Automation and AI agents

Every menu item, tool and dialog in PhotoCraft runs a command. The command-line tool, photocraft-cli, runs the same commands without opening a window. You can use it to convert and edit images in scripts, or connect an AI assistant to it over MCP (Model Context Protocol), so the assistant can open, edit and save images for you.

PhotoCraft doesn’t include an AI model, and doesn’t need one. The AI assistant is a separate app you choose, such as Claude Code or another MCP client.

Find the command-line tool

Install	Where photocraft-cli is
Windows installer	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ArtCraft\PhotoCraft\photocraft-cli.exe (installed for your account) or C:\Program Files\ArtCraft\PhotoCraft\photocraft-cli.exe (installed for everyone). It isn’t added to PATH.
Windows portable zip	Next to photocraft.exe
macOS	A separate download: photocraft-cli-<ver>-macos-universal.zip on the latest release. It is signed and notarized.
Linux .deb and .rpm	/usr/bin/photocraft-cli
Linux AppImage	Run the AppImage with --cli first, for example ./photocraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.AppImage --cli --help

Run photocraft-cli --help to see every subcommand, and photocraft-cli <subcommand> --help for its options.

Convert and edit from the command line

Subcommand	What it does
convert	Open one file and save it in another format
info	Print a document’s size, color mode, depth and layers
run	Open or create a document, run commands on it, and save the result
batch	Apply a recorded action to every file in a folder
droplet	Run a PhotoCraft droplet on files or folders
commands	List every command and its settings
mcp	Start the MCP server for an AI assistant

For example, to sharpen a PSD, add a Curves adjustment layer and save a PNG:

photocraft-cli run wave.psd \
  --cmd filter.sharpen.smartSharpen --params '{"amount":80}' \
  --cmd layer.newAdjustmentLayer.curves --params '{"points":[[0,0],[64,48],[192,212],[255,255]]}' \
  --out wave-final.png

To find a command’s name and settings, run photocraft-cli commands.

Connect an AI assistant

Start the MCP server with a folder the assistant may read from and a folder it may write to:

photocraft-cli mcp --automation-read-root /path/to/project --automation-write-root /path/to/project

Most AI assistants start the server themselves. With Claude Code, for example:

claude mcp add photocraft -- photocraft-cli mcp --automation-read-root /path/to/project --automation-write-root /path/to/project

Other MCP clients take the same command and arguments in their settings file. On Windows, give the full path to photocraft-cli.exe, since it isn’t on PATH.

The assistant can then list PhotoCraft’s commands, open documents, run commands, inspect the layers and history, and render a preview to check its work.

Caution

The assistant can read any file under the read folder, and create or replace image and document files under the write folder. Documents can contain text, such as layer names, that tries to steer an assistant. Give it a dedicated folder rather than your whole home folder, and keep copies of files you care about.

Without --automation-read-root and --automation-write-root, the assistant can’t read or write files on your computer at all.

Drive the open app

An assistant can also work in the PhotoCraft window you have open, through a private connection on your own computer. This is meant for developers; see the control protocol for how to set it up.

To stop agents from connecting to the app, turn off Allow agent control in Edit › Preferences › AI Integrations…. It takes effect the next time you start PhotoCraft.

More detail

• MCP conventions: every tool the MCP server offers.
• Command-line interface: the subcommands and their options.