AI agents

Everything you can do in LightCraft’s menus, sliders and tools is a command. An AI assistant can run the same commands through LightCraft’s MCP server, so it can rate a shoot, develop photos, add masks and export them, and see the result. Any assistant that supports MCP (the Model Context Protocol) works, such as Claude Code.

The MCP server is part of lightcraft-cli, LightCraft’s command-line tool. The Windows installer and the Linux .deb and .rpm packages include it (on Linux it is /usr/bin/lightcraft-cli). On a Mac it is a separate download, lightcraft-cli-<ver>-macos-universal.zip, on the release page. Use the CLI from the same release as the app.

Without a window

In this mode the assistant works without LightCraft open. To work on a library, so its ratings and edits are kept:

claude mcp add lightcraft -- lightcraft-cli mcp --library "/path/to/LightCraft Library"

Or give it a folder of photos to import, such as lightcraft-cli mcp ~/Pictures/shoot. Use --demo to try it on the demo photos.

A library can only be open in one program at a time. If LightCraft has the library open, use the next mode instead.

With the app open

The assistant can also drive the LightCraft window you are looking at, take screenshots and click in it.

1. Start LightCraft with lightcraft --control 7980.

2. Connect the assistant:

   claude mcp add lightcraft-app -- lightcraft-cli mcp --connect 127.0.0.1:7980

If the app isn’t running yet, the server connects the first time the assistant uses it.

LightCraft only listens for connections from your own computer, but it doesn’t ask for a password: while it runs with --control, any program on your computer can drive it. Start it this way only when you need it.

Caution

The assistant can change ratings, edits and files in your library, and export files anywhere your account can write. Only connect assistants you trust. Edits can be undone with Edit › Undo like your own.

More

The technical reference is in LightCraft’s MCP guide and control protocol.