# 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. **URL:** https://www.imageroute.com/mcp **Endpoint:** https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp **Transport:** Streamable HTTP · **Auth:** OAuth 2.1 (browser sign-in) or `Authorization: Bearer ` **Platform:** ImageRoute (https://www.imageroute.com) ## How to connect 1. **Copy the endpoint** — Copy the ImageRoute MCP endpoint: https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp 2. **Add it to your assistant** — In Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Claude Code, add a custom connector or MCP server and paste the endpoint. 3. **Sign in and approve** — Your assistant opens ImageRoute in the browser. Sign in and press Allow on the consent screen. 4. **Ask for an image** — Ask your assistant for an image in plain words. It searches the tools, runs one and returns the image link. Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http imageroute https://www.imageroute.com/api/mcp` ## Tools ### search_tools 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_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_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_image 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_image 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_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_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_account The signed-in account's email, plan and remaining image credits. ## Example requests - "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." ## FAQ ### 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.