About Mcp Drawthings
Mcp Drawthings connects Draw Things with LLMs so MCP clients can generate and transform images locally on a Mac. It also exposes the current model and configuration settings.
Key features
- 01Generate images from prompts
- 02Transform images with prompts
- 03Inspect configuration and loaded model
- 04Process image generation locally on Mac
Use cases
- 01Create images from text descriptions
- 02Make variations of existing images
- 03Check Draw Things service and model status
MCP support
The MCP server exposes status checks, configuration queries, text-to-image generation, and image transformation tools. It communicates with Draw Things over HTTP.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
Tools
4Saved tool list · updated 2w ago
This tool takes no parameters.
Details
From the project READMEmcp-drawthings
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Draw Things - enabling LLMs to generate images locally on Mac using Stable Diffusion and other AI models.
Features
- Text-to-Image Generation - Generate images from text prompts using the currently loaded model in Draw Things
- Image-to-Image Transformation - Transform existing images using text prompts
- Configuration Access - Query the current Draw Things settings and loaded model
- Local Processing - All image generation runs locally on your Mac using Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
Prerequisites
- macOS with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
- Draw Things app installed
- Node.js 18 or later
Setup
1. Enable Draw Things API Server
- Open Draw Things
- Click the gear icon (⚙️) to open Settings
- Enable API Server / HTTP Server
- The server runs on port 7860 by default
Verify the server is running:
curl http://localhost:7860
2. Configure Your MCP Client
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"drawthings": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-drawthings"]
}
}
}
Cursor
Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project or global config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"drawthings": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-drawthings"]
}
}
}
3. Restart Your MCP Client
Restart Claude Desktop or Cursor to load the new MCP server.
Available Tools
check_status
Check if the Draw Things API server is running and accessible.
get_config
Get the current Draw Things configuration including the loaded model and settings.
generate_image
Generate an image from a text prompt.
Parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
prompt | string | Yes | Text description of the image to generate |
negative_prompt | string | No | Elements to exclude from the generated image |
width | number | No | Image width in pixels (default: 512) |
height | number | No | Image height in pixels (default: 512) |
steps | number | No | Number of inference steps (default: 20) |
cfg_scale | number | No | Guidance scale (default: 7.5) |
seed | number | No | Random seed for reproducibility (-1 for random) |
output_path | string | No | Custom file path to save the image |
Example:
Generate an image of a futuristic city at sunset with flying cars
transform_image
Transform an existing image using a text prompt (img2img).
Parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
prompt | string | Yes | Text description of the desired transformation |
image_path | string | No* | Path to the source image file |
image_base64 | string | No* | Base64-encoded source image |
negative_prompt | string | No | Elements to exclude |
denoising_strength | number | No | Transformation strength 0.0-1.0 (default: 0.75) |
steps | number | No | Number of inference steps (default: 20) |
cfg_scale | number | No | Guidance scale (default: 7.5) |
seed | number | No | Random seed (-1 for random) |
output_path | string | No | Custom file path to save the result |
*Either image_path or image_base64 must be provided.
Configuration
Environment Variables
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
DRAWTHINGS_HOST | localhost | Draw Things API host |
DRAWTHINGS_PORT | 7860 | Draw Things API port |
DRAWTHINGS_OUTPUT_DIR | ~/Pictures/drawthings-mcp | Directory for generated images |
Architecture
┌─────────────────┐ stdio ┌──────────────────┐ HTTP ┌─────────────┐
│ MCP Client │◄──────────────►│ mcp-drawthings │◄────────────►│ Draw Things │
│ (Claude/Cursor) │ JSON-RPC │ │ localhost │ App │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ :7860 └─────────────┘
│
▼
┌──────────────┐
│ File System │
│ (images) │
└──────────────┘
Development
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/james-see/mcp-drawthings
cd mcp-drawthings
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build
npm run build
# Run in development mode
npm run dev
Troubleshooting
"Cannot connect to Draw Things API"
- Make sure Draw Things is running
- Check that the API Server is enabled in Draw Things settings
- Verify the server is accessible:
curl http://localhost:7860 - Check if a different port is configured in Draw Things
Images not generating
- Make sure a model is loaded in Draw Things
- Check Draw Things for any error messages
- Try generating an image directly in Draw Things first
Permission errors saving images
Check that the output directory is writable. You can set a custom directory using the DRAWTHINGS_OUTPUT_DIR environment variable.
License
MIT
Related Projects
- Draw Things - The AI image generation app for Mac/iOS
- Model Context Protocol - The protocol specification
- @modelcontextprotocol/sdk - TypeScript SDK for MCP
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.