About multimodal
multimodal is an MCP server that provides a unified interface to multiple providers for image, video, and audio generation, plus transcription. It is for users who want these media capabilities in AI clients, with automatic or per-request provider selection and file output to disk.
Key features
- 01Generates and edits images
- 02Generates video
- 03Creates speech and sound effects
- 04Transcribes audio to text
- 05Discovers configured providers
- 06Saves media files to disk
Use cases
- 01Create images or videos from text prompts
- 02Turn text into speech or sound effects
- 03Transcribe speech in audio files
- 04Use different media providers in one workflow
MCP support
The MCP server exposes tools for image generation and editing, video and audio generation, transcription, and provider discovery. Clients can use automatic provider selection or specify a provider in a request.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcpOPENAI_API_KEYSecretOpenAI API key for image, video, audio generation and transcriptionXAI_API_KEYSecretxAI API key for image and video generationGEMINI_API_KEYSecretGoogle Gemini API key for image, video, and audio generationELEVENLABS_API_KEYSecretElevenLabs API key for audio generation and transcriptionBFL_API_KEYSecretBFL API key for FLUX image generation and editingMEDIA_OUTPUT_DIRDirectory for saved media files (defaults to cwd)Local servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.
Tools
6Saved tool list · updated 2w ago
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| prompt | string | Yes | Text description of the image to generate |
| quality | string | No | Quality level: low, standard, high |
| provider | string | No | Provider to use: openai, xai, google, bfl. Auto-selects if omitted. |
| aspectRatio | string | No | Aspect ratio: 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4 |
| outputDirectory | string | No | Directory to save the generated file. Supports absolute or relative paths (resolved from cwd). Defaults to MEDIA_OUTPUT_DIR env var or cwd. |
| providerOptions | object | No | Provider-specific parameters passed through directly |
Details
From the project READMEmultimodal-mcp
Multi-provider media generation MCP server. Generate images, videos, audio, and transcriptions from text prompts using OpenAI, xAI, Gemini, ElevenLabs, and BFL (FLUX) through a single unified interface.
Features
- 🎨 Image Generation — Generate images via OpenAI (gpt-image-1), xAI (grok-imagine-image), Gemini (imagen-4), or BFL (FLUX Pro 1.1)
- ✏️ Image Editing — Edit images via OpenAI, xAI, Gemini, or BFL (FLUX Kontext)
- 🎬 Video Generation — Generate videos via OpenAI (sora-2), xAI (grok-imagine-video), or Gemini (veo-3.1)
- 🔊 Audio Generation — Text-to-speech via OpenAI (tts-1), Gemini, or ElevenLabs (Flash v2.5). Sound effects via ElevenLabs
- 🎙️ Audio Transcription — Speech-to-text via OpenAI (Whisper) or ElevenLabs (Scribe)
- 🔄 Auto-Discovery — Automatically detects configured providers from environment variables
- 🎯 Provider Selection — Auto-selects or explicitly choose a provider per request
- 📁 File Output — Saves all generated media to disk with descriptive filenames
Quick Start
Set the API key for at least one provider. Most users only need one — add more to access additional providers.
# Using OpenAI
claude mcp add multimodal-mcp -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... -- npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest
# Or using xAI
# claude mcp add multimodal-mcp -e XAI_API_KEY=xai-... -- npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest
# Or using Gemini
# claude mcp add multimodal-mcp -e GEMINI_API_KEY=AIza... -- npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest
# Or using ElevenLabs (audio + transcription)
# claude mcp add multimodal-mcp -e ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=xi-... -- npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest
# Or using BFL/FLUX (images)
# claude mcp add multimodal-mcp -e BFL_API_KEY=... -- npx -y @r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest
Using a different editor? See setup instructions for Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and Cline.
Environment Variables
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
OPENAI_API_KEY | At least one provider key | OpenAI API key — enables image, video, audio generation, and transcription via gpt-image-1, sora-2, tts-1, and whisper-1 |
XAI_API_KEY | At least one provider key | xAI API key — enables image and video generation via grok-imagine-image and grok-imagine-video |
GEMINI_API_KEY | At least one provider key | Gemini API key — enables image, video, and audio generation via imagen-4, veo-3.1, and gemini-2.5-flash-preview-tts |
GOOGLE_API_KEY | — | Alias for GEMINI_API_KEY; either name is accepted |
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY | At least one provider key | ElevenLabs API key — enables audio generation (TTS, sound effects) and transcription via Flash v2.5 and Scribe v1 |
BFL_API_KEY | At least one provider key | BFL API key — enables image generation and editing via FLUX Pro 1.1 and FLUX Kontext |
MEDIA_OUTPUT_DIR | No | Directory for saved media files. Defaults to the current working directory |
Available Tools
generate_image
Generate an image from a text prompt.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
prompt | string | Yes | Text description of the image to generate |
provider | string | No | Provider to use: openai, xai, google, bfl. Auto-selects if omitted |
aspectRatio | string | No | Aspect ratio: 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4 |
quality | string | No | Quality level: low, standard, high |
outputDirectory | string | No | Directory to save the generated file. Absolute or relative path. Defaults to MEDIA_OUTPUT_DIR or cwd |
providerOptions | object | No | Provider-specific parameters passed through directly |
generate_video
Generate a video from a text prompt. Video generation is asynchronous and may take several minutes.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
prompt | string | Yes | Text description of the video to generate |
provider | string | No | Provider to use: openai, xai, google. Auto-selects if omitted |
duration | number | No | Video duration in seconds (provider limits apply) |
aspectRatio | string | No | Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 |
resolution | string | No | Resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080p |
outputDirectory | string | No | Directory to save the generated file. Absolute or relative path. Defaults to MEDIA_OUTPUT_DIR or cwd |
providerOptions | object | No | Provider-specific parameters passed through directly |
generate_audio
Generate audio from text. Supports text-to-speech and sound effects. Audio generation is synchronous.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
text | string | Yes | Text to convert to speech, or a description of the sound effect to generate |
provider | string | No | Provider to use: openai, google, elevenlabs. Auto-selects if omitted |
voice | string | No | Voice name (provider-specific). OpenAI: alloy, ash, coral, echo, fable, nova, onyx, sage, shimmer. Google: Kore, Charon, Fenrir, Aoede, Puck, etc. ElevenLabs: voice ID |
speed | number | No | Speech speed multiplier (OpenAI only): 0.25 to 4.0 |
format | string | No | Output format (OpenAI only): mp3, opus, aac, flac, wav, pcm |
outputDirectory | string | No | Directory to save the generated file. Absolute or relative path. Defaults to MEDIA_OUTPUT_DIR or cwd |
providerOptions | object | No | Provider-specific parameters passed through directly. ElevenLabs: set mode: "sound-effect" for sound effects, model for TTS model selection |
transcribe_audio
Transcribe audio to text (speech-to-text).
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
audioPath | string | Yes | Absolute path to the audio file to transcribe |
provider | string | No | Provider to use: openai, elevenlabs. Auto-selects if omitted |
language | string | No | Language code (e.g., en, fr, es) to hint the transcription language |
providerOptions | object | No | Provider-specific parameters passed through directly |
list_providers
List all configured media generation providers and their capabilities. Takes no parameters.
Provider Capabilities
| Provider | Image | Image Editing | Video | Audio | Transcription | Key Models |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | gpt-image-1, sora-2, tts-1, whisper-1 |
| xAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | grok-imagine-image, grok-imagine-video |
| Gemini | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | — | imagen-4, veo-3.1, gemini-2.5-flash-preview-tts |
| ElevenLabs | — | — | — | ✅ | ✅ | eleven_flash_v2_5, scribe_v1 |
| BFL | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | — | flux-pro-1.1, flux-kontext-pro |
Image Aspect Ratios
| Provider | 1:1 | 16:9 | 9:16 | 4:3 | 3:4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| xAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gemini | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| BFL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Video Aspect Ratios & Resolutions
| Provider | 16:9 | 9:16 | 1:1 | 480p | 720p | 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| xAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gemini | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | ✅ | ✅ |
Audio Formats
| Provider | mp3 | opus | aac | flac | wav | pcm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gemini | — | — | — | — | ✅ | — |
| ElevenLabs | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | — | ✅ |
Troubleshooting
No providers configured
[config] No provider API keys detected
Set at least one of OPENAI_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, ELEVENLABS_API_KEY, or BFL_API_KEY in the MCP server's env block.
Provider not available for requested media type
Each provider supports different media types (see Provider Capabilities). If you specify a provider that isn't configured (no API key) or doesn't support the requested media type, you'll receive an error. Omit the provider parameter to auto-select from configured providers.
Video generation timeout
Video generation polls for up to 10 minutes. If your video hasn't completed in that window, the request will fail with a timeout error. Try a shorter duration or a simpler prompt.
xAI image generation returned no data
This indicates the xAI API returned an empty response. Check that your XAI_API_KEY is valid and that your prompt does not violate xAI content policies.
Gemini image/video generation failed: 403
Verify your GEMINI_API_KEY has the Generative Language API enabled in Google Cloud Console.
Development
npm run build # Compile TypeScript to build/
npm test # Run tests with Vitest
npm run lint # Lint and auto-fix with ESLint
npm run typecheck # Type-check without emitting
npm run dev # Watch mode for TypeScript compilation
Editor Setup
Replace OPENAI_API_KEY with your provider of choice (XAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, ELEVENLABS_API_KEY, BFL_API_KEY). You can set multiple keys to enable multiple providers.
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"multimodal-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
}
}
}
}
Cursor
Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root (or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally):
{
"mcpServers": {
"multimodal-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
}
}
}
}
VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your project root:
{
"servers": {
"multimodal-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
}
}
}
}
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"multimodal-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
}
}
}
}
Cline
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"multimodal-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@r16t/multimodal-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
}
}
}
}
License
MIT
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.