---
title: "PhotoCraft MCP (agent-driven photo editor) — images & thumbnails tutorial and best practices for AI video"
description: "Open-source Rust photo editor (PSD layers, masks, adjustment layers) whose 500+ commands an agent can run over MCP or CLI, e.g. batch-grade a folder of images. Install in Claude Code, Codex and Grok with one command."
url: https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/photocraft-mcp
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# PhotoCraft MCP (agent-driven photo editor) — guide skill for images & thumbnails

> **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>"` returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add `.md` to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page. From a terminal: `curl -fsSL https://varg.ai/install | sh` installs the vargai CLI (https://varg.ai/how-to/cli.md): `vargai search` and `vargai install <slug>` with no key, every varg model after `vargai login`.

Open-source Rust photo editor (PSD layers, masks, adjustment layers) whose 500+ commands an agent can run over MCP or CLI, e.g. batch-grade a folder of images.

- **Type:** [Guide](https://varg.ai/how-to/guides.md) · [Images & thumbnails](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/image.md)
- **Slug:** `photocraft-mcp`
- **Status:** live
- **Publisher:** ArtCraft (storytold) (community)
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Source:** https://github.com/storytold/photocraft
- **Works in:** Claude Code, Codex
- **Requires:** PhotoCraft desktop app or photocraft-cli, GPU optional (wgpu compositor; CPU path available)
- **Adoption:** 76,192 GitHub stars (GitHub, 2026-11-02)

## What it does

PhotoCraft is a clean-room Photoshop-class editor from the ArtCraft suite. Every menu item is a command shared by the UI, the CLI, a JSON control channel and an MCP server (photocraft-cli mcp), so an agent can open PSDs, add curves/adjustment layers, smart-sharpen, apply layer styles and export, or apply one action list to a whole folder. Round-trips real PSD files.

## Use when

- you need to retouch, grade, sharpen or composite AI-generated images in batch after generation
- you need layered PSD output from an agent
- you want deterministic post-processing instead of re-generating

## Not for

- generating images from a prompt
- video editing (see FilmCraft)

## Install

- Claude Code: `claude mcp add photocraft -- photocraft-cli mcp`
- Codex: `codex mcp add photocraft -- photocraft-cli mcp`
- Any agent, with the vargai CLI: `vargai install photocraft-mcp`

## Example output

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/storytold/photocraft/main/docs/images/photocraft-demo.jpg — PhotoCraft's editor (README screenshot) (credit: ArtCraft (storytold) (README), https://github.com/storytold/photocraft)

## More images & thumbnails skills

- [Higgsfield YouTube Thumbnail](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/higgsfield-youtube-thumbnail.md): Design truthful, high-CTR YouTube thumbnails and vertical covers with up to three consistent faces.
- [Slack GIF Creator](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/anthropic-slack-gif-creator.md): Make animated GIFs that pass Slack's limits: 128×128 emoji or 480×480 message GIFs, validated on export.
- [PixiJS GIFs](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/pixijs-gif.md): Load, play and control animated GIFs inside a PixiJS v8 scene.
- [AI Image Generation](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/inference-sh-ai-image-generation.md): Generate images with 50+ models from one CLI: GPT Image 2.5, FLUX, Gemini, Grok, Seedream, Reve and more.
- [Background Removal](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/inference-sh-background-removal.md): Cut subjects out of photos into clean transparent PNGs with BiRefNet.
- [FLUX Image](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/inference-sh-flux-image.md): Generate and restyle images with FLUX Dev LoRA and FLUX.2 Klein, including custom LoRA styles.