# Pexels [Health: Active]

**Category:** 🎥 Multimedia Process  
**Repository:** https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-pexels  
**GitHub Stars:** 0  
**npm Downloads (last month):** 540  
**Views:** 2  
**Installs:** 0  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/pexels-3

## Description
Pexels MCP.

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **photo_search** — Search Pexels photos by keyword (required); returns paginated results with image URLs in multiple sizes, photographer name, and attribution link.
- **photo_curated** — Fetch Pexels' curated editorial photo feed; returns paginated photo objects with image URLs in multiple sizes (original, large, medium, small, tiny) and photographer info.
- **photo** — Fetch full metadata for a single Pexels photo by numeric id, including all sized image URLs, photographer name/URL, dimensions, and alt text.
- **video_search** — Search Pexels videos by keyword (required); returns paginated results with video file URLs at multiple resolutions, duration, and videographer info.
- **video_popular** — Fetch Pexels' popular video feed; returns paginated video objects with file URLs at multiple resolutions, duration, and videographer info.
- **video** — Fetch full metadata for a single Pexels video by numeric id, including file URLs at all available resolutions, duration, width, height, and videographer attribution.
- **featured_collections** — List Pexels' featured curated collections; returns collection id, title, description, and media counts for photos and videos.
- **collection_media** — Fetch all photos and videos inside a specific Pexels collection by string id; returns paginated mixed media objects with URLs and metadata.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "pexels": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","@pipeworx/mcp-pexels"],
    "env": {
      "PLATFORM_PEXELS_KEY": ""
    }
  }
}
```

**Requires environment variables:** `PLATFORM_PEXELS_KEY` — the values above are empty placeholders; fill in real credentials before running (see the repository for what each one is for).

## Documentation

## What Pexels MCP server does

The Pexels MCP server connects MCP-compatible clients to the Pexels API at `https://api.pexels.com`. It makes photo, video, and collection operations available as callable tools, allowing an agent to search media or retrieve specific records without implementing Pexels API requests itself.

The hosted option runs through Pipeworx. A scoped Pexels endpoint lists the Pexels tools along with shared Pipeworx gateway tools. The gateway can also route broader questions through `ask_pipeworx`, while the full gateway endpoint exposes all catalog packs directly. The local package provides only the Pexels tools and does not include those shared gateway tools.

## How it works

An MCP client connects either to `https://gateway.pipeworx.io/pexels/mcp` over the hosted gateway or starts `@pipeworx/mcp-pexels` as a local process. The local process communicates over standard input and output and handles MCP `initialize`, `tools/list`, and `tools/call` requests.

For hosted use, the gateway connection returns the Pexels pack's tools plus shared meta-tools. Its `initialize` response is the authoritative source for the exact tool scope at a given time. Direct HTTP callers can inspect a tool with a GET request or invoke one through the gateway's `/v1/tools/{tool}` endpoint.

## Setup and configuration

The Pexels MCP server can be configured in a client with the hosted URL:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pexels": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/pexels/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

For a local deployment, use:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pexels": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-pexels"]
    }
  }
}
```

Authentication supports the platform variable `PLATFORM_PEXELS_KEY`. Gateway requests can instead provide a Pexels key with the `_apiKey` argument. The README identifies the platform key as reserved for signed-up Pipeworx accounts and describes BYO-key usage for gateway HTTP calls. Pexels documents a free allowance of 200 requests per hour and 20,000 per month.

## Tools and capabilities

The Pexels MCP server includes these tool groups:

- Photos: search by query with optional orientation, size, color, locale, page, and page-size filters; browse curated photos; retrieve a photo by ID.
- Videos: search by query with orientation, size, locale, page, and page-size filters; browse popular videos with dimension and duration constraints; retrieve a video by ID.
- Collections: list featured collections and retrieve collection media with optional type, sort, page, and page-size parameters.

The hosted gateway also supplies shared tools such as `ask_pipeworx`, `discover_tools`, `search_within`, `remember`, and `recall`. These are gateway features rather than standalone Pexels package tools.

## Limitations and notes

The local package does not provide Pipeworx routing or shared meta-tools. Hosted pack endpoints currently include those shared schemas, so the tool count may be larger than the Pexels-specific list. The gateway and full-gateway URLs use the same underlying gateway and data sources, but differ in which pack tools they list directly.

The supplied material does not describe additional filters beyond those exposed by each tool, nor does it document a separate local configuration flow for supplying credentials. Client compatibility depends on MCP support; the README specifically shows Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf configurations.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/pexels-3/readme_