Model Context Protocol

Generate and edit images from your AI assistant

Connect ImageRoute to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or n8n and ask for images in plain words. Paste one URL and sign in — there is no key to copy and nothing to configure.

Endpoint

https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp

Streamable HTTP · sign-in handled in your browser (OAuth), or Authorization: Bearer <key> for clients that cannot open one.

What is the ImageRoute MCP server?

The ImageRoute MCP server lets AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor use ImageRoute directly. Once connected, your assistant can search 10,000+ AI image tools, transform a photo with one of them, edit any image from a plain-English instruction, and hand you the finished image link — all inside the chat. It is a remote server at https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp that signs you in through your browser, so there is no API key to copy.

How do I connect it?

Pick your client. Every option talks to the same endpoint.

  1. Open claude.ai → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
  2. Name it ImageRoute and paste the URL below. Leave the advanced settings alone and press Add.
  3. Press Connect, sign in to ImageRoute and press Allow. The tools appear in every chat.
https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp

What can I ask it?

Talk to your assistant normally — it picks the tools itself.

  • “Turn this photo into a pirate portrait: https://example.com/me.jpg”
  • “Find me a tool that redesigns a living room in Japandi style.”
  • “Make a neon logo that says "Kofi Bar".”
  • “Remove the people in the background of this image, then make it sunset.”
  • “How many image credits do I have left?”
  • “Show me the last five images I made.”

Which tools does it provide?

8 tools. This list is generated from the server itself, so it always matches what the endpoint serves.

search_toolsSearch the tool catalog

Find ImageRoute tools matching what the user wants — hand-built flagship tools (category "featured", listed first) and the 10,000+ catalog. Returns each tool's slug (pass it to get_tool / generate_image), name, mode ("image" = transforms a photo, "text" = generates from words), category, style presets when it has them and its page URL. Free — costs no credits.

list_categoriesList tool categories

Every catalog category with its id, name, mode and number of tools. Useful for browsing when the user has no specific idea yet.

get_toolGet one tool

Full details for one tool: what it does, its mode, every style preset, and exactly which inputs it needs and which generate_image argument carries each one. Call this before generate_image. Free.

generate_imageGenerate an image with a tool

Run a catalog tool. Costs 1 image credit (refunded if it fails). Returns a jobId immediately; poll get_generation for the result. Pass the inputs get_tool lists: photo tools need imageUrl, text tools need text, style is optional, and any extra field goes in inputs. The prompt itself is built by ImageRoute from the tool.

edit_imageEdit an image with an instruction

Free-form photo editing: change anything in an image by describing it ("remove the background people", "make the sky sunset orange", "put a red scarf on her"). Costs 1 image credit (refunded if it fails). Returns a jobId; poll get_generation.

get_generationCheck a generation

Status of a job started by generate_image or edit_image: "queued", "processing", "completed" (with imageUrl) or "failed" (with the reason; the credit is refunded). Jobs are kept for 1 hour — after that, find the image with list_images.

list_imagesList generated images

The account's most recent finished images from its gallery, newest first, with the image URL, the tool or edit that made it, and when.

get_accountGet account and credits

The signed-in account's email, plan and remaining image credits.

Frequently asked questions

What is an MCP server?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call outside tools. An MCP server publishes a list of tools; the assistant decides when to use them. The ImageRoute MCP server publishes tools for searching, generating and editing images.

Do I need an API key?

Not for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code or Claude Desktop — they sign you in through your browser and handle the credential themselves. A key is only for clients with no browser to sign in from, such as n8n, curl or a script. Create one on the API keys page.

Does the assistant spend my credits?

Yes — it acts as you. Each generate_image or edit_image call costs 1 image credit, the same as on the website, and the credit is refunded automatically if the generation fails. Searching tools, checking jobs, listing images and reading your balance are free.

How do I give it my photo?

Pass a public link to the image (JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC, up to 15 MB). Images attached directly in a chat window have no link the server can reach, so upload the photo somewhere public first, or open the tool page on ImageRoute and upload it there. Any finished ImageRoute result link can be reused for the next edit.

How long does a generation take?

Most images finish in 15–40 seconds. The server returns a job id straight away and the assistant checks on it until the image is ready.

Claude shows “No sign-in” instead of “Detected”.

It is reading the wrong address. The URL must end in /api/mcp — this /mcp page is documentation, not the endpoint.

It connected, but no tools appear.

Claude Desktop only reads its config at startup — quit it completely and reopen it. In Cursor, refresh the server from Settings → MCP.

How do I disconnect it?

Open the API keys page and remove the row. Connected apps and hand-made keys live in the same list, and removing either cuts access instantly.

Worth knowing

  • Generation is asynchronous. A request returns a job id at once and the image is usually ready in 15–40 seconds. Your assistant checks on it for you.
  • A connection acts as you. Anything it makes spends your credits and lands in your gallery. Removing the connection on the API keys page cuts access instantly.
  • One credit per image, refunded if the generation fails. Everything else is free.