MCP server for the Unsplash API: search & fetch photos with attribution + download tracking.
To add Unsplash MCP Server to Claude, run the install command below or copy the ready-made config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code further down. Restart your client after adding it and its tools show up in your next conversation. It needs 3 environment variables, listed below.
Install
npx -y @hanoak/unsplash-mcp-server@1.0.1Environment variables
UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEYSet in your MCP configUNSPLASH_APP_NAMESet in your MCP configLOG_LEVELSet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add unsplash --env UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY=<YOUR_UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY> --env UNSPLASH_APP_NAME=<YOUR_UNSPLASH_APP_NAME> --env LOG_LEVEL=<YOUR_LOG_LEVEL> -- npx -y @hanoak/unsplash-mcp-server@1.0.1
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
Unsplash MCP Server exposes a set of tools to Claude over the Model Context Protocol. After you add it to claude_desktop_config.json (snippet above) and restart Claude Desktop, those tools become callable inside any conversation.
Requirements
This server needs the following environment variables to be set before it can run:
UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY UNSPLASH_APP_NAME LOG_LEVEL
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Unsplash MCP Server?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add Unsplash MCP Server to Claude Code, or copy the ready-made config for your client from the install section on this page. Restart your client afterwards and the tools appear in your next conversation.
Which clients work with Unsplash MCP Server?
This page carries setup and config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code. Any other MCP client that accepts a standard server config can connect to Unsplash MCP Server as well.
Does Unsplash MCP Server need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY, UNSPLASH_APP_NAME, LOG_LEVEL. They go in the env block of your MCP config.
Imported from the Official MCP Registry. The details above come from the registry entry; the maker can claim this listing to correct them, add docs, and see its traffic.
Is this your MCP server?
Claim this listing to see its traffic, fix details yourself, and skip the review queue on future updates.
Add this badge to your README
Show visitors this server is listed in the ClaudeRules directory. The badge links straight to this listing.
[](https://clauderules.net/mcp/io-github-hanoak-unsplash-mcp-server)<a href="https://clauderules.net/mcp/io-github-hanoak-unsplash-mcp-server" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://clauderules.net/api/badge/io-github-hanoak-unsplash-mcp-server" alt="Listed on clauderules.net" /></a>More Search MCP servers
microsoft/playwright-mcp
Official Microsoft Playwright MCP server, enabling LLMs to interact with web pages through structured accessibility snapshots
agent-infra/mcp-server-browser
📇 🏠 - Browser automation capabilities using Puppeteer, both support local and remote browser connection.
Serena MCP: the IDE for your agent
A powerful toolkit for coding, providing semantic retrieval and editing capabilities.
mediar-ai/screenpipe
🎖️ 🦀 🏠 🍎 Local-first system capturing screen/audio with timestamped indexing, SQL/embedding storage, semantic search, LLM-powered history analysis, and event-triggered actions - enables building c