indesign

This InDesign MCP Server provides a large suite of tools to automate Adobe InDesign workflows via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It exposes a rich set of commands for document management, page manipulation, text and typography operations, graphics handling, styles and colors, tables, layers, export and production tasks, as well as automation utilities. With these capabilities, AI agents can create and edit complex InDesign documents, apply consistent styling across pages, merge data, place images, export professional PDFs and image assets, and execute custom ExtendScript for bespoke automation. The server is designed to integrate with MCP clients (for example Claude Desktop) so that you can drive InDesign directly from natural language prompts or structured tool calls, enabling repeatable publishing workflows and data-driven layouts.

Prerequisites:

• Adobe InDesign 2025 (or compatible) installed
• macOS for AppleScript integration (if using AppleScript-based workflows)
• Node.js 18+ installed
• An MCP-compatible client (e.g., Claude Desktop) configured to connect to this server

Step-by-step:

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/lucdesign/indesign-mcp-server.git
cd indesign-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure your MCP client Open or create your MCP client configuration (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json) and add the server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/indesign-mcp-server/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

4. Start InDesign and the MCP server

• Ensure InDesign is running
• Run the server with Node (adjust the path to index.js as needed)

node /path/to/indesign-mcp-server/index.js

5. Validate the connection from your MCP client by selecting the indesign server and issuing a simple list or health check command.

Notes:

• If you deploy in a container or different environment, replace the index path accordingly and ensure InDesign is accessible from that environment.

Tips and common issues:

• Ensure InDesign is running before invoking any MCP commands that interact with the application.
• If you encounter "Tool not found" or connection issues, restart the MCP client and verify that the indesign server is online using a basic ping/health command.
• For AppleScript integrations, ensure macOS accessibility permissions are granted for InDesign and the MCP runtime.
• The server supports a wide range of tools (document management, page management, text, graphics, styles, colors, tables, layers, export/production, and automation). Use precise tool names when constructing requests for predictable results.
• When running in headless or containerized environments, confirm that the host has GUI access or uses a platform that supports InDesign automation.