unsplash

This MCP server is a Go-based implementation of an Unsplash MCP server. It exposes an MCP-compatible interface that bridges requests to the Unsplash API, enabling clients to fetch images, metadata, and related data through the MCP protocol. Before running, ensure you have a valid Unsplash access key configured via the UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY environment variable. The server is designed to be run from a built binary, and the repository recommends building with Go 1.24+.

To integrate with Cursor or other MCP clients, point your mcp.json to the server binary path and supply the required environment variable. In Cursor, add the server under mcpServers with the provided snippet, including the UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY. Once running, you can issue MCP requests to fetch images, search results, and related data according to the MCP protocol supported by the server.

Prerequisites:

• Go 1.24+ installed
• Git
• Make (for the build step)

Installation steps:

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/douglarek/unsplash-mcp-server.git
2. Navigate into the project: cd unsplash-mcp-server
3. Build the server binary using the project’s Makefile: make build
4. Run the resulting binary (adjust path as needed): <path_to_built_binary>/unsplash-mcp-server
5. Set the required environment variable (example): export UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY=your_unsplash_access_key

Optionally, verify the server starts and listens on the expected port as configured by the project (check the README or source for default port settings).

Environment variables:

• UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY: Your Unsplash API access key. Required for authorized requests.

Tips:

• Ensure you’re using Go 1.24+ as recommended by the project.
• If you modify the code, re-run make build to regenerate the binary.
• When integrating with Cursor, the mcp.json snippet should be placed in your Cursor project configuration to reference the server binary and environment variable.
• Monitor for API rate limits from Unsplash and implement backoff logic in clients if applicable.
• If the server fails to start, check that the UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY is valid and that the binary path specified in mcp_config is correct.