Set up PhotoCraft MCP for Your Workspace

Install the matching editor and CLI first

1. Use the official release guide and select assets for your OS and CPU.
2. Keep the desktop editor, CLI and documentation on the same version. The current downloads are 0.10.0; the recorded test below uses 0.8.2. Locate the actual executable paths in your installation.
3. Create separate input and output folders. Configure your MCP host to launch the CLI executable with each argument as a separate value.
4. Choose headless for a separate session or bridge for the running desktop app. A launcher download alone does not register a host configuration.

Choose headless or desktop bridge

PhotoCraft MCP exposes editor operations to a compatible assistant. It is not an AI model and does not run inside this site’s generation form. Install a matching editor and CLI distribution, then choose one mode.

Headless: the CLI owns an in-process editor session. Desktop bridge: the CLI connects to a running editor’s authenticated local control channel. These commands follow Version 0.10.0 development documentation ↗; this site has not certified a specific assistant host.

PhotoCraft MCP or ArtCraft MCP: which server is this?

This page covers the CLI shipped by storytold/photocraft: headless and desktop bridge are two modes of that CLI. A service called ArtCraft MCP is not established as the same implementation by its name. Check its repository, maintainer, executable, transport and file permissions separately. See the ArtCraft relationship guide and verified PhotoCraft sources before installing an integration.

Headless: give the CLI explicit file access

Use absolute paths to a folder you intend the assistant to read and write. Omitting a root deliberately denies that authority. The verified Windows process used the following executable and arguments; this PowerShell example substitutes your workspace paths.

& ".\photocraft-cli.exe" mcp `
  --automation-read-root "C:\PhotoCraft-work\input" `
  --automation-write-root "C:\PhotoCraft-work\output"

In your MCP client, use photocraft-cli as the executable and pass each argument separately. Replace the example paths with your own. Desktop environment variables do not grant permissions to this headless process.

Desktop bridge: permissions belong to the app

The upstream documented mode starts the desktop app with loopback control, a private token file and explicit roots. The MCP CLI then connects to that address and token file. We have not run this mode; use Version 0.10.0 development documentation ↗ for its configuration instead of treating it as a tested command from this site.

Keep the token private. The desktop process owns the file roots; bridge flags do not silently expand its authority. Do not expose the loopback control port as a public service.

Check one open → edit → save task

1. Put a copy of a non-sensitive sample in the allowed input folder.
2. Ask your assistant to open that exact file and inspect the document.
3. Make one visible adjustment, then save to a new file in the allowed output folder.
4. Reopen and visually compare the saved result. Record editor, CLI, host and OS versions.

Our recorded headless check follows this sequence with doc_open, doc_inspect, command_run, doc_render_preview, doc_export and doc_save. The command image.imageRotation.flipCanvasHorizontal flips the canyon sample. The exported PNG was reopened and its decoded RGB pixels exactly match a horizontal flip of the input.

Why the web demo cannot replace local MCP setup

The browser uses file pickers and downloads. It cannot expose your local workspace as a desktop MCP server. Headless operations such as doc_open, doc_inspect, doc_render_preview, doc_save and doc_export belong to the documented local workflow; desktop UI operations require the bridge.

Host and system verification status

The test used an isolated read workspace and a separate output write root. Reading a sibling file and writing outside that root were both rejected. This checks those two requests, not a general security audit. Desktop bridge, other operating systems and AI assistant hosts remain untested.

• Input canyon WebP, 1672 × 941.
• MCP preview and reopened PNG output (about 2.6 MB).
• Environment, commands, responses and file checksums. Placeholder roots replace machine-specific paths.
• Editable PSD text test using the same headless client.

Why is file access denied?

Check which process owns the session, whether a read or write root was provided, and whether the file’s resolved path stays in that folder. Confirm the bridge address and private token match the running desktop app. Start with a small trusted workspace rather than granting an entire disk.

For file-specific problems, read the PSD workflow and MCP troubleshooting.