Install CoDesign MCP by hand

Set CoDesign up yourself, step by step. Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI and Cursor can install the plugin, which brings the design skills along with the MCP server. Every other client registers the server on its own: it is the same local server everywhere, and only the command or the config file differs.

The command every agent ends up running

npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Install with the plugin in four steps

For Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI and Cursor. It brings the MCP server along with the design skills.

Check your client runs local servers

CoDesign runs on your own machine and talks over stdio. A client that only connects to remote MCP servers over HTTP cannot start it, and no amount of config will change that.

On Windows, the Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI plugins run natively. The plugin starts no npx, so there is no spawn npx ENOENT to work around.

Get Node 18 or newer

Run this in a terminal.

Check the installed Node version

node --version

If it prints nothing, or a version below v18, install Node with the line that matches your machine, then open a new terminal so the updated PATH takes effect. With no package manager to hand, the installer at nodejs.org does the same job.

macOS, with Homebrew

brew install node

Linux or WSL, or anywhere nvm is already set up

nvm install --lts && nvm use --lts

Install the plugin

Pick your agent. The plugin bundles the MCP server with the design skills and their design rules, so there is no server to register separately.

1. In Claude Code, add the marketplace

/plugin marketplace add imgly/codesign

2. Install the plugin

/plugin install codesign@imgly-codesign

In the terminal: claude plugin marketplace add imgly/codesign, then claude plugin install codesign@imgly-codesign. Installed CoDesign from the Anthropic Directory before? Remove that older copy first: claude plugin uninstall codesign@anthropic-plugin-directory, then /reload-plugins.

1. In the terminal, add the marketplace

codex plugin marketplace add imgly/codesign

2. Install the plugin

codex plugin add codesign@imgly-codesign

1. In the terminal, clone the plugin repo

git clone https://github.com/imgly/codesign

2. Install the plugin folder

agy plugin install ./codesign/plugins/codesign

1. In the terminal, add the marketplace

copilot plugin marketplace add imgly/codesign

2. Install the plugin

copilot plugin install codesign@imgly-codesign

1. In the terminal, copy the plugin folder into Cursor's local plugins

d=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/imgly/codesign "$d/codesign" && mkdir -p ~/.cursor/plugins/local && rm -rf ~/.cursor/plugins/local/codesign && cp -R "$d/codesign/plugins/codesign" ~/.cursor/plugins/local/ && rm -rf "$d"

Or, without a terminal: in Cursor, open Customize, choose From GitHub Repository, enter https://github.com/imgly/codesign, then Install. On a Teams or Enterprise plan, an admin can add the same URL as a team marketplace with Import from Repo. Untested in Cursor. On Enterprise, an admin must allow local plugin imports.

Start your agent, then start the onboarding

Start your agent, or restart it if it was already open, so it loads the plugin. If Claude Code is already open, type /reload-plugins instead, which loads the plugin without leaving the session and is harmless if it already loaded (if CoDesign still does not appear, restart Claude Code). In Cursor, Developer: Reload Window is enough. Then send the message below. It runs a short guided flow that explains what CoDesign does and produces one finished design. No account is needed. Signing in to a free IMG.LY account is optional and only adds AI image generation.

Send this once your agent has started

start the CoDesign onboarding

Install without the plugin in four steps

For any MCP client that runs local servers. You register the MCP server on its own, without the bundled skills.

Check your client runs local servers

CoDesign runs on your own machine and talks over stdio. A client that only connects to remote MCP servers over HTTP cannot start it, and no amount of config will change that.

On Windows, run your agent inside WSL for now. Clients that start npx directly fail there with spawn npx ENOENT, and a native Windows launcher is on the way.

Get Node 22.15 or newer

Run this in a terminal.

Check the installed Node version

node --version

If it prints nothing, or a version below v22.15, install Node with the line that matches your machine, then open a new terminal so the updated PATH takes effect. With no package manager to hand, the installer at nodejs.org does the same job.

macOS, with Homebrew

brew install node

Linux or WSL, or anywhere nvm is already set up

nvm install --lts && nvm use --lts

Register the server

Pick your agent. Keep @latest so npx re-resolves the package instead of reusing a stale cached copy, and keep stdio, which selects the transport. If you merge a JSON block into an existing file, keep any servers that are already there.

Run in a terminal

claude mcp add --scope user codesign -- npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Run in a terminal

codex mcp add codesign -- npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Run in a terminal

agy mcp add codesign -- npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Run in a terminal

copilot mcp add codesign -- npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Merge into .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@imgly/codesign-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Merge into ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@imgly/codesign-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Merge into .vscode/mcp.json (the key is servers, not mcpServers)

{
  "servers": {
    "codesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@imgly/codesign-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Merge into Zed's settings.json (under context_servers)

{
  "context_servers": {
    "codesign": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@imgly/codesign-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
      }
    }
  }
}

For a client that reads a JSON config file

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@imgly/codesign-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

For a client that takes a command instead

npx -y @imgly/codesign-mcp@latest stdio

Restart the client, then start the onboarding

A newly registered stdio server is not live in the session that registered it, so restart your client first. Then send the message below. It runs a short guided flow that explains what CoDesign does and produces one finished design. No account is needed. Signing in to a free IMG.LY account is optional and only adds AI image generation.

Send this once your client has restarted

start the CoDesign onboarding

Free local MCP server

Client not cooperating?

Ask in the Discord and someone will take a look. If your agent can run commands, hand it the install guide for agents and it can do the rest itself.

See what CoDesign does Join the Discord