InDesign MCP Server

adobe-mcp

MCP servers for Adobe applications. Install one application's server on its own, or the suite: one server for every application, with tools that work across them.

The InDesign server was published as indesign-mcp-server up to 2.3.0. It is now adobe-mcp-indesign, with the same tools; replace the package name in your client configuration.

Each server runs on the machine where the Adobe application is installed and talks to it through ExtendScript, the scripting interface the applications ship with. Premiere Pro has no outside scripting route, so its server talks to a UXP plugin inside Premiere Pro instead. macOS and Windows are supported.

The servers also support corresponding ArtCraft applications:

• PhotoCraft for Photoshop (PHOTOCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT, default 7878)
• VectorCraft for Illustrator (VECTORCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT, default 7979)
• DesignCraft for InDesign (DESIGNCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT, default 7979)
• EffectCraft for After Effects (EFFECTCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT, default 9877)
• FilmCraft for Premiere Pro (FILMCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT, default 9876)

When an ArtCraft application is running or explicitly configured via TARGET=craft or <APP>_TARGET=craft (e.g. PHOTOSHOP_TARGET=craft, DESIGNCRAFT_TARGET=craft), compatible tools route transparently to ArtCraft over its loopback JSON-lines control channel.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ (LTS recommended). npx comes with it.
• The Adobe application(s) you want to drive, installed on the same machine: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and/or After Effects 2023 or later, or Premiere Pro 25.6+ with its UXP plugin loaded (see packages/premiere).
• An MCP client (Claude Code, Warp, Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any client that reads an mcpServers block).

Servers speak MCP over stdio. Your client starts the process; there is no hosted endpoint and no API key for the package itself. Tool calls that touch the application need that app open (or launchable) on the machine.

Install from npm

One application

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --scope user indesign -- npx -y adobe-mcp-indesignclaude mcp add --scope user illustrator -- npx -y adobe-mcp-illustratorclaude mcp add --scope user photoshop -- npx -y adobe-mcp-photoshopclaude mcp add --scope user aftereffects -- npx -y adobe-mcp-aftereffectsclaude mcp add --scope user premiere -- npx -y adobe-mcp-premiere

Any client that reads an mcpServers block:

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

Full suite

One process with every application's tools (prefixed indesign_…, illustrator_…, and so on) plus cross-application tools when both sides are loaded:

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

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

Optional global install (puts adobe-mcp-suite on your PATH):

npm install -g adobe-mcp-suite

Everything at once (macOS)

The creative-mcp installer finds the Adobe apps and MCP clients on your Mac, installs these servers with Homebrew, registers the ones that match your apps with each client and checks they answer. It shows the plan first and is safe to rerun:

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

Later, creative-mcp doctor checks the servers, the running apps and each client's registrations.

Homebrew or curl

On macOS or Linux, install with Homebrew from the Creative MCP tap. It installs the suite and links every app server (adobe-mcp-indesign, adobe-mcp-illustrator, adobe-mcp-photoshop, adobe-mcp-premiere, adobe-mcp-aftereffects) onto your PATH:

brew tap zachshallbetter/tapbrew trust zachshallbetter/tap   # Homebrew 7+ asks you to trust third-party tapsbrew install zachshallbetter/tap/adobe-mcp

Formula/adobe-mcp-suite.rb in this repository is deprecated. If you installed it, switch with brew uninstall adobe-mcp-suite && brew install zachshallbetter/tap/adobe-mcp.

Or use the installer script, which installs the latest npm release globally:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zachshallbetter/adobe-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Both methods require Node.js 18 or later. The curl installer supports macOS and Linux shells; Windows users can use npm install -g adobe-mcp-suite.

Then point the client at the binary instead of npx:

{  "mcpServers": {    "adobe": {      "command": "adobe-mcp-suite",      "args": ["--apps", "indesign,illustrator"]    }  }}

Marketplace listing: mcprush.com/zachshallbetter/adobe-mcp-suite.

Each package's README covers its tools, conventions and per-app configuration.

Usage

Choosing applications (suite only)

By default the suite loads every app. Restrict it with --apps or ADOBE_MCP_APPS (comma-separated ids: indesign, illustrator, photoshop, aftereffects, premiere):

npx -y adobe-mcp-suite --apps indesign,illustrator# equivalentADOBE_MCP_APPS=indesign,illustrator npx -y adobe-mcp-suite

Client config:

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

On Windows, separate allowed directories with ; instead of :.

What the model sees

• Single-app servers expose that app's tools under their original names (for example create_text_frame, export_pdf).
• The suite prefixes every tool with the app (indesign_create_text_frame, illustrator_create_rectangle). Names that already include the app keep it once (indesign_status).
• Cross-application tools (suite, when both apps are loaded):
  • place_illustrator_artwork_in_indesign — place an artboard of the active Illustrator document on an InDesign page, linked to the .ai file.
  • copy_swatches_illustrator_to_indesign — copy colour swatches with exact process/spot values.

Reconnect or start a new client session after changing MCP config so the tool list refreshes.

Environment variables

Common knobs (see each package README for the full set):

Smoke-check without an MCP client

The process waits on stdin for MCP JSON-RPC; it is not a conventional CLI with --help output. To confirm a binary starts and lists tools, send an initialize request then tools/list over stdio, or run the package tests (they stub the Adobe apps and do not need them installed):

npm test -w packages/suite

Real layout/work calls need the target Adobe application running on this machine.

Install and run from this repository

Use this when developing the servers or when you want the monorepo versions before they are published.

git clone https://github.com/zachshallbetter/adobe-mcp.gitcd adobe-mcpnpm install

Run a server from source (stdio; suitable as a client command):

# suite (optionally limit apps)node packages/suite/src/index.js --apps indesign,illustrator
# one applicationnode packages/indesign/src/index.jsnode packages/illustrator/src/index.js

Point a client at the monorepo entry instead of npx:

{  "mcpServers": {    "adobe": {      "command": "node",      "args": [        "/absolute/path/to/adobe-mcp/packages/suite/src/index.js",        "--apps",        "indesign,illustrator"      ]    }  }}

How the repository is organised

packages/  core/          adobe-mcp-core           shared by every server  indesign/      adobe-mcp-indesign  illustrator/   adobe-mcp-illustrator  photoshop/     adobe-mcp-photoshop  aftereffects/  adobe-mcp-aftereffects  premiere/      adobe-mcp-premiere       with its UXP plugin in uxp/plugin  suite/         adobe-mcp-suite          every application in one server

The servers share their infrastructure through adobe-mcp-core, so a fix to escaping, path checks, result handling or the script runner reaches every server. What differs between applications stays in each package: its tools, its instructions, and how the application is told to run a script. Each application package exports a module (its tools, handlers, instructions and script runner); its own server and the suite are both built from it, so a tool is written once.

Development

npm install      # installs every package and links them togethernpm run check    # syntax check, every packagenpm test         # every package's tests, including each server's static script audit

Run one package's tests with npm test -w packages/illustrator. The static audits run every tool against a stubbed application and check each generated script against the application's scripting object model; they do not need the applications installed.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for releasing and for each package's guide, and docs/handbook/ for the full handbook: architecture, per-application rules for writing tools, how work is planned from the capability atlas and landed, current status, and lessons learned.

Licence

MIT. See each package's LICENSE.