance image processing

Installation

NPM

npm install -g sharp-mcp

Smithery

To install Sharp MCP for any client automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install sharp-mcp --client <CLIENT_NAME>

Available clients: cursor, claude, vscode, windsurf, cline, zed, etc.

MCP Client Integration

Sharp MCP can be integrated with various AI coding assistants and IDEs that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Requirements

• Node.js >= v18.0.0
• An MCP-compatible client (Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, Windsurf, etc.)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sharp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sharp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add sharp -- npx -y sharp-mcp

"mcp": {
  "servers": {
    "sharp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sharp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sharp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sharp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sharp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sharp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

[mcp_servers.sharp]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "sharp-mcp"]

Available Tools

create_session

Creates a new session with the provided image payload and returns a unique session ID.

Parameters:

• image_payload (string, required): Base64 encoded image data
• description (string, optional): Optional description for the image

Returns:

{ "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz" }

Example:

{
  "image_payload": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
  "description": "Screenshot of the homepage"
}

create_session_by_path

Creates a new session by reading an image from the specified absolute file path. Automatically converts the file to base64 and validates that it's a valid image.

Parameters:

• path (string, required): Absolute path to the image file
• description (string, optional): Optional description for the image

Returns:

{
  "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz",
  "source_path": "/path/to/image.png",
  "file_size": 46849
}

Example:

{
  "path": "/Users/username/images/screenshot.png",
  "description": "Homepage screenshot"
}

Error Responses:

• Relative path: Path must be absolute. Received relative path: "./image.png"
• File not found: File not found: "/path/to/image.png"
• Invalid image: Invalid or corrupted image file: "/path/to/file.txt"

list_session

Lists all active sessions with their session IDs, image payloads, and descriptions.

Parameters: None

Returns:

[
  {
    "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz",
    "image_payload": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
    "description": "Screenshot of the homepage"
  }
]

get_dimensions

Gets the dimensions and MIME type of an image stored in a session.

Parameters:

• sessionId (string, required): The session ID returned from create_session or create_session_by_path

Returns:

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "mimeType": "image/png"
}

Error Response (invalid session):

Invalid or non-existent session ID. Please call create_session first to obtain a valid session ID.

pick_color

Picks the average color from a square region centered at the specified coordinates.

Parameters:

• sessionId (string, required): The session ID returned from create_session
• x (number, required): X coordinate of the center point
• y (number, required): Y coordinate of the center point
• radius (number, optional, default: 5): Radius of the sampling area. The sampling area will be a square of (radius × 2) size.

Returns:

{
  "r": 255,
  "g": 128,
  "b": 64,
  "hex": "#FF8040"
}

Error Response (out of bounds):

Coordinates (2000, 500) exceed image bounds (1920x1080).

remove_background

Removes the background from an image using ML-based segmentation. Returns PNG with transparency. Powered by @imgly/background-removal-node for accurate subject detection.

Parameters:

• sessionId (string, required): The session ID returned from create_session
• output_path (string, optional): Absolute path to save the output PNG file. If not provided, returns base64 payload.

Returns (without output_path):

{
  "image_payload": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
  "mime_type": "image/png"
}

Returns (with output_path):

{
  "path": "/path/to/output.png"
}

Example:

{
  "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz"
}

Note: The first run may take longer as the ML model files (~10-50MB) are downloaded and cached.

Before & After:

Before	After

extract_region

Extracts (crops) a rectangular region from an image stored in a session. Returns the cropped image as a file or base64 payload.

Parameters:

• sessionId (string, required): The session ID returned from create_session
• x (number, required): X coordinate of the top-left corner of the crop region
• y (number, required): Y coordinate of the top-left corner of the crop region
• width (number, required): Width of the crop region
• height (number, required): Height of the crop region
• output_path (string, optional): Absolute path to save the cropped image. If not provided, returns base64 payload.

Returns (without output_path):

{
  "base64": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
  "mimeType": "image/png"
}

Returns (with output_path):

{
  "success": true,
  "path": "/path/to/cropped.png"
}

Example:

{
  "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 50,
  "width": 200,
  "height": 150,
  "output_path": "/path/to/cropped.png"
}

Error Responses:

• Out of bounds: Region (100, 50, 200x150) exceeds image bounds (150x100)
• Invalid coordinates: Invalid coordinates: x and y must be non-negative values.
• Invalid dimensions: Invalid dimensions: width and height must be positive values.

compress_image

Compresses an image with specified format and quality. Supports JPEG, PNG, and WebP formats. Returns the compressed image as a file or base64 payload.

Parameters:

• sessionId (string, required): The session ID returned from create_session
• format (string, optional): Output format: 'jpeg', 'png', or 'webp'. If not specified, keeps the original format.
• quality (number, optional, default: 80): Compression quality (1-100). Higher values mean better quality but larger file size.
• output_path (string, optional): Absolute path to save the compressed image. If not provided, returns base64 payload.

Returns (without output_path):

{
  "base64": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
  "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
  "format": "jpeg",
  "originalSize": 245632,
  "compressedSize": 98234,
  "compressionRatio": "60.01%"
}

Returns (with output_path):

{
  "success": true,
  "path": "/path/to/compressed.jpg",
  "format": "jpeg",
  "originalSize": 245632,
  "compressedSize": 98234,
  "compressionRatio": "60.01%"
}

Example:

{
  "sessionId": "img_abc123xyz",
  "format": "webp",
  "quality": 75,
  "output_path": "/path/to/output.webp"
}

Note: For PNG format, the quality parameter is converted to compression level (quality 100 → level 0, quality 0 → level 9).

Usage Examples

Example 1: Analyze an image

In Cursor/Claude Code:

Read the screenshot at ./screenshot.png, create a session with it,
and tell me its dimensions.

Example 2: Extract colors from UI

In Cursor/Claude Code:

I have a UI screenshot. Create a session with it and pick the colors
at these coordinates: (100, 50), (200, 150), (300, 200).

Example 3: Get image metadata

In Cursor/Claude Code:

Load ./logo.png into a session and get its size and format.

Example 4: Remove background from image

In Cursor/Claude Code:

Create a session with ./product-photo.jpg and remove the background.
Save the result to ./product-transparent.png

Example 5: Compress and convert image format

In Cursor/Claude Code:

Load ./large-image.png into a session and compress it to WebP format
with 75% quality. Save to ./optimized.webp

Command Line Usage

Run the server directly:

# Using stdio transport (default)
sharp-mcp

# Using HTTP transport
sharp-mcp --transport http --port 5000

CLI Options:

• --transport <stdio|http>: Transport type (default: stdio)
• --port <number>: Port for HTTP transport (default: 5000)

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Build
npm run build

# Type check
npm run typecheck

# Lint
npm run lint

Architecture

The project follows a modular architecture:

• services/: Session storage and image processing services
  • session-store.ts: In-memory session management
  • image-processor.ts: Sharp-based image analysis
• tools/: MCP tool implementations
  • create-session.ts: Session creation from base64
  • create-session-by-path.ts: Session creation from file path
  • list-session.ts: Session listing
  • get-image-size.ts: Image dimensions extraction (get_dimensions)
  • pick-color.ts: Color extraction
  • remove-background.ts: ML-based background removal
  • extract-region.ts: Image cropping
  • compress-image.ts: Image compression
• utils/: Shared utilities
  • validation.ts: Session ID validation
• server.ts: Main MCP server setup and configuration

Supported Image Formats

• JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)
• PNG (.png)
• GIF (.gif)
• WebP (.webp)
• TIFF (.tiff)
• AVIF (.avif)

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Author

choesumin