Idml MCP

Name: Idml MCP
Author: jimprivate

by jimprivateversion 0.1.1i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.jimprivate/idml-mcp

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

MCP server for AI agents to read and safely edit Adobe InDesign IDML files. No InDesign required.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Other

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

npmNode.js installed (for the npx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

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

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add idml -- npx -y idml-mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

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

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "idml": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "idml-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 7, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account jimprivate, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Otheri

More stars than 0% of the other 32712 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 18% of the other 32712 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 32712 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Idml MCP safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.1.1) reached the registry 4 months ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, Aiterm MCP

Alternatives

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Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

idmlkit

The AI-native toolkit for Adobe InDesign files (IDML) — parse, summarize, and safely write back. No InDesign required.

AI tools have transformed how we write code and build web pages, but print and layout designers have largely been left out: the InDesign ecosystem has no AI-ready open interface. Existing InDesign MCP servers all remote-control a *running* InDesign instance — which means a license, a desktop, and an open app for every operation.

idmlkit takes the other road: it works directly on .idml files (InDesign's open, XML-based interchange format). That means it runs anywhere Node.js runs — servers, CI pipelines, Linux, a designer's laptop — with nothing from Adobe installed.

JSON data in ──► idmlkit ──► perfectly laid-out IDML out ──► open in InDesign / print

Design philosophy: the AI never touches the XML

LLMs are great at understanding a document and deciding *what* should change, and terrible at hand-editing 5,000 lines of layout XML without breaking it. So idmlkit splits the work:

Deterministic code parses the package and produces a compact, LLM-friendly summary (pages, frames, stories as indexed text runs, image links, styles) — a few hundred tokens instead of megabytes of XML.
Write-back is surgical: replacing a text run or relinking an image rewrites only that one element via targeted string surgery. Everything else — geometry, styles, the XML formatting itself — is preserved byte-for-byte (enforced by tests). The AI physically cannot corrupt your layout.

Validated against real InDesign 2025 exports: on Adobe's official Flex Layout sample (14.5 MB, with a single 20 MB spread), summarize runs in under half a second and a text edit changes exactly one zip entry — every other entry verified byte-identical by CRC.

Packages

Package	What it is
`idmlkit`	Core library + CLI: open, summarize, safe text/image write-back
`idml-mcp`	MCP server exposing those abilities to Claude and any MCP-capable agent

Quick start

npm install

npm run build node scripts/make-sample-idml.mjs # generates examples/sample.idml

CLI

$ node packages/idmlkit/dist/cli.js summary examples/sample.idml

Pages: 1 Spreads: 1 Story u123 (11 words, 2 runs): Spring Catalog 2026 Fresh arrivals for the new season… Image link u202: file:/images/hero.jpg Paragraph styles: $ID/NormalParagraphStyle, Headline, Body

$ node packages/idmlkit/dist/cli.js set-text examples/sample.idml u123 0 "Summer Sale 2026" -o out.idml $ node packages/idmlkit/dist/cli.js relink out.idml u202 "file:/images/summer.jpg"

MCP server (Claude Code / Claude Desktop)

"mcpServers": { "idml": { "command": "node", "args": [" /packages/idml-mcp/dist/server.js"] } } }

Then ask Claude things like *"Summarize catalog.idml and replace every 2025 date with 2026"* — it will use these tools:

Tool	Purpose
`idml_summarize`	Structured summary of pages, frames, stories, images, styles
`idml_get_story`	One story's plain text + indexed runs with styles
`idml_set_text`	Replace one run's text (layout untouched, byte-for-byte)
`idml_relink_image`	Point an image link at a new file (geometry untouched)

Library

import { IdmlDocument, summarizeDocument, setStoryRunText } from "idmlkit";

const doc = await IdmlDocument.open("catalog.idml"); console.log(summarizeDocument(doc)); // LLM-friendly JSON setStoryRunText(doc, "u123", 0, "New headline"); await doc.save("catalog-updated.idml");

Use cases

Database publishing: fill a designed template with product data — thousands of catalog pages, price lists, or menus without opening InDesign once.
Localization: extract every text run with its styles, translate, write back safely.
Agent workflows: let Claude read a layout, reason about its content, and apply text/image updates as part of a larger pipeline.

Roadmap

Read IDML packages, LLM-friendly summaries
Safe text run replacement and image relinking
MCP server (stdio)
Page → frame mapping with geometry (which frame is where)
Template fill: apply a JSON data object to a tagged template in one call
Story-level structured diff (what changed between two IDML files)
Overflow heuristics (warn when new text likely won't fit its frame)
Real-world IDML corpus tests (CC 2018–2026 exports)

Development

npm install

npm run build # tsc project references npm test # vitest — includes byte-for-byte preservation tests

License

MIT. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe. "Adobe" and "InDesign" are trademarks of Adobe Inc., used here only to describe compatibility.

Idml MCP

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Otheri

Common questions

Alternatives

Spec Driven Development

Remote Desktop Commander

Aiterm MCP

README from the maker

idmlkit

Design philosophy: the AI never touches the XML

Packages

Quick start

CLI

MCP server (Claude Code / Claude Desktop)

Library

Use cases

Roadmap

Development

License