MCP Integration

PicRenew ships a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server so you can use photo restoration directly inside AI clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible tools — without writing any code. Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Endpoint

https://picrenew.com/api/mcp

The MCP server uses Streamable HTTP transport (stateless). The same Bearer API key used for the REST API authenticates MCP requests. See the Authentication page for key format and security best practices.

Configure Claude Desktop

Add PicRenew to your Claude Desktop MCP configuration file ( ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "picrenew": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://picrenew.com/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer pk_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving. You should see the PicRenew tools available in the tool picker.

Configure Cursor

Add the following to your Cursor settings.json (or the MCP panel in Cursor settings):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "picrenew": {
        "url": "https://picrenew.com/api/mcp",
        "headers": {
          "Authorization": "Bearer pk_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Available tools

restore_photo

Restores and enhances a photo from a public URL.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`image_url`	string	Yes	Public HTTPS URL of the photo to restore
`preset`	string	No	`standard \| enhance \| colorize \| upscale` (default: `standard`)
`resolution`	string	No	`1k \| 2k \| 4k` (default: `1k`)
`remove_frame`	boolean	No	Remove photo border before restoring (default: `false`)
`colorize`	boolean	No	Apply AI colorization (default: `false`)
`callback_url`	string	No	HTTPS webhook URL to receive the completed result

Returns a JSON object with id, status, Use the id to poll with get_restoration.

get_restoration

Returns the current status of a restoration job.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`id`	string (UUID)	Yes	Restoration ID returned by `restore_photo`

Returns a JSON object with status, output_url. Poll this tool until status or complete or failed.

Example conversation

You: Restore this old photo and colorize it:
     https://example.com/grandpa-1945.jpg

Claude: I'll restore and colorize that photo for you using PicRenew.
[calls restore_photo with preset="colorize"]

Restoration job started! ID: a1b2c3d4-...
Checking the status...
[calls get_restoration]

Your restored, colorized photo is ready:
https://public.blob.vercel-storage.com/...

Credits and billing

MCP requests consume credits from your PicRenew account, identical to the REST API. Credits are debited when the job is created. View your balance and usage on the account page or billing page.

Notes

The MCP server is stateless — no session is maintained between requests. Each tool call is independent.
Rate limits are shared with the REST API (60 requests/minute per API key).
Images are fetched from the provided URL and re-uploaded to PicRenew storage before processing begins.