Unsplash MCP Server

Unsplash MCP Server – A Go‑Powered Photo Retrieval Engine

The Unsplash MCP Server bridges the gap between large language models and one of the world’s largest collections of free, high‑resolution images. By exposing a small set of intuitive tools—, , and —the server lets an AI assistant query Unsplash directly from within a conversation. This eliminates the need for developers to build custom HTTP clients or parse API responses, enabling instant access to rich visual content as part of natural language workflows.

At its core, the server offers advanced image search. Clients can filter results by keyword relevance, color palette, orientation (landscape, portrait, squarish), and even sort by recency or relevance. Pagination is fully supported through and , allowing assistants to fetch large result sets without overloading the client. For users who need a single standout image, provides a quick way to pull one or more photos with optional constraints such as collection, topic, photographer, or content safety level. The tool delivers exhaustive metadata—including EXIF data, location tags, and photographer credits—so assistants can provide context or attribution automatically.

These capabilities are valuable for developers building AI‑driven creative tools. For instance, a design assistant can prompt users for mood or color schemes and instantly surface matching images, while an educational chatbot might retrieve relevant photographs to illustrate a topic. Because the server runs in standard I/O mode for direct LLM integration and also supports Server‑Sent Events (SSE) for web‑based connections, it fits seamlessly into both backend pipelines and interactive frontends.

Unique advantages stem from the server’s Go implementation: it is lightweight, fast, and easy to deploy on any platform. The tool set aligns closely with Unsplash’s own API semantics, so developers familiar with the REST interface can transition smoothly. By handling authentication, rate limiting, and response formatting internally, the server frees developers to focus on higher‑level application logic rather than plumbing details.

In summary, the Unsplash MCP Server provides a ready‑made, protocol‑compliant bridge to visual content. It empowers AI assistants to enrich conversations with curated images, streamline creative workflows, and deliver contextual photo data—all while maintaining simplicity and performance.