Get set up.

How it works

These are desktop automation servers. Your MCP client starts a Node.js process on the same computer as the Adobe app. The server accepts MCP messages over standard input/output (stdio), translates a tool call into an application script or bridge request, and returns the result to the client.

Choose a package

Install one app server for direct control of that application. Add the Suite coordinator when you want its current cross-app workflows. The coordinator does not expose the full tool list of its child servers.

Tool counts, exact coverage, evidence levels and known gaps are in the Capability Atlas. The individual package guides document each package's current tool surfaces and options.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or later. Use an up-to-date LTS release; npx ships with npm.
• macOS or Windows for the listed desktop server integrations. macOS may prompt you to authorize Terminal or Node to control an Adobe app in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation.
• The corresponding Adobe desktop app installed on the same computer. InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects guides specify 2023+; Premiere Pro requires 25.6+ and its MCP Bridge UXP plugin loaded.
• An MCP client that can launch a command with arguments and environment variables and communicate over stdio.
• Premiere only: UXP Developer Tool to load the plugin until a published installation path is documented; plugin/server ports and bridge token must match.

Adobe app versions and backend support can differ by operation. Consult the app guide and the tool's help response for version-specific behavior.

Quick start

The fastest path on a Mac: the creative-mcp installer finds your Adobe apps, Blender and MCP clients, and sets everything up after showing you the plan.

brew tap zachshallbetter/tap
brew trust zachshallbetter/tap
brew install zachshallbetter/tap/creative-mcp
creative-mcp setup

It ends by naming the clients to restart and a few requests to try. From then on, creative-mcp doctor checks the servers, the open apps and every client's registrations, and creative-mcp update keeps everything current. See all installer commands.

To set things up by hand instead:

1. Install Node.js 18 or later and the Adobe application you intend to automate.
2. Register the matching package in your MCP client using the setup below.
3. Restart or reconnect the MCP client so it launches the process and refreshes its tool list.
4. Open the Adobe app and a suitable document (or ask a read-only status tool what is open).
5. Start with a small, reversible request. Confirm the target document, selection, units and output path before asking for a change or export.

For example: “In the active Illustrator document, list the artboards and report their sizes. Don’t make changes.” Once the connection is confirmed, try a bounded edit in a copy of a document.

MCP client setup

Claude Code: one app server

claude mcp add --scope user illustrator -- npx -y adobe-mcp-illustrator

Replace illustrator and the package name with the Adobe application you want. Omit --scope user if you prefer the client’s default scope.

Claude Code: the Suite coordinator

claude mcp add --scope user adobe -- npx -y adobe-mcp-suite

Any client with an mcpServers configuration

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

For Claude Desktop, edit its MCP server configuration file. Cursor, Warp and other clients use their own configuration screen or file; follow the client’s current instructions for where to place this block. Do not paste the JSON into a shell command. See the dedicated CLI and configuration reference for source-checkout launch and environment-variable details.

Run a specific published version

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "illustrator": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "adobe-mcp-illustrator@0.9.0"]
    }
  }
}

Pin the package version when you need repeatable team setups; check npm for the current published version before updating the pin.

Install with Homebrew

On macOS or Linux, the Creative MCP tap installs the Suite coordinator and every app server onto your PATH, so clients can launch them without npx. Homebrew 7 and later asks you to trust a third-party tap once.

brew tap zachshallbetter/tap
brew trust zachshallbetter/tap
brew install zachshallbetter/tap/adobe-mcp
claude mcp add adobe -- adobe-mcp-suite
claude mcp add illustrator -- adobe-mcp-illustrator

Suite coordinator

The coordinator currently offers two workflows across InDesign and Illustrator. It starts the app servers it needs as child MCP processes, then delegates the individual actions. Install an app's standalone package as well if you need its direct tools in your client.

Select which child servers load

npx -y adobe-mcp-suite --apps indesign,illustrator
# or set ADOBE_MCP_APPS=indesign,illustrator

The supported app IDs are indesign, illustrator, photoshop, aftereffects and premiere. The current coordinator workflows require both InDesign and Illustrator. Selecting other apps does not add new cross-app workflows or re-export their tools.

Allow the files needed by a workflow

File operations are confined to the user’s home directory and any additional per-app allowed directories. For a handoff, configure both participating servers for the directory containing the source artwork and the destination document as needed.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "adobe": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "adobe-mcp-suite", "--apps", "indesign,illustrator"],
      "env": {
        "INDESIGN_ALLOWED_DIRS": "/Users/you/Projects",
        "ILLUSTRATOR_ALLOWED_DIRS": "/Users/you/Projects"
      }
    }
  }
}

On Windows, use a Windows path and separate multiple allowed directories with semicolons. The coordinator forwards each server only the variables it needs.

Application setup

Each app server has its own behavior, terminology, tool names and supported operations. Its MCP help tool describes parameters and categories from the definitions the server advertises.

Plan a first workflow

1. Inspect before editing. Ask for app status, document/project information, selections and relevant items first.
2. Specify the target. Name the active document or use stable IDs returned by list tools. Avoid relying on a repeated display name when IDs are available.
3. State units and bounds. Provide page/artboard dimensions, pixel sizes, frame/time units and a bounded set of objects where the tool requires them.
4. Choose an output path. Use a path in your home folder or explicitly allowed directory. Do not overwrite an existing deliverable unless you intend to.
5. Review before destructive work. Duplicate the document or project, check the intended selection, and ask the client to confirm before deleting, closing without saving, or replacing output.
6. Verify in the Adobe app. Open or inspect the result, check links/fonts/render status as appropriate, and save/export deliberately.

Tool calls are discrete operations. A sequence of calls is not automatically an all-or-nothing transaction; inspect intermediate state when the workflow depends on a prior change.

Configuration

Set environment variables in the MCP client’s server entry. Do not set them in a website form or commit real credentials to a repository.

Variable names do not imply every package supports every option. Confirm the exact variable, default, delimiter and forwarding behavior in the package README.

Files, permissions & safety

• Local process, local authority. MCP tools can make changes in the desktop application under your user session. Grant only the client permissions needed for the apps you use.
• File paths are constrained. Shared path policy confines supported file operations to the home directory and configured allowed directories, and rejects system-directory paths. An app may still interpret its own document references according to its own behavior.
• Destructive operations need review. Deleting pages/layers/clips, closing unsaved work, replacing files and similar actions can lose work. Tool annotations help capable clients recognize destructive or open-world calls; review each target and result.
• Use copies for consequential edits. Save a working copy, inspect the active document/selection and verify output before relying on an automated result.
• Premiere bridge stays local. Its documented server binds to loopback. A bridge token is stored by the plugin panel in local storage; protect access to the machine and do not share the token.
• Custom code is powerful. App-specific execution tools that accept code are not equivalent to ordinary constrained editing tools. Read their package security notes before enabling or using them.

Troubleshooting

Reference library

Use the maintained package guides as the source of truth for current tools, configuration, platform behavior and limitations. The site explains the product and common setup; it does not replace the detailed references.

• Repository overviewPackages, install options, client config and development.
• Suite coordinatorCross-app workflows and delegation behavior.
• InDesign serverTool guide, platform backends, conventions and security.
• Illustrator serverArtboards, coordinates, targeting, colors and tools.
• Photoshop serverDocument, layer, image, export and configuration reference.
• After Effects serverProjects, compositions, timing, scripting and rendering.
• Premiere Pro serverUXP setup, bridge security, API limits and validation status.
• Security policyReport security issues through the repository’s stated process.
• ContributingDevelopment and project contribution guidance.
• Capability AtlasDetailed feature coverage, routes, evidence and workflows.
• Suite on npmPublished package versions and release information.
• GitHub repositorySource, releases and issue tracker.