Webcam/Screenshot Capture MCP server

MCP Webcam is a server that provides access to your webcam through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows you to capture images from your webcam or take screenshots, making these available to AI assistants like Claude. The server supports multiple users in streaming mode and offers sampling functionality for multi-modal interactions.

Installation Options

Using NPX

1. Install a recent version of NodeJS for your platform
2. Run one of the following commands:

For STDIO mode:

npx @llmindset/mcp-webcam

To use a custom port:

npx @llmindset/mcp-webcam 9999

For Streaming HTTP mode:

npx @llmindset/mcp-webcam --streaming

Using Docker

Docker runs in streaming mode by default:

docker run -p 3333:3333 ghcr.io/evalstate/mcp-webcam:latest

Environment Variables

Customize your deployment with these environment variables:

• MCP_TRANSPORT_MODE - Set to stdio for STDIO mode (default: streaming)
• PORT - The port to run on (default: 3333)
• BIND_HOST - Network interface to bind to (default: localhost)
• MCP_HOST - Public-facing URL (default: http://localhost:3333)

Docker Examples

# STDIO mode
docker run -p 3333:3333 -e MCP_TRANSPORT_MODE=stdio ghcr.io/evalstate/mcp-webcam:latest

# Custom port
docker run -p 8080:8080 -e PORT=8080 ghcr.io/evalstate/mcp-webcam:latest

# Cloud deployment with custom domain
docker run -p 3333:3333 -e MCP_HOST=https://your-domain.com ghcr.io/evalstate/mcp-webcam:latest

Connecting Clients

Fast-Agent

To connect with fast-agent:

1. Start mcp-webcam in streaming mode
2. Install uv
3. Run:

   uvx fast-agent-mcp go --url http://localhost:3333/mcp
   

For STDIO mode, add this to your fastagent.config.yaml:

webcam_local:
   command: "npx"
   args: ["@llmindset/mcp-webcam"]

VSCode

VSCode (version 1.101.0+) supports MCP Sampling:

1. Start mcp-webcam in streaming mode
2. Add http://localhost:3333/mcp as an MCP Server in VSCode

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop doesn't support Sampling but can use mcp-webcam. Add this to the mcpServers section in claude_desktop_config.json:

"webcam": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y",
    "@llmindset/mcp-webcam"
  ]
}

Using MCP Webcam

Once connected:

1. Navigate to the UI at http://localhost:3333 (or your custom port)
2. You can:
   • Capture images from your webcam
   • Take screenshots
   • "Freeze" the current image to share with the assistant
   • Use the "Sample" button to send sampling requests (not supported by Claude Desktop)

With Claude Desktop, you can ask:

• "Get the latest picture from my webcam"
• "Take a look at what I'm holding"
• "What color top am I wearing?"

For screenshots, navigate to the browser window you want to capture before Claude's request comes in.

Multi-User Mode

In Streaming mode, you can enable multi-user support:

1. Set the MCP_HOST environment variable to your hostname
2. Users will automatically receive 5-character UserIDs when visiting the webpage
3. Multiple clients can connect simultaneously

You can also try the public demo at https://evalstate-mcp-webcam.hf.space/ and specify your own UserID with ?user=<YOUR_USER_ID> parameter.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.