adb-mcp

adb-mcp is a proof of concept project to enabled AI control of Adobe tools (Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere) by providing an interface to LLMs via the MCP protocol.

The project is not endorsed by nor supported by Adobe.

It has been tested with Claude desktop (Mac and Windows) from Anthropic, as well as the OpenAI Agent SDK, and allows AI clients to control Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. Theoretically, it should work with any AI App / LLM that supports the MCP protocol, and is built in a way to support multiple Adobe applications.

Example use cases include:

• Giving Claude step by step instruction on what to do in Photoshop, providing a conversational based interface (particularly useful if you are new to Photoshop).
• Giving Claude a task (create an instagram post that looks like a Polariod image, create a double exposure) and letting it create it from start to finish to use as a template.
• Asking Claude to generate custom Photoshop tutorials for you, by creating an example file, then step by step instructions on how to recreate.
• As a Photoshop utility tool (have Claude rename all of your layers into a consistent format)
• Have Claude create new Premiere projects pre-populations with clips, transitions, effects and Audio

View Video Examples

The Premiere agent is a bit more limited in functionality compared to the Photoshop agent, due to current limitations of the Premiere plugin API.

How it works

The proof of concept works by providing:

• A MCP Server that provides an interface to functionality within Adobe Photoshop to the AI / LLM
• A Node based command proxy server that sits between the MCP server and Adobe app plugins
• An Adobe app (Photoshop and Premiere) plugin that listens for commands, and drives the programs

AI <-> MCP Server <-> Command Proxy Server <-> Photoshop / Premiere UXP Plugin <-> Photoshop / Premiere

The proxy server is required because the public facing API for UXP Based JavaScript plugin does not allow it to listen on a socket connection (as a server) for the MCP Server to connect to (it can only connect to a socket as a client).

Requirements

In order to run this, the following is required:

• AI LLM with support for MCP Protocol (tested with Claude desktop on Mac & Windows, and OpenAI Agent SDK)
• Python 3, which is used to run the MCP server provided with this project
• NodeJS, used to provide a proxy between the MCP server and Photoshop
• Adobe UXP Developer tool (available via Creative Cloud) used to install and debug the Photoshop / Premiere plugin used to connect to the proxy
• Adobe Photoshop (26.0 or greater) with the MCP Plugin installed or Adobe Premiere Beta (25.3 Build 46 or greater)

Installation

This guide assumes you're using Claude Desktop. Other MCP-compatible AI applications should work similarly.

Download Source Code

Clone or download the source code from the main project page.

Install Claude Desktop

1. Download and install Claude Desktop
2. Launch Claude Desktop to verify it works

Note, you can use any client / code that supports MCP, just follow its instructions for how to configure.

Install MCP for Development

Navigate to the project directory and run:

#### Photoshop

uv run mcp install --with fonttools --with python-socketio --with mcp --with requests --with websocket-client --with numpy ps-mcp.py

#### Premiere Pro

uv run mcp install --with fonttools --with python-socketio --with mcp --with requests --with websocket-client --with pillow pr-mcp.py

#### InDesign

uv run mcp install --with fonttools --with python-socketio --with mcp --with requests --with websocket-client --with pillow id-mcp.py

#### AfterEffects

uv run mcp install --with fonttools --with python-socketio --with mcp --with requests --with websocket-client --with pillow ae-mcp.py

#### Illustrator

uv run mcp install --with fonttools --with python-socketio --with mcp --with requests --with websocket-client --with pillow ai-mcp.py

Restart Claude Desktop after installation.

Set Up Proxy Server

#### Using Prebuilt Executables (Recommended)

1. Download the appropriate executable for your platform from the latest release (files named like adb-proxy-socket-macos-x64.zip (Intel), adb-proxy-socket-macos-arm64.zip (Silicon), or adb-proxy-socket-win-x64.exe.zip).
2. Unzip the executable.
3. Double click or run from the console / terminal

#### Running from Source

1. Navigate to the adb-proxy-socket directory
2. Run node proxy.js

You should see a message like: Photoshop MCP Command proxy server running on ws://localhost:3001

Keep this running — the proxy server must stay active for Claude to communicate with Adobe plugins.

Install Plugins

#### Photoshop, Premiere Pro, InDesign (UXP)

1. Launch UXP Developer Tools from Creative Cloud
2. Enable developer mode when prompted
3. Select File > Add Plugin
4. Navigate to the appropriate directory and select manifest.json:

• Photoshop: uxp/ps/manifest.json
• Premiere Pro: uxp/pr/manifest.json
• InDesign: uxp/id/manifest.json

1. Click Load
2. In your Adobe application, open the plugin panel and click Connect

##### Enable Developer Mode in Photoshop

For Photoshop:

1. Launch Photoshop (2025/26.0 or greater)
2. Go to Settings > Plugins and check "Enable Developer Mode"
3. Restart Photoshop

##### Enable Developer Mode in Premeire Pro

For Premeire Pro:

1. Launch Premeire Pro (2025/26.0 or greater)
2. Go to Settings > Plugins and check "Enable Developer Mode"
3. Restart Premeire Pro

#### AfterEffects, Illustrator (CEP)

##### Mac

1. Make sure the following directory exists (if it doesn't then create the directories)

/Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions

1. Navigate to the extensions directory and create a symlink that points to the AfterEffect / Illustrator plugin in the CEP directory.

cd /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions
ln -s /Users/USERNAME/src/adb-mcp/cep/com.mikechambers.ae com.mikechambers.ae

or

cd /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions
ln -s /Users/USERNAME/src/adb-mcp/cep/com.mikechambers.ai com.mikechambers.ai

##### Windows

1. Make sure the following directory exists (if it doesn't then create the directories)

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CEP\extensions

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (or enable Developer Mode in Windows Settings)

1. Create a junction or symbolic link that points to the AfterEffect / Illustrator plugin in the CEP directory:

mklink /D "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.mikechambers.ae" "C:\Users\USERNAME\src\adb-mcp\cep\com.mikechambers.ae"

or

mklink /D "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.mikechambers.ai" "C:\Users\USERNAME\src\adb-mcp\cep\com.mikechambers.ai"

Note if you don't want to symlink, you can copy com.mikechambers.ae / com.mikechambers.ao into the CEP directory.

Using Claude with Adobe Apps

Launch the following:

1. Claude Desktop
2. adb-proxy-socket node server
3. Launch Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, AfterEffects, Illustrator

_TIP: Create a project for Photoshop / Premiere Pro in Claude and pre-load any app specific instructions in its Project knowledge._

#### Photoshop

1. Launch UXP Developer Tool and click the Load button for _Photoshop MCP Agent_
2. In Photoshop, if the MCP Agent panel is not open, open _Plugins > Photoshop MCP Agent > Photoshop MCP Agent_
3. Click connect in the agent panel in Photoshop

Now you can switch over the Claude desktop. Before you start a session, you should load the instructions resource which will provide guidance and info the Claude by clicking the socket icon (Attach from MCP) and then _Choose an Integration_ > _Adobe Photoshop_ > _config://get_instructions_.

#### Premiere

1. Launch UXP Developer Tool and click the Load button for _Premiere MCP Agent_
2. In Premiere, if the MCP Agent panel is not open, open _Window > UXP Plugins > Premiere MCP Agent > Premiere MCP Agent_
3. Click connect in the agent panel in Photoshop

#### InDesign

1. Launch UXP Developer Tool and click the Load button for InDesitn MCP Agent_
2. In InDesign, if the MCP Agent panel is not open, open _Plugins > InDesign MCP Agent > InDesign MCP Agent_
3. Click connect in the agent panel in Photoshop

#### AfterEffects

1. _Window > Extensions > Illustrator MCP Agent_

#### Illustrator

1. Open a file (the plugin won't launch unless a file is open)
2. _Window > Extensions > Illustrator MCP Agent_