Odel
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Image Resolver

@ahmaddioxideMCP server · External

MCP server for context-aware royalty-free image search from Pexels and Unsplash

Photographyv0.2.0MITTypeScript
Freeno charge per call
How to install

Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.

What it does

  1. Reads
  2. Writes
  3. High impact

At most: only reads or looks up information.

What it costs

Free

Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.

Runs locally over stdio

This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).

npm@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolverv0.2.0

Run

npx -y @ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "image-resolver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ahmaddioxide/mcp-image-resolver"
      ]
    }
  }
}
README5 min read

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

Quick Start (No Installation Required)

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

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:

Architecture (High-Level)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           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):

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

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:

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:

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

ToolParamsDescription
search_imagesquery, limit?, page?, orientation?Search images from Pexels and Unsplash
extract_image_querycontextExtract search terms from free-form text
get_best_imagequery, orientation?Return a single best image
search_images_batchqueries, limit?Run multiple searches in parallel
resolve_image_attributionphotographer, 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:

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.

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