Ouestcharlie Woof

io.github.ouestcharliePublished by GitHub account ouestcharliev1.0.0Updated Oct 25, 2026

An MCP server and app to search and browse your photos while preserving your privacy

VerifiedSTDIODesktop onlyFiles & StorageMedia & Design

Overview

AI-generated overview

A local MCP app that turns an AI assistant into a searchable browser for your own photo and video library, keeping files on your drives.

What you can do
Browse a local photo and video library as a grid or preview with thumbnails and details, served from your machine rather than the assistant. Search by description text, tags, rating, date and partition, including hierarchical tags shared with darktable and Lightroom. Filter photos and videos by date, dimensions and GPS bounding box, and cameras by make, model, aperture and lens. Sort results ascending or descending on any field. Detect added or removed files and sidecars edited by other tools for re-indexing.
When to use it
Useful when you keep a large local photo or video collection and want to find images by describing them, tags, dates or camera details from inside a desktop AI assistant, without uploading originals to a cloud service.
Requirements
Runs as a local Python package (PyPI) over stdio on a desktop application with MCP App support, such as Claude Desktop, Goose or VS Code. Works on macOS, Windows and Linux. Your photo library must be locally available or synced to a mounted drive. No account, API key or environment variable is declared.
Before you install
Only metadata (EXIF, GPS coordinates, camera details, dates, file paths) is sent to the AI assistant during searches; originals are not uploaded unless you explicitly share them. Woof reads the library as-is and does not modify, move or delete originals, but it writes XMP sidecar files and .ouestcharlie folders next to your photos. It is an early preview, and automatic re-indexing is only partial.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open Ouestcharlie Woof in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Desktop only via STDIO. STDIO servers start a local process, so they need the SourceWeft desktop host.

Other MCP clients

Follow the launch instructions in the repository.

README

[Woof]

Woof — See your Photo Gallery in your AI assistant

[Status: Early Preview]

[macOS] [Linux] [Windows]

[MCP Server] [uv]

mcp-name: io.github.ouestcharlie/ouestcharlie-woof

Woof is the photo and video gallery companion to your your AI assistant (Claude Desktop, Goose, VS Code / GitHub Copilot...). It complements those powerful tools with a searchable gallery. Your photos and videos remain exactly where they are — on your own drives (local or mounted).

No cloud subscription. No proprietary lock-in. Your library, your way.

Woof is the MCP App frontend to "Où est Charlie ?" ("Where is Wally?" in French), a full AI native framework to manage your photos and videos.

What makes it different

Most photo managers lock your library into a cloud service (Google Photos, iCloud) or require a database server that becomes a single point of failure. Woof takes a different approach:

  • Conversation as your gallery. Woof connects to your AI assistant (Claude Desktop, Goose, VS Code / GitHub Copilot…) and turns it into a full photo browser. Ask in plain language, get results inline. No separate app to learn.
  • Privacy by design. Only metadata travels to your AI assistant — your actual photos are served locally by Woof. Your pictures are never uploaded to any AI service unless you explicitly ask.
  • No database lock-in. Metadata lives as XMP sidecar files right next to your photos, plus lightweight JSON manifests. Move a drive, copy a folder — your entire organization travels with your photos.
  • Open formats, forever. XMP is an ISO standard. JSON is universal. AVIF is royalty-free. Every tool you already use — Lightroom, darktable, ExifTool — can read your metadata today and long after OuEstCharlie is gone.
  • Your photos are never touched. Woof reads your library as-is. It never modifies, moves, or deletes your original files. It also honors existing XMP metadata from Lightroom, darktable, or any other tool — rather than overwriting it.
  • Works with your existing folder structure. Just point Woof at your photos folder. No migration, no reorganization required.

More about OuEstCharlie and Woof on the OuEstCharlie Blog

Installation and first steps

See OuEstCharlie Woof install and first steps

Status

Woof is an early preview. It works well today for browsing and searching a local photo library.

Current features

FeatureNotes
Compatible with Claude Desktop, Goose, VS CodeAny desktop application with MCP App support
Available on Macos, Windows, LinuxPython packages are built and released in Pypi
Local filesystem indexingFiles must be locally synced
Photos (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, RAW)HEIC and RAW depend on the build options
Video support (MOV, MP4)
Gallery view as grid or previewPhoto details on preview
Image thumbnails and previewsOptimized for display
Search description, tags, rating, date, partitionfull text search on description
Hierarchical tags (Places|Europe|France), shared with darktable and Lightroomsearch a whole branch or a tag at any level; darktable's own tags are left out
Search photo features (date, dimensions, GPS bounding box)
Search video features (duration, dimensions, GPS bounding box)
Search camera features (make, model, aperture, lens)
Sort ascending or descending on any field
Change detection / automatic re-indexingPartial — added and removed pictures, and sidecars edited by other tools (darktable, digiKam…); indexing is not yet triggered automatically

Planned features

Feature
Albums and smart filters
Share pictures with host (Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Goose…)
Enrichment agents (faces, scene recognition)
Mobile companion app
Native cloud libraries (S3, OneDrive, GCS…)

If you hit a bug or unexpected behavior, please open an issue.

[Woof in VSCode]

Ouestcharlie Woof photo gallery inside VSCode, an alternative to Claude CoWork for techies

Privacy Policy

Woof is designed with privacy as a core principle.

  • Data collected: Only photo metadata (EXIF, GPS coordinates, camera make/model, dates, file paths) is read and indexed. No account or personal information is collected.
  • Data storage: All metadata is stored locally on your own device as XMP sidecar files and JSON manifests alongside your photos. No data is stored on any remote server.
  • AI assistant: Only metadata is sent to your AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Goose…) when you perform a search. Thumbnails and previews remain in the MCP App gallery widgets: they are served by Woof from your machine (loopback only) and never pass through the assistant. Your original photo files are never uploaded to any AI service unless you explicitly share them.
  • Third parties: No metadata or usage data is shared with any third party.
  • Retention: All data remains under your full control. Deleting the XMP sidecars and .ouestcharlie/ folders from your photo library completely removes all Woof metadata.

For privacy questions, please open an issue.

Support

Bug reports and feature requests: GitHub Issues

Developers' corner

For developer and architecture documentation, see README_DEV.md.

### Contributing

See the Contributing section in OuEstCharlie

License

MIT license

Source: README.md at commit 14c270e

Tools

0
SourceWeft has not started this package in its sandbox yet, so its tools are not known.

Version history

1
  1. v1.0.0LatestSep 16, 2026

Score

50% of the applicable checks met

How complete this listing is, computed from the registry entry, the endpoint and public sources. Not a rating of the server and not a statement that it is safe or working today: reachability is a dated check, and no installs or reviews go into the score.

  • Reached in the last 30 days25 pts

    Keep the endpoint answering the MCP handshake; SourceWeft probes it every 30 days.

  • Auth declared10 pts

    Declare the credential headers in the registry entry, or keep the endpoint answering the probe so its auth can be classified.

  • Tools listed15 pts

    Answer tools/list without a credential, or ship a package that starts in a sandbox without one.

  • DescriptionRequired15 pts
  • Logo10 pts
  • Documentation15 pts
  • License10 pts