Replicate MCP server

The MCP Server Replicate provides resource-based access to AI model inference, focusing primarily on image generation through Replicate's API. It enables Claude to generate and manage images through natural language commands with features like real-time updates, quality presets, and model selection.

Installation Options

Via Smithery (Recommended)

Install MCP Server Replicate automatically using Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @gerred/mcp-server-replicate --client claude

Manual Installation

Install the package directly from PyPI:

# Using UV (recommended)
uv pip install mcp-server-replicate

# Using UVX for isolated environments
uvx install mcp-server-replicate

# Using pip
pip install mcp-server-replicate

Setting Up Claude Desktop Integration

1. Ensure you have the latest Claude Desktop version installed
2. Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:

# macOS
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Windows
code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

3. Add the server configuration:

{
  "globalShortcut": "Shift+Alt+A",
  "mcpServers": {
    "replicate": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["tool", "run", "mcp-server-replicate"],
      "env": {
        "REPLICATE_API_TOKEN": "APITOKEN"
      },
      "cwd": "$PATH_TO_REPO"
    }
  }
}

4. Configure your Replicate API key (get one at https://replicate.com/account):

# Option 1: Set in your environment
export REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=your_api_key_here

# Option 2: Create a .env file in your home directory
echo "REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=your_api_key_here" > ~/.env

5. Restart Claude Desktop completely

When properly connected, you'll see the 🔨 icon in Claude Desktop.

Using the MCP Server

Available Prompts

Text to Image (Primary)

The most robust capability, optimized for generating high-quality images with:

• Style control
• Quality presets (draft, balanced, quality, extreme)
• Size customization
• Progress tracking

Example:

Create a photorealistic mountain landscape at sunset with snow-capped peaks, quality level: quality, style: photorealistic

Additional Prompts

• Image to Image: Transform existing images (coming soon)
• Model Selection: Get help choosing the right model
• Parameter Help: Understand model parameters

Common Commands

1. Generate images with natural language:

   Create a photorealistic mountain landscape at sunset with snow-capped peaks
   

2. Browse your generations:

   Show me my recent image generations
   

3. Search through generations:

   Find my landscape generations
   

4. Check generation status:

   What's the status of my last generation?
   

Troubleshooting

Server Not Appearing in Claude Desktop

1. Check the Claude Desktop logs:

   tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
   

2. Verify your configuration:

   • Ensure the path in claude_desktop_config.json is absolute
   • Confirm UV is installed and in your PATH
   • Check that your Replicate API key is set correctly

3. Try restarting Claude Desktop completely

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "replicate" '{"command":"uv","args":["tool","run","mcp-server-replicate"],"env":{"REPLICATE_API_TOKEN":"APITOKEN"},"cwd":"$PATH_TO_REPO"}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For 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 > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "replicate": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "tool",
                "run",
                "mcp-server-replicate"
            ],
            "env": {
                "REPLICATE_API_TOKEN": "APITOKEN"
            },
            "cwd": "$PATH_TO_REPO"
        }
    }
}

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 explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "replicate": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "tool",
                "run",
                "mcp-server-replicate"
            ],
            "env": {
                "REPLICATE_API_TOKEN": "APITOKEN"
            },
            "cwd": "$PATH_TO_REPO"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect