Illustrator MCP Server

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🇯🇵 日本語の README は README.ja.md にあります。

Illustrator MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for reading, manipulating, and exporting Adobe Illustrator design data — with 66 built-in tools.

Control Illustrator directly from AI assistants like Claude — extract design information for web implementation, verify print-ready data, and export assets.

Everything Adobe's official Illustrator MCP (beta) can do — and more. See the comparison.

[!NOTE]

In Claude's extension directory and plugin marketplace, this project is listed as Design Bridge by IE3. Anthropic's directories don't allow other companies' brand names in listing names, so the listing name differs — it is the same project, and the npm package is still illustrator-mcp-server. If you installed the Claude Code plugin under its earlier name (illustrator@ie3jp-illustrator), see Claude Code to reinstall it.

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🎨 Gallery

All artwork below was created entirely by Claude through natural language conversation — no manual Illustrator operation involved.

Event Poster

Logo Concepts

Business Card

Twilight Geometry

See detailed breakdowns below for prompts, tool usage, and artboard structure.

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[!TIP]

Developing and maintaining this tool takes time and resources.

If it helps your workflow, your support means a lot — ☕ buy me a coffee!

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🚀 Quick Start

🛠️ Claude Code

Requires Node.js 20+.

claude mcp add illustrator-mcp -- npx illustrator-mcp-server

Or install it as a plugin, which bundles the MCP server with a pre-press preflight skill (also works in Claude Cowork):

/plugin install ie3-design-bridge --marketplace ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server

On Claude Code earlier than v2.1.275, add the marketplace first:

/plugin marketplace add ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server

/plugin install ie3-design-bridge@ie3

If you already added the server with claude mcp add, remove it first (claude mcp remove illustrator-mcp) so it doesn't run twice.

🖥️ Claude Desktop

1. Download `illustrator-mcp-server.mcpb` from GitHub Releases
2. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions
3. Drag and drop the .mcpb file into the Extensions panel
4. Click the Install button

Alternative: manual config (always up to date via npx)

[!NOTE]

The .mcpb extension does not auto-update. To update, download the new version and reinstall. If you prefer automatic updates, use the npx method below instead.

Requires Node.js 20+. Open the config file and add the connection settings.

1. Open the config file

From the Claude Desktop menu bar:

Claude → Settings... → Developer (in the left sidebar) → Click the Edit Config button

2. Add the settings

{

"mcpServers": { "illustrator": { "command": "npx", "args": ["illustrator-mcp-server"] } } }

[!NOTE]

If you installed Node.js via a version manager (nvm, mise, fnm, etc.), Claude Desktop may not find npx. In that case, use the full path:

`json

"command": "/full/path/to/npx"

`

Run which npx in your terminal to find the path.

3. Save and restart

1. Save the file and close the text editor
2. Fully quit Claude Desktop (⌘Q / Ctrl+Q) and reopen it

[!CAUTION]

AI can make mistakes. Do not over-rely on the output — always have a human perform the final check on submission data. The user is responsible for the results.

[!NOTE]

macOS: On first run, allow automation access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation.

[!NOTE]

Most modify tools bring Illustrator to the foreground during execution. Read tools and export run without switching apps; export_pdf brings Illustrator forward only when drawing Japanese crop marks.

[!NOTE]

Your files are protected by default. close_document will not throw away unsaved changes unless you explicitly choose to (save: false), and export, export_pdf, save_document (save as) and extract_design_tokens will not replace an existing file unless overwrite: true is set. If that is what you want, just tell Claude to "close without saving" or "overwrite the file".

Multiple Illustrator Versions

If you have multiple versions of Illustrator installed, you can tell Claude which version to use during conversation. Just say something like "Use Illustrator 2024" and the set_illustrator_version tool will target that version.

Supported versions: Illustrator 2024 (v28) and later are verified. Illustrator 2020–2023 (v24–v27) are expected to work — every ExtendScript API this server uses has existed since v24 — but they are not verified, so tools return a warning when running on them. Versions older than 2020 (v24) are rejected. If something breaks on an unverified version, please open an issue.

[!NOTE]

If Illustrator is already running, the server connects to the running instance regardless of the version setting. The version is only used to launch the correct version when Illustrator is not yet running.

Environment Variables

Raise these when a single call needs longer than the default: importing a large SVG with import_svg_as_editable (100+ objects), or running get_document_structure / export_pdf on a big document.

Values must be positive integers in milliseconds. Anything else (0, a negative number, a non-numeric string, or a value above 2147483647) falls back to the default. They are read once at server startup.

{

"mcpServers": { "illustrator": { "command": "npx", "args": ["illustrator-mcp-server"], "env": { "ILLUSTRATOR_MCP_TIMEOUT_NORMAL": "60000", "ILLUSTRATOR_MCP_TIMEOUT_HEAVY": "180000" } } } }

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🎬 What You Can Do

You:    Show me all the text information in this document

Claude: → list_text_frames → get_text_frame_detail There are 12 text frames in the document. The heading "My Design" uses Noto Sans JP Bold 48px, color #333333 ...

You: Run a pre-press preflight check Claude: → preflight_check ⚠ 2 warnings:

• Low resolution image: image_01.jpg (150dpi) — 300dpi or higher recommended
• Non-outlined fonts: 3 text frames

You: Check text for inconsistencies Claude: → check_text_consistency 📝 Consistency Report: ⚠ "Contact Us" vs "Contact us" — capitalization mismatch ❌ "Lorem ipsum" (2 places) — placeholder text remaining

You: Create banner size variations from this A4 flyer Claude: → get_document_info → resize_for_variation Created 3 size variations:

• 728×90 / 300×250 / 160×600

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🆚 Comparison with Adobe's Official Illustrator MCP

In short: everything the official MCP does, this project does too — plus a lot more. Adobe ships a built-in MCP server in Illustrator Beta (30.4+, still beta-only as of August 2026), focused on analyzing and batch-processing existing documents. This project covers those same workflows — analysis, bulk recoloring, variations, batch artboard export, font / broken-link checks — and adds what the official server doesn't have: creating artwork from scratch, saving documents, print & prepress checks, and design-system tools. And it runs on stable Illustrator, no beta required.

\* Based on user reports as of April 2026 (beta). The official server is under active development — see Adobe's documentation for the latest status.

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📖 Recipes

Extract colors and fonts for CSS

You:    Summarize the colors and typography in this design

Claude: → get_colors → list_text_frames → get_text_frame_detail

■ Color Palette

• Primary: #1A73E8 (CMYK: 85,50,0,0)
• Secondary: #34A853
• Text: #202124
• Background: #FFFFFF

■ Typography

• Headings: Noto Sans JP Bold / 32px
• Body: Noto Sans JP Regular / 16px / line-height: 1.75
• Captions: Noto Sans JP Medium / 12px

Export artboards as SVG / PNG

You:    Export all artboards as SVG with outlined text

Claude: → get_artboards → convert_to_outlines → export (repeated)

Exported 4 artbo