MCP Image Resolver Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides royalty-free image search for AI hosts like Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, and more. Ask your AI assistant to find images by natural language—it uses the search_images tool and returns structured results from Pexels and Unsplash.

Features

search_images — Search for royalty-free images (supports limit, page, orientation)
extract_image_query — Transform free-form text into an image search query
get_best_image — Return a single best image for a query
search_images_batch — Run multiple searches in parallel
resolve_image_attribution — Generate provider-compliant attribution text
Pexels & Unsplash — Multi-provider support (free tier for both)
Unified response — Structured results with url, source, dimensions, photographer, tags
Works everywhere — Any MCP client that supports stdio servers

Requirements

Node.js 18+
At least one API key: Pexels (pexels.com/api) and/or Unsplash (unsplash.com/oauth/applications)

Quick Start (No Installation Required)

No cloning or building needed. Just add this config to your MCP client and it runs via npx automatically:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

At least one API key is required. Both are free — get them here:

Pexels: pexels.com/api
Unsplash: unsplash.com/oauth/applications

Architecture (High-Level)

Code

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           MCP Client (Cursor, Claude, VS Code, etc.)        │
│                                     │                                       │
│                            stdio (stdin/stdout)                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         MCP Image Resolver Server                           │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  index.ts          MCP server entry, registers tools, stdio transport│   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                      │                                      │
│                                      ▼                                      │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  tools/search-images.ts   Tool handler: search_images(query)         │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                      │                                      │
│                                      ▼                                      │
│  ┌──────────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────┐                        │
│  │  providers/pexels.ts  │  │ providers/unsplash.ts │                        │
│  │  Pexels API adapter   │  │ Unsplash API adapter  │──▶ ImageResult schema  │
│  └──────────────────────┘  └──────────────────────┘                        │
│               │                        │                                    │
│               └────────────────────────┴────▶ utils/normalize.ts            │
└─────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                    ┌─────────────────┴─────────────────┐
                    ▼                                   ▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Pexels API                  │    │  Unsplash API                             │
│  api.pexels.com              │    │  api.unsplash.com                         │
└──────────────────────────────┘    └──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Flow: MCP client → stdio → index.ts (registers tools) → search-images.ts → Pexels and Unsplash providers (when keys are set). Results are merged (Pexels first, then Unsplash) and normalized to the unified ImageResult schema.

Client Setup

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor after config changes.

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Via Settings: Developer → Edit Config

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely after saving.

VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (workspace) or your user profile mcp.json:

config.json

{
  "servers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: VS Code uses servers (not mcpServers) and requires "type": "stdio".

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Refresh the MCP config after changes.

Other MCP Clients

Any client that supports stdio MCP servers (Amp, Continue.dev, Amazon Q, etc.) can use this server:

Command: npx
Args: ["-y", "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"]
Env: { "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-key", "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-key" } (at least one required)

Usage

Once configured, ask your AI assistant to find images in natural language. It will call the search_images tool automatically.

Example prompts:

"Find royalty-free images of a sunset mosque"
"Search for zen yoga images suitable for a wellness app"
"Get some minimalist office workspace photos"
"Find images for a cooking blog header"

The tool returns image URLs and metadata. Use the links to view or download images.

Tool Schema

Tool	Params	Description
search_images	query, limit?, page?, orientation?	Search images from Pexels and Unsplash
extract_image_query	context	Extract search terms from free-form text
get_best_image	query, orientation?	Return a single best image
search_images_batch	queries, limit?	Run multiple searches in parallel
resolve_image_attribution	photographer, source, url?	Generate attribution text

Response: JSON with results array of { url, source, width, height, photographer, tags }. Each result includes source ("Pexels" or "Unsplash") for attribution.

Note: When both providers are configured, results are merged with Pexels first, then Unsplash. Use limit: 20 or higher to see results from both providers in a single search.

Testing

Example prompts to verify the tools:

"Search for mountain landscape with limit 20 and show me which results came from Pexels vs Unsplash."
"Use extract_image_query on: I need a hero image for a meditation app with mountains."
"Use search_images_batch for 'sunset mosque', 'pakistani flag', and 'zen yoga'."
"Get a single best image for coffee shop and generate attribution for it."

Development

To contribute or run locally, clone the repo and build from source:

bash

git clone https://github.com/ahmaddioxide/image-resolver-mcp.git
cd image-resolver-mcp
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Add PEXELS_API_KEY and/or UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY to .env
npm run build

Or run in development mode without building, using tsx:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tsx", "/path/to/image-resolver-mcp/src/index.ts"],
      "env": {
        "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your-pexels-api-key",
        "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Attribution

Images are sourced from Pexels and Unsplash. Per their API terms:

Provide prominent links to Pexels and Unsplash
Credit photographers: "Photo by [Name] on Pexels" / "Photo by [Name] on Unsplash"
Response metadata includes photographer and source; use resolve_image_attribution for compliant text

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md for community standards. See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.