gimp-agent-mcp

GIMP Agent MCP

Let your AI agent edit in GIMP. Keep the layers. See what changed.

Connect Claude, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client to GIMP 3. The agent can work in your open window, inspect the result, refine an edit and save an XCF you can keep working on. Headless mode runs the same workflows over folders of images.

See it working

Watch the 20-second MP4 · Open the editable XCF · Reproduce the MCP session

This is a captured-step walkthrough of the real GIMP window, with pauses shortened. Three text layers are changed through MCP in one batch. One Ctrl+Z restores all three; Ctrl+Y brings them back. The text, artwork and background stay on separate named layers. This demonstrates actual tool execution, not a claim that every model will follow the same plan from a prompt.

Try asking

“Change the headline and supporting text in this card. Keep them as text layers, group the edits into one undo step, and show me the result before exporting.”

“Make this transparent artwork into a Telegram sticker with a white outline and shadow. Save a 512 × 512 PNG.”

“Pack these equal-sized PNG frames into a sprite sheet. Keep an XCF master, write the atlas JSON and verify the exported pixels against the originals.”

The included skills guide layered artwork, sprite sheets and batch jobs. They tell the agent to inspect and measure the actual output before calling a job complete.

Install

You need GIMP 3.2.x, Python 3.11+, uv and an MCP client. GIMP must be installed on the same machine as the server. Start GIMP once so its user profile exists.

uvx gimp-agent-mcp install-plugin
uvx gimp-agent-mcp install-skills
uvx gimp-agent-mcp doctor

Restart GIMP after installing or upgrading the bridge. In your open GIMP window, choose Filters → Development → Start Agent Bridge.

Add this configuration to your client's MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gimp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["gimp-agent-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

For Claude Code:

claude mcp add gimp -- uvx gimp-agent-mcp serve

Claude Code can also install the server and skills as a plugin; see skills installation. For AI background removal, install the optional model runtime with uvx --from "gimp-agent-mcp[segmentation]" gimp-agent-mcp serve (use the same arguments in your MCP config). The first use downloads a model; image processing stays local.

Working from source? Run uv sync --extra dev, then uv run gimp-agent-mcp install-plugin. Configure the server as uv run --no-sync --directory /absolute/path/to/repo gimp-agent-mcp serve. --no-sync avoids Windows executable-lock errors when another server is running.

Work in your window, or run a batch

• Your existing window: start the bridge from the menu. Continue editing the same document by hand.
• A shortcut: uvx gimp-agent-mcp shortcut creates a launcher that starts GIMP with the bridge enabled.
• Agent-launched: gimp_launch(mode="gui") opens GIMP; mode="headless" runs without a window.

Use gimp_context(image_id) to read selected layers and selection bounds. With several images open, the agent must choose an explicit image ID; GIMP's public API does not reliably expose which document has keyboard focus. gimp_context(..., present=true) can bring a specified document forward. If multiple bridges run, gimp_status follows the newest bridge file; isolate test profiles when a user session is active.

What makes this useful

Capability	What you get
Visual feedback	Whole-image, layer and region previews; saved snapshots; before/after/diff comparisons. Diagnostic overlays can add a coordinate grid, layer boxes, selection bounds and labelled points without changing the source.
Measured output	Pixel colours, alpha bounds, histograms and dominant colours. Sprite packing reopens the exported PNG and compares each cell's decoded RGBA pixels with its source.
Editable work	Named layers, text, paths, masks and non-destructive layer effects. Export an XCF master and delivery files separately.
Everyday editing	Three compact tools cover common adjustments, canvas transforms, fills and simple drawing. Every action reports the installed GEGL or PDB operation it used.
One undo step	gimp_edit_batch groups supported edits on one image into one Ctrl+Z step. A failed step stops the batch, reports partial results and closes the group.
Runtime discovery	Search and describe the installed PDB procedures and GEGL operations, including parameter names, types and enum values. Numeric-array arguments support curves and brush strokes.
Repeatable jobs	Nine recipes and folder batching, plus three bundled workflow skills.
Honest failure handling	A lost connection never silently replays an edit whose outcome is unknown. Reconnect, inspect, then decide whether to retry.

Other GIMP MCP projects also provide TCP bridges and visual feedback. This project's emphasis is editable output, measurement, grouped edits and reproducible validation. Generic API access is broad, but does not guarantee that every GIMP procedure or GEGL operation works with every argument combination.

Tools (39)

Area	Tools
Learn and connect	gimp_help, gimp_status, gimp_launch, gimp_shutdown, gimp_context
Images	gimp_list_images, gimp_image_info, gimp_new_image, gimp_open, gimp_export, gimp_close_image
See and measure	gimp_render, gimp_snapshot, gimp_drop_snapshot, gimp_render_compare, gimp_measure
PDB	gimp_pdb_search, gimp_pdb_describe, gimp_pdb_call
Filters	gimp_filter_search, gimp_filter_describe, gimp_apply_filter, gimp_layer_effects, gimp_layer_effect
Everyday edits	gimp_adjust, gimp_canvas, gimp_draw
Structured edit	gimp_edit_batch, gimp_select, gimp_layer_mask, gimp_layer, gimp_text, gimp_list_fonts, gimp_path
Cut out	gimp_remove_background (optional rembg model runtime)
Automate	gimp_run_python, gimp_list_recipes, gimp_run_recipe, gimp_batch_recipe

Images and items use integer IDs. Colours accept hex, common names, CSS RGB strings or component arrays; enums use nicks returned by the describe tools. Call gimp_help("batch") for grouped-edit examples. gimp_run_python may be disabled, reducing the tool count by one.

Common work no longer needs procedure discovery. For example, use gimp_adjust(layer_id, "brightness_contrast", {"brightness": 0.15}), gimp_canvas(image_id, "crop", width=1200, height=630, x=40, y=20), or gimp_draw(image_id, layer_id, "line", color="#ffffff", x=20, y=40, x2=300, y2=40, line_width=6). Adjustments default to editable layer effects where GIMP supports them; canvas and drawing actions bake pixels or structure. Every result identifies the runtime operation selected before execution.

For visual placement, ask for a diagnostic preview without marking the working image:

gimp_render(image_id=3, overlay=["grid", "layers", "selection"], grid_size=100,
            points=[{"x": 600, "y": 340, "label": "headline centre"}])

Recipes

Recipe	Job
telegram_sticker	Fit, outline and shadow on a transparent 512 × 512 canvas.
compose	Cards and banners from a manifest of images, text, shapes and effects.
sprite_sheet_pack	Ordered, equal-sized PNGs → verified grid PNG, layered XCF and atlas JSON.
sprite_sheet_slice	Fixed-size tiles from a sheet, optionally skipping empty cells.
web_optimise	Resize and adjust export quality toward a file-size budget.
icon_set	Export a square source at multiple sizes.
watermark	Position a text or image watermark.
contact_sheet	Labelled thumbnails from a folder.
fit_and_export	Fit to a maximum edge and export by extension.

Recipe arguments and examples · Skills

Tested scope and limits

Version 0.5.0, beta. Tested with Windows GIMP 3.2.4, Linux GIMP 3.2.2 (Ubuntu 26.04), and macOS 15 GIMP 3.2.4 on Apple Silicon and Intel. Each platform runs the full smoke suite, targeted capability proof and all 23 everyday editing actions against real GIMP. GIMP 2.10 is unsupported; earlier 3.x releases are not part of the current test matrix.

• gimp_edit_batch accepts bounded layer, text, selection, path, mask and filter edits. It does not keep a transaction open between separate agent calls or automatically roll back a failed batch. The human uses GIMP's Undo/Redo; there is no invented programmatic undo endpoint.
• Some GEGL source operations, including linear gradients, are not drawable filters. Use the PDB gradient-fill procedure instead. Vector warp/liquify parity is not claimed.
• Sprite packing currently takes equal-sized PNG files, without padding or direct open-layer input. It does not align animation or pack mixed-size rectangles.
• Long filters are synchronous. Mid-filter cancellation and progress reporting remain follow-up work.

Verify your setup

uvx gimp-agent-mcp smoke
# From the source checkout:
uv run pytest
uv run python scripts/capability_proof.py /path/to/proof-output
uv run python scripts/everyday_proof.py /path/to/proof-output

CI checks supported Python versions, and separate jobs exercise real GIMP on Windows, Linux and both macOS architectures. Release publication depends on all three real-GIMP workflows passing. The general capability proof measures curves, gradients and brush output and checks batch recovery, document boundaries, diagnostic overlays, nested previews and snapshot cleanup. A second proof resolves and exercises every action in gimp_adjust, gimp_canvas and gimp_draw, recording dimensions, layer counts and measured pixels. See validation details.

Architecture and trust

MCP client → stdio server → authenticated loopback TCP → plug-in inside GIMP

The plug-in runs operations on its GLib main loop, without worker threads. It uses a per-install token and only binds to 127.0.0.1. PDB calls, recipes and Python can execute code with your user permissions: connect only trusted clients. Disabling gimp_run_python is not a sandbox. Security · Architecture

Clean-room implementation under Apache-2.0; no code copied from other GIMP MCP projects. Roadmap · Changelog · Report a bug