How do I install Adobe Indesign?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Adobe Indesign need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

What transport does Adobe Indesign use?

Adobe Indesign runs locally over stdio.

When was Adobe Indesign last checked?

Last checked 2026-10-27. MCP server for Adobe InDesign — 194 tools across 33 handlers, with UXP plugin, macOS JXA and Windows COM bridges

Adobe Indesign MCP server

Published to npm as indesign-nutria-mcp. Your agent starts it with npx -y indesign-nutria-mcp — see Quick Start. InDesign still runs on your machine: the server reaches it over a local bridge, and nothing leaves the box.

🚀 Why This Exists

InDesign automation has been broken for 20 years. ExtendScript is ancient. CEP panels are over-engineered. UXP scripting requires a CS degree. You just want AI to do the layout.

This MCP server fixes that. Clone it, point your agent at it, and InDesign is yours to drive like a puppeteer.

🆚 MCP vs The Old Ways

	MCP (this)	ExtendScript	CEP Panels	UXP Scripts	Manual
Learn in	30 seconds	3 weeks	2 months	1 month	0 (slow)
AI-native	✅ Any MCP agent	❌	❌	❌	❌
Tool count	198	Unlimited (you write them)	5-20 typical	5-20 typical	∞ (manual)
Error messages	Human-readable	Opaque crashes	Varies	Better	N/A
Setup time	5 minutes	10 minutes	2 hours	30 minutes	Instant
Undo support	✅ Built-in	❌	Varies	❌	✅
Search text	`text_search("pattern")`	Write 50 lines	Maybe	Maybe	Ctrl+F
Debug mode	✅ Stack traces	❌	Varies	Limited	N/A
Remote control	✅ Anywhere STDIO works	❌ InDesign-only	❌	❌	N/A
Maintenance	Zero (we handle 198 tools)	You write+test everything	Fragile	Fragile	N/A

✨ What It Can Do

📝 Text & Typography (27 tools)

Create frames, set content, apply paragraph/character styles, control formatting, search with GREP, find/replace, apply fonts, set columns, insets, auto-size, vertical justification, drop caps, keep options, hyphenation, tabs, paragraph rules, text wrap, baseline, linking/unlinking.

🎨 Shapes & Objects (20 tools)

Rectangles, ellipses, polygons, lines, groups, anchored objects — create, modify, delete, list, arrange.

🖼️ Images (5 tools)

Place from disk, query metadata, fit/proportional, adjust brightness/contrast, relink.

🎭 Colors & Swatches (6 tools)

CMYK/RGB/LAB/spot swatches, ink list, gradients, apply to fill/stroke.

📄 Pages & Documents (15 tools)

Create, open, save, close, getInfo, listOpen — plus page add/delete/duplicate/move/getInfo/listAll/applyMaster, sections.

📊 Tables (20 tools)

Create, set cells, add/delete rows/columns, merge/split, alignment, fills, strokes, insets, header/footer, row/column sizing, table styles, cell styles.

🧬 Styles (10 tools)

Paragraph, character, object styles — create, list, duplicate, delete, apply.

🏗️ Masters & Books (10 tools)

Master spreads — create, duplicate, apply, delete, list, getPages. Books — list, open, getDocuments, synchronize.

📤 Export (9 tools)

PDF, EPUB, HTML, JPG, PNG, package — plus preflight, font/swatch/table lists, and script_run() for custom ExtendScript.

🔍 Find & Replace (5 tools)

GREP find/replace, format-aware find/replace.

🔄 Transform (5 tools)

Align, distribute, rotate, scale, flip.

🔗 Interactive (5 tools)

Hyperlinks, buttons, cross-reference anchors.

📚 References (10 tools)

Footnotes, endnotes, cross-references, index entries/topics/generation.

📋 Lists (6 tools)

Define, apply to paragraph/selection, remove, restart numbering.

🧩 XML & Data Merge (11 tools)

XML tags, import/export, data merge with CSV/TSV/XML sources.

🔧 Other

Layers, effects (drop shadow, feather, transparency), TOC, sections, undo/redo, undo groups.

🧠 Included AI Skills

Ten skills ship with the repo, auto-loaded by trigger keywords when you use any AI agent:

#	Skill	What it does for you
1	Aesthetic Preference	Asks 8 questions before any creative work — font, palette, style, margins. Builds a persistent JSON profile.
2	Layout Readability	Validates overlays, contrast, orphans/widows, hierarchy, spacing, overflow before delivery.
3	Export & Verify	Mandatory modify → export JPG → analyze pixels → fix → repeat cycle.
4	Import Word	Imports `.docx`, maps Word styles to InDesign paragraph styles.
5	Batch Operations	Applies the same modification across N pages.
6	Image Optimize	Place, resize, DPI check, relink. Profiles for print (300dpi CMYK) vs web (72dpi RGB).
7	Table Format	Creates and styles tables — columns, rows, borders, fills, merge cells.
8	Template Manager	Save/load reusable page templates.
9	Export Batch	Export same document to multiple formats at once with different profiles.
10	Style Extractor	Scans `.indd` files, extracts full style profile (fonts, colors, styles, masters, margins) as JSON, replicates on new layout.

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────┐       STDIO        ┌──────────────────────┐     WebSocket     ┌──────────────────┐
│  Any AI Agent       │ ◄────────────────► │  indesign-nutria-mcp │ ◄───────────────► │  Adobe InDesign   │
│  (Claude, OpenCode, │                    │  (Node.js MCP Server) │     port 8120     │  + UXP Plugin     │
│   Cursor, etc.)     │                    │  34 handlers         │                    │  + ExtendScript    │
└─────────────────────┘                    │  198 tools           │                    └──────────────────┘
                                           │  10 AI skills        │
                                           └──────────────────────┘

Two ways to reach InDesign

The MCP protocol always speaks stdio. Only the last hop differs, and you pick one per platform:

	macOS	Windows
With plugin	UXP panel in `plugin/`	UXP panel in `plugin/`
Without plugin	`node bridge-proxy.mjs` (JXA/osascript)	`COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=true` (in-process COM)

Both are supported. The plugin is the richer path (it also emits change events); the proxy exists for setups where you cannot or do not want to load a UXP panel. See WINDOWS.md for the Windows bridge and start-bridge.sh for the macOS one.

Full breakdown: the four macOS processes, the request lifecycle, the error contract and the trust boundaries are in docs/architecture.md.

Full Handler Catalog

Handler	Tools	Key Features
AnchoredObject	5	create, getSettings, release, setPosition, setProperties
Book	4	list, open, getDocuments, synchronize
Changes	1	getStatus — what changed since T?, without touching InDesign
Color	6	swatch CRUD, inks, gradients, apply
DataMerge	5	selectDataSource, listFields, mergeRecords, export, removeDataSource
Document	9	create/open/save/close, getInfo, listOpen, getState, getPageStories, getStoryPages
Effect	4	drop shadow, feather, transparency, gradient feather
Export	11	multi-format export, print packaging, batch folder, preflight, fonts/swatches/tables/masters/XML, executeScript, script_run
Font	5	list, find, change, missing check, glyph insert
Grep	4	find, replace, findFormat, replaceFormat
Image	5	place, info, adjust, fit, relink
Index	4	addEntry, createTopic, generate, listTopics
Interactive	5	hyperlinks, buttons, anchors
Layer	5	create, delete, list, reorder, setProperties
List	6	define, apply, remove, restart numbering
Master	6	create, duplicate, apply, delete, list, getPages
Note	4	footnotes, endnotes
Object	6	shapes, groups, image links
Page	7	add, delete, duplicate, move, getInfo, listAll, applyMaster
Preview	1	document — render a page as an image the agent can see
Recipe	2	flow a placed text story across pages, export with a named PDF preset — each in one undo group
Resources	6	list/update/embed/unembed links, getLinkInfo
Section	4	create, list, setNumbering, delete
Shape	6	rectangle/ellipse/line/polygon create, delete, modify
Style	7	paragraph/character/object styles CRUD
Table	16	create, cells, rows/columns, merge/split, alignment, fills, strokes, header/footer
TableStyle	4	tableStyle, cellStyle CRUD
Text	7	frames, content, stories, findReplace, BOM filtering, timeout
TextAdvanced	20	columns, wrap, links, drop caps, rules, tabs, formatting read/write, search
Toc	4	createStyle, generate, update, listStyles
Transform	5	align, distribute, rotate, scale, flip
Undo	5	undo, redo, history, beginGroup, endGroup
Xml	6	tags CRUD, tag/untag items, import/export
Xref	3	create, list, updateFormat
	198	34 handlers, no duplicates

tests/contract/toolInventory.test.ts pins this number, so the table cannot drift from the code without failing CI.

Verified end-to-end against InDesign 2026 (21.3) on the plugin-free macOS path: MCP stdio → WebSocket bridge → JXA proxy → InDesign, creating a document, adding a text frame, reading it back, and closing.

Closing documents from an agent? document_close defaults to saveOptions: "no" — the only value that cannot raise a modal dialog. "ask" opens a save prompt, and "yes" opens a Save As dialog for a document that was never saved; both block the script until the bridge times out. Save first with document_save { filePath }, then close.

MCP Resources

URI	What it gives you
`mcp://session/status`	Active document session state
`mcp://bridge/status`	WebSocket bridge health + queue depth
`mcp://tools/inventory`	Full 198-tool catalog for agent self-discovery
`mcp://document/active`	Currently active document info

🎯 Use Cases

🏢 Agency Production

"Create a 200-page catalog from this CSV. Product name in 14pt Arial Bold, price in 12pt Arial Regular, description in 10pt. Add a red 'SALE' badge on page 1, 50, 100, 150. Export as PDF."

📚 Book Publishing

"Import this Word document. Map Heading 1 to 'Chapter Title' style, Normal to 'Body Text'. Add running headers with page numbers. Generate a TOC. Export to PDF with crop marks."

🎨 Creative Automation

"Take this InDesign template and generate 50 variations with different colors and text from this spreadsheet. Export each as a separate PDF."

🏭 Print Production

"Check all 200 files for missing fonts and broken links. Fix them. Export as PDF/X-1a."

🔄 Continuous Publishing

"Every morning at 8am, update the daily newspaper template with fresh content from our CMS, preflight, and upload to the web server."

⚡ Quick Start (30 seconds)

Two halves: the server your agent runs — one line from npm, no clone and no build — and the bridge that reaches InDesign on this machine.

1️⃣ Connect InDesign

The server listens on 127.0.0.1:8120; something still has to drive InDesign. Pick by platform:

macOS — with the UXP panel (also emits change events)

Open UXP Developer Tool
Load the plugin/ directory — it ships in this repository, so clone it once: git clone https://github.com/nutriandrea/adobe-indesign-mcp (no build step)
Open the MCP Bridge panel — it connects on its own

macOS — without the panel

git clone https://github.com/nutriandrea/adobe-indesign-mcp
cd adobe-indesign-mcp
npm install            # gives the proxy its `ws` dependency; nothing to build
./start-bridge.sh      # launches InDesign, then the JXA proxy

Windows — no bridge process. The COM bridge drives InDesign in-process, so Windows needs neither the clone nor a second process; it is enabled by the env var in the config you use in step 2 (see examples/claude-desktop.windows.json). See WINDOWS.md for the details and caveats.

2️⃣ Connect your AI agent

Both hosts start the same published package — nothing to clone, nothing to build.

Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "indesign-nutria-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

OpenCode (project opencode.json, or the same block in ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "indesign": {
        "type": "local",
        "command": ["npx", "-y", "indesign-nutria-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

On OpenCode the servers live under mcp.servers, not mcpServers, and the command is an array — that is the documented V2 shape.

Ready-made files for Claude Desktop, Cursor and Claude Code — including the Windows COM variant — are in examples/. Each one is copy-paste.

3️⃣ Start creating

🤖 "Create a landscape A3 document with 3 pages."
🤖 "Add a blue rectangle covering the top half of page 1."
🤖 "In the rectangle, add text 'Hello World' in white, Arial Bold 72pt."
🤖 "Export page 1 as JPG."

📝 Notes for MCP client developers

Building a custom client (script, harness, test runner) against this server? Two lessons from real-world integration:

Pitfall	Fix
Large responses arrive split across stdout chunks. `preview_document` at 150ppi returns ~100+ KB of base64 — more than one pipe chunk. Parsing each `data` event with `JSON.parse(chunk)` silently drops the pieces and the call appears to hang forever.	Accumulate stdin into a buffer and only `JSON.parse` complete newline-delimited lines: `buf += chunk; while ((i = buf.indexOf('\n')) >= 0) { parse(buf.slice(0, i)); buf = buf.slice(i + 1); }`
Image tools return `image` content, not `text`. `preview_document` responds with `{ type: 'image', mimeType: 'image/png', data: '<base64>' }` — reading `.text` yields `undefined`.	Read the base64 payload from `content[0].data` (check `content[0].type`).

Every message is a single-line JSON-RPC object terminated by \n; there is no framing beyond the newline.

🆕 What's New in v1.6.0

Fixed

⚠️	Read this before you script
The layout skill named tools that do not exist	`skills/indesign/indesign-mcp-layout/SKILL.md` advertised an `mcp_indesign_*` prefix the registry never used, and pointed connectivity checks at `health_check` and `list_ai_skills` — neither is registered by any handler. A skill is instruction, so naming a tool that does not resolve sends a model into a second failure on top of the one it was recovering from.

Change	What it means for you
The skill names real tools now	It points at the bare tool names the registry actually exposes, and documents the read-only resources (`mcp://bridge/status` and friends), which never touch InDesign and cost no round-trip.
Skills are guarded like the instructions are	`tests/unit/skillGuidance.test.ts` walks every `SKILL.md` under `skills/` and `marketplace/` and fails on a tool name the registry does not know — and on a skill whose frontmatter `name` disagrees with its folder. Regression-proven against the bug above.
Marketplace counts are checked too	`verify:tool-counts` now reads the markdown under `marketplace/`, so the number quoted to a buyer is checked alongside the README, `llms.txt` and the package description.

Added

Change	What it means for you
Client configs	`examples/` holds copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop (macOS, and the Windows COM variant), Cursor and Claude Code, plus `examples/README.md`.
Registry and bundle metadata	`server.json` — generated from `package.json` and gated by `verify:server-json` — and `mcpb/manifest.json`, so the MCP Registry and an MCP Bundle can be published from the same release.
Release automation	`release.yml` takes a tag through `verify` and `verify:pack`, publishes to npm with provenance, builds the `.mcpb` and attaches it to the GitHub Release with the CHANGELOG notes. `publish-mcp-registry.yml` chains off the release, so the registry never advertises a version npm does not have. `validate-release-tag.sh` refuses a tag that disagrees with `package.json` or has no CHANGELOG section.
A packaged companion skill	`marketplace/agensi/` prepares the skill for a third-party marketplace, with `npm run build:agensi` asserting the archive shape the reviewer requires — one top-level folder, `SKILL.md` at its root, text files only. Like `mcpb/`, it does not ship to npm.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Pass `document_id` — don't trust the front tab	Every tool takes an optional `document_id`: a document name (as `document_listOpen` reports it) or a 0-based index. With more than one document open the front tab is not reliably the intended target, and a call that lands on the wrong document edits the wrong file. Call `document_getState`, then pass `document_id` on everything that follows.

Change	What it means for you
`document_id` on every tool	198 tools, one extra optional parameter. Omit it and a tool acts on the front document — exactly the previous behaviour, so nothing you already send changes.
A target that is not open fails loudly	`document_id 'Gone.indd' is not open. Open documents: A.indd, B.indd`, classified `document_not_found` and suggesting `document_listOpen`. Previously the script silently edited whichever document happened to be frontmost.
One shared resolver	`app.activeDocument` was written inline in 197 places across 32 handlers; `__resolveDocument()` is now injected with every script and every document-scoped handler resolves through it, so the target holds for the whole call — even if the front tab changes mid-script.
Safe by construction	`document_id` reaches InDesign as a JSON string literal and is matched by name, so it is never executable. It is bound per call in `AsyncLocalStorage`, so a call that awaits before dispatching cannot be hijacked by a concurrent one.

Changed

Change	What it means for you
The "pin the document" advice is now executable	The connect-time contract used to tell the host to ask which document was meant. It now names `document_id` and how to pass it, and the shipped `indesign-mcp-layout` skill points at it too.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Failures now tell you how to recover	A failing call returns a JSON envelope `{ ok: false, code, message, suggested_next_tool?, suggested_args? }` instead of prose. Branch on `code`, and call `suggested_next_tool` when it is present rather than guessing.
State before action	`document_getState` returns the front document's geometry, its index, every open document, the active layer and the selection count in one round-trip. Call it before mutating instead of assembling that state from four separate calls.
A recipe is one call, not a chain	`recipe_flowTextStory` places a text file and flows it across pages; `recipe_exportPreset` applies a named PDF preset and exports. Measured live, the flow cost 1 call / 215 bytes against 6 calls / 786 bytes for the nearest atomic chain — which cannot place the text at all.

Change	What it means for you
Structured error envelopes	Sixteen failure classes, each with a `suggested_next_tool` checked against the live registry (a bad frame index suggests `document_getInfo`; a timeout suggests `document_listOpen`). ExtendScript errors carry `line`, `file` and `stack`.
A workflow contract on connect	The server advertises roughly 680 tokens of `instructions` — bridge bootstrap, state-before-action, the `document_close` save trap, the error-envelope shape and undo grouping.
`document_getState`	One round-trip replaces the `document_getInfo` + `document_listOpen` + layer + selection sequence.
`preview_document` takes `documentIndex`	Render any open document, not only the front one. Exports are capped at 4 MB and re-rendered once at a fitting resolution before failing with `output_too_large`.
Two new recipes	`recipe_flowTextStory` and `recipe_exportPreset`, bringing the catalog to 197.
Opt-in success envelope	`RESPONSE_ENVELOPE_SUCCESS` (or `responseEnvelope.success`) wraps successful results as `{ ok: true, ... }`, so a single key covers success and failure. Off by default, because it changes the response shape.
A smaller, correct package	A `files` allowlist replaces the `.npmignore` denylist: 1.6 MB unpacked, down from 4.4 MB — and the `bridge-proxy.mjs` that the macOS launcher execs is now actually shipped.

Changed

Change	What it means for you
Error responses are JSON text	The failure message is preserved verbatim inside the envelope; `isError: true` is unchanged.
`document_close` defaults `saveOptions` to `"no"`	`"ask"` raised a modal save dialog that blocked until the bridge timed out and could leave InDesign wedged; `"no"` cannot prompt. Call `document_save` first when you want the work kept.

Fixed

Fix	What it means
Every call after `undo_beginGroup` failed	`wrapExtendScript` set `app.scriptPreferences.undoMode`, a property InDesign does not have. Undo groups now run through `app.doScript(..., UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT)`.
`undo`, `redo` and `undo_history` threw on every call	They read `document.undoable` / `document.redoable`, which are not part of the DOM.
The server reported itself as v1.0.0	Four releases after v1.0.0 it advertised the old literal on `initialize`. `SERVER_VERSION` is now the single source of truth, and two gates keep it honest.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Prefer the typed tools	`export_executeScript` and `script_run` have no cancellation. A hung script leaves the bridge busy and every later call queues behind it until the host restarts. Loops, font enumeration and multi-mutation probes belong in the typed tools, which validate arguments and time out. See skills/indesign/indesign-mcp-layout.

Change	What it means for you
The bridge protocol is now canonical	Responses are `{ type: 'result', id, result }` or `{ type: 'error', id, error }`. Legacy `success`/`response` types are still accepted on input, but an unknown type with a valid `id` is now an explicit error instead of a silently resolved promise.
Plugin-free macOS setup	`start-bridge.sh` launches InDesign and the JXA proxy — no UXP panel to load.
The JXA proxy no longer blocks or corrupts	Scripts reach `osascript` through a temp file instead of shell-quoted `-e` strings, and execution is asynchronous with a FIFO queue. A script containing a quote, backslash or newline can no longer be mangled, and the MCP server keeps answering while InDesign works.
Configurable InDesign version	`INDESIGN_APP` replaces the hardcoded "Adobe InDesign 2024" process name.
The panel connects itself	The MCP Bridge panel connects on open, so there is no Connect click to miss.
InDesign 2026 anchoring	Creating an anchored object no longer depends on `move()`, which 2026 rejects for insertion-point targets.
The shipped config starts everywhere	It declared the wrong MCP transport and would have aborted startup on macOS and Linux had it enabled the Windows COM bridge. Both are now covered by a test.

Change	What it means for you
Agent vision: `preview_document`	Render any page as an image the agent can actually see — layout mistakes get caught in the loop, not after export.
Batch PDF: `export_batchFolder`	Export every `.indd` in a folder to PDF in one call, with per-file results.
Windows COM bridge	Run with zero plugins via `COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=true`. See WINDOWS.md.
Hardened file paths	Every file-touching tool validates paths up front — traversal attempts (`..`) and system directories are rejected before InDesign ever sees them (now 11 guarded call sites).

Change	What it means for you
InDesign 2026 ready	Color and anchored-object tools work on 2026's renamed enums — no more silent failures after upgrading.
Real env var config	Every setting in `.env.example` is now honored: `BRIDGE_PORT`, `HTTP_BRIDGE_ENABLED`, `LOG_LEVEL`, … Invalid values never block startup.
No more 30s hangs	If the plugin isn't connected, tool calls fail instantly with "Bridge is not connected" instead of timing out.
One escaping path	All handlers share a single battle-tested ExtendScript string escaper.
Hardened path validation	File-path checks now use true containment (no prefix-collision escapes).
Honest status	`getStatus().connected` reflects actual plugin connectivity, and CI enforces coverage gates.

Feature	Tools	What it solves
Text formatting read	`text_getFormatting`	Get font/size/style per text range. No more custom scripts.
Character style apply	`text_applyCharStyle`	Apply to a range in one call.
Font apply	`text_applyFont`	Apply font family/style/size to a range.
Text search	`text_search`, `text_searchFormatting`	GREP + format-aware search with paragraph-relative positions.
Story→Page map	`document_getPageStories`, `document_getStoryPages`	Which stories are on which pages.
Undo groups	`undo_beginGroup`, `undo_endGroup`	Group operations into one undo step.
Debug mode	`script_run(code, debug=true)`	Full ExtendScript stack traces.
BOM filtering	Text reads	`\ufeff` and `\u0004` filtered by default.
Timeout/maxResults	`text_getStories`, etc.	Custom limits for large documents.
MCP resources	`mcp://tools/inventory`	Agent auto-discovers all tools.

⚙️ Configuration

All settings have defaults — zero config required. To customize, copy .env.example to .env or pass a JSON file; environment variables win over the file:

BRIDGE_PORT=8120            # WebSocket port the UXP plugin connects to
HTTP_BRIDGE_ENABLED=false   # optional REST fallback bridge
HTTP_BRIDGE_PORT=3000
SERVER_TRANSPORT=stdio      # stdio | websocket
LOG_LEVEL=info              # debug | info | warn | error
COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=false    # Windows only: drive InDesign over COM, no plugin
RESPONSE_ENVELOPE_SUCCESS=false  # wrap successful results as { ok: true, ... }

The plugin-free macOS proxy takes its own variables:

INDESIGN_APP="Adobe InDesign 2026"     # matches your installed version
BRIDGE_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:8120
BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=120000               # a long export is not a hang
BRIDGE_RECONNECT_DELAY_MS=3000

Precedence: environment variables > JSON config file > defaults. Invalid values are ignored, never fatal.

🪟 Windows

Two ways to run on Windows: the standard UXP plugin flow (identical to macOS) or the new opt-in COM bridge that needs no plugin at all. See WINDOWS.md.

📦 Project Structure

├── src/
│   ├── server/          # MCP server (STDIO transport)
│   ├── bridge/          # WebSocket bridge, ScriptExecutor, protocol, COM executor
│   ├── handlers/        # 34 handler modules (198 tools)
│   ├── schemas/         # Zod parameter schemas
│   ├── core/            # Session tracking
│   ├── types/           # TypeScript definitions
│   └── utils/           # Config, logger, security, JSON polyfill
├── plugin/              # UXP panel (index.html, index.js, manifest.json)
├── examples/            # Copy-paste client configs (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code)
├── mcpb/                # MCP Bundle manifest (npm run build:mcpb packs the archive)
├── server.json          # MCP Registry manifest (generated from package.json)
├── llms.txt             # llms.txt index for agents and directories
├── bridge-proxy.mjs     # Plugin-free macOS proxy (JXA/osascript)
├── jxa-driver.js        # Runs one ExtendScript inside InDesign
├── start-bridge.sh      # Launches InDesign + the proxy
├── skills/              # Agent-facing skills shipped with the server
├── marketplace/         # Store listings that package a skill for third-party channels
├── tests/               # 1131 tests (vitest)
├── .opencode/skills/    # 10 AI agent skills
├── docs/                # Documentation and fork audits
├── media/               # Social preview, hero images
├── dist/                # Compiled output
└── opencode.json        # MCP configuration

📋 Requirements

Requirement	Version
Adobe InDesign	2022+ (2024/2025/2026 recommended)
Node.js	18+
OS	macOS or Windows (Linux can run the MCP server, but no InDesign automation path exists there)

🧪 Development

npm test            # Run 1131 tests
npm run test:watch  # Watch mode
npm run build       # TypeScript compile
npm run lint        # ESLint

Live smoke test (macOS)

npm run smoke:macos

npm test covers the handlers, the protocol and the startup sequence, but it cannot see the seams between the four separate processes on the plugin-free macOS path. That gap is not hypothetical: 965 tests once passed against a build whose bridge never listened on its port, so every tool call failed in the field and nothing went red.

smoke:macos drives the real chain — MCP stdio → WebSocket bridge → JXA proxy → InDesign — against a running InDesign, creating a document, writing to it, reading it back, and closing it. It creates one unsaved document and cleans up after itself. It needs a desktop app, so it is not part of npm test and does not run on CI; it exits 0 with a SKIP notice if InDesign is not open.

Run it by hand before releasing a change to the bridge, the protocol, the proxy or the driver.

npm run smoke:recipes   # the live gate for the two recipes

smoke:recipes does what the unit tests cannot: it flows a long text file with recipe_flowTextStory, checks the document grew by exactly what the tool reported, calls undo once to confirm the whole flow is a single undo step, then exercises both preset paths of recipe_exportPreset. Same rules as above — needs a desktop app, exits 0 with a SKIP notice when InDesign is closed.

npm run smoke:target    # the live gate for document_id

smoke:target opens two documents and proves the thing document_id is for: a call that names the non-front document edits that document and leaves the front one alone. It then checks index targeting, that omitting document_id still acts on the front document (the additive guarantee), that an unopened target arrives as a document_not_found envelope suggesting document_listOpen, and that a hostile document_id is inert rather than executed. It closes only the documents it created, never saves, and leaves every pre-existing document untouched. Same rules as above — needs a desktop app, exits 0 with a SKIP notice when InDesign is closed.

🗺️ Roadmap

InDesign Server — headless server support for CI/CD pipelines
Live preview — stream InDesign canvas to agent
Template marketplace — share and discover InDesign templates
Natural language → layout — describe a page, get a page
Batch PDF processing — apply changes across hundreds of files
VSCode extension — control InDesign from your editor

📚 Deep Dives

Architecture — the four-process macOS path, request lifecycle, error contract
Available tools — every tool, generated from the registry
Troubleshooting — modal hangs, port conflicts, missing fonts, blocked scripts
Development — build, test, and the live smoke test
Origin Story — how this project came to life
Comparison docs — MCP vs CEP vs ExtendScript in depth
Launch thread — social launch content

🤝 Contributing

PRs welcome! The handler pattern is designed to be simple:

Create src/handlers/YourHandler.ts
Define tools with Zod schemas
Register in IndesignMcpServer.ts
Add tests

Check CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

🙏 Acknowledgements

This server is a merge of what four people found in the field. Each of these contributions fixed something that was genuinely broken, not a cosmetic preference.

@graydini — built the Windows COM bridge that this project runs on today: a persistent cscript process holding one live COM connection, NEVER_INTERACT so export dialogs can never block, and the path-containment hardening in validateFilePath. See PR #1 and the PR #21 merge. Also reported the InDesign 2026 API incompatibilities that shaped official Windows support: renamed and read-only ColorModel and AnchorPoint enums, and move() no longer accepting InsertionPoint targets. Earlier fixes from the same line of work landed on main as safe basedOn/pointSize reads in style listing, rich style-creation parameters, \n → paragraph-break normalization in text content, and an eval-free JSON polyfill that survives the ExtendScript sanitizer. Their branch also carried COM-specific operational knowledge — that a hung script wedges the Windows bridge with no way out, that fontFamily, italic and weight throw under COM, and that InDesign must be visibly running — now documented in WINDOWS.md and the layout skill. A file-by-file audit of what was still unmerged is in docs/forks/graydini-windows-com-bridge-audit.md.
@advaitakelkar — diagnosed why the macOS proxy returned junk, in PR #22. Three real bugs in one report: osascript sends script results on stderr, so every successful call was read as a failure; the script was passed through shell -e quoting, which mangles any quote, backslash or newline; and the app name was hardcoded to "Adobe InDesign 2024", so every other version failed. The same work also moved the connection handshake out of app.doScript, where it was being parsed as ExtendScript. Adopted and extended — see What's New in v1.4.2.
@ijeetu — two fixes, both easy to miss and both real. The MCP Bridge panel now connects on open instead of waiting for a Connect click, so the panel no longer looks dead when the server is already running. Earlier, they traced a parse failure in the JSON polyfill to sanitizeCode() rewriting eval( into a comment and orphaning the parentheses — the shipped wrapExtendScript already reflects that fix.

📄 License

MIT © Andrea Cacioppo

Published to npm as indesign-nutria-mcp. Your agent starts it with npx -y indesign-nutria-mcp — see Quick Start. InDesign still runs on your machine: the server reaches it over a local bridge, and nothing leaves the box.

🚀 Why This Exists

InDesign automation has been broken for 20 years. ExtendScript is ancient. CEP panels are over-engineered. UXP scripting requires a CS degree. You just want AI to do the layout.

This MCP server fixes that. Clone it, point your agent at it, and InDesign is yours to drive like a puppeteer.

🆚 MCP vs The Old Ways

	MCP (this)	ExtendScript	CEP Panels	UXP Scripts	Manual
Learn in	30 seconds	3 weeks	2 months	1 month	0 (slow)
AI-native	✅ Any MCP agent	❌	❌	❌	❌
Tool count	198	Unlimited (you write them)	5-20 typical	5-20 typical	∞ (manual)
Error messages	Human-readable	Opaque crashes	Varies	Better	N/A
Setup time	5 minutes	10 minutes	2 hours	30 minutes	Instant
Undo support	✅ Built-in	❌	Varies	❌	✅
Search text	`text_search("pattern")`	Write 50 lines	Maybe	Maybe	Ctrl+F
Debug mode	✅ Stack traces	❌	Varies	Limited	N/A
Remote control	✅ Anywhere STDIO works	❌ InDesign-only	❌	❌	N/A
Maintenance	Zero (we handle 198 tools)	You write+test everything	Fragile	Fragile	N/A

✨ What It Can Do

📝 Text & Typography (27 tools)

🎨 Shapes & Objects (20 tools)

Rectangles, ellipses, polygons, lines, groups, anchored objects — create, modify, delete, list, arrange.

🖼️ Images (5 tools)

Place from disk, query metadata, fit/proportional, adjust brightness/contrast, relink.

🎭 Colors & Swatches (6 tools)

CMYK/RGB/LAB/spot swatches, ink list, gradients, apply to fill/stroke.

📄 Pages & Documents (15 tools)

Create, open, save, close, getInfo, listOpen — plus page add/delete/duplicate/move/getInfo/listAll/applyMaster, sections.

📊 Tables (20 tools)

Create, set cells, add/delete rows/columns, merge/split, alignment, fills, strokes, insets, header/footer, row/column sizing, table styles, cell styles.

🧬 Styles (10 tools)

Paragraph, character, object styles — create, list, duplicate, delete, apply.

🏗️ Masters & Books (10 tools)

Master spreads — create, duplicate, apply, delete, list, getPages. Books — list, open, getDocuments, synchronize.

📤 Export (9 tools)

PDF, EPUB, HTML, JPG, PNG, package — plus preflight, font/swatch/table lists, and script_run() for custom ExtendScript.

🔍 Find & Replace (5 tools)

GREP find/replace, format-aware find/replace.

🔄 Transform (5 tools)

Align, distribute, rotate, scale, flip.

🔗 Interactive (5 tools)

Hyperlinks, buttons, cross-reference anchors.

📚 References (10 tools)

Footnotes, endnotes, cross-references, index entries/topics/generation.

📋 Lists (6 tools)

Define, apply to paragraph/selection, remove, restart numbering.

🧩 XML & Data Merge (11 tools)

XML tags, import/export, data merge with CSV/TSV/XML sources.

🔧 Other

Layers, effects (drop shadow, feather, transparency), TOC, sections, undo/redo, undo groups.

🧠 Included AI Skills

Ten skills ship with the repo, auto-loaded by trigger keywords when you use any AI agent:

#	Skill	What it does for you
1	Aesthetic Preference	Asks 8 questions before any creative work — font, palette, style, margins. Builds a persistent JSON profile.
2	Layout Readability	Validates overlays, contrast, orphans/widows, hierarchy, spacing, overflow before delivery.
3	Export & Verify	Mandatory modify → export JPG → analyze pixels → fix → repeat cycle.
4	Import Word	Imports `.docx`, maps Word styles to InDesign paragraph styles.
5	Batch Operations	Applies the same modification across N pages.
6	Image Optimize	Place, resize, DPI check, relink. Profiles for print (300dpi CMYK) vs web (72dpi RGB).
7	Table Format	Creates and styles tables — columns, rows, borders, fills, merge cells.
8	Template Manager	Save/load reusable page templates.
9	Export Batch	Export same document to multiple formats at once with different profiles.
10	Style Extractor	Scans `.indd` files, extracts full style profile (fonts, colors, styles, masters, margins) as JSON, replicates on new layout.

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────┐       STDIO        ┌──────────────────────┐     WebSocket     ┌──────────────────┐
│  Any AI Agent       │ ◄────────────────► │  indesign-nutria-mcp │ ◄───────────────► │  Adobe InDesign   │
│  (Claude, OpenCode, │                    │  (Node.js MCP Server) │     port 8120     │  + UXP Plugin     │
│   Cursor, etc.)     │                    │  34 handlers         │                    │  + ExtendScript    │
└─────────────────────┘                    │  198 tools           │                    └──────────────────┘
                                           │  10 AI skills        │
                                           └──────────────────────┘

Two ways to reach InDesign

The MCP protocol always speaks stdio. Only the last hop differs, and you pick one per platform:

	macOS	Windows
With plugin	UXP panel in `plugin/`	UXP panel in `plugin/`
Without plugin	`node bridge-proxy.mjs` (JXA/osascript)	`COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=true` (in-process COM)

Full breakdown: the four macOS processes, the request lifecycle, the error contract and the trust boundaries are in docs/architecture.md.

Full Handler Catalog

Handler	Tools	Key Features
AnchoredObject	5	create, getSettings, release, setPosition, setProperties
Book	4	list, open, getDocuments, synchronize
Changes	1	getStatus — what changed since T?, without touching InDesign
Color	6	swatch CRUD, inks, gradients, apply
DataMerge	5	selectDataSource, listFields, mergeRecords, export, removeDataSource
Document	9	create/open/save/close, getInfo, listOpen, getState, getPageStories, getStoryPages
Effect	4	drop shadow, feather, transparency, gradient feather
Export	11	multi-format export, print packaging, batch folder, preflight, fonts/swatches/tables/masters/XML, executeScript, script_run
Font	5	list, find, change, missing check, glyph insert
Grep	4	find, replace, findFormat, replaceFormat
Image	5	place, info, adjust, fit, relink
Index	4	addEntry, createTopic, generate, listTopics
Interactive	5	hyperlinks, buttons, anchors
Layer	5	create, delete, list, reorder, setProperties
List	6	define, apply, remove, restart numbering
Master	6	create, duplicate, apply, delete, list, getPages
Note	4	footnotes, endnotes
Object	6	shapes, groups, image links
Page	7	add, delete, duplicate, move, getInfo, listAll, applyMaster
Preview	1	document — render a page as an image the agent can see
Recipe	2	flow a placed text story across pages, export with a named PDF preset — each in one undo group
Resources	6	list/update/embed/unembed links, getLinkInfo
Section	4	create, list, setNumbering, delete
Shape	6	rectangle/ellipse/line/polygon create, delete, modify
Style	7	paragraph/character/object styles CRUD
Table	16	create, cells, rows/columns, merge/split, alignment, fills, strokes, header/footer
TableStyle	4	tableStyle, cellStyle CRUD
Text	7	frames, content, stories, findReplace, BOM filtering, timeout
TextAdvanced	20	columns, wrap, links, drop caps, rules, tabs, formatting read/write, search
Toc	4	createStyle, generate, update, listStyles
Transform	5	align, distribute, rotate, scale, flip
Undo	5	undo, redo, history, beginGroup, endGroup
Xml	6	tags CRUD, tag/untag items, import/export
Xref	3	create, list, updateFormat
	198	34 handlers, no duplicates

tests/contract/toolInventory.test.ts pins this number, so the table cannot drift from the code without failing CI.

Closing documents from an agent? document_close defaults to saveOptions: "no" — the only value that cannot raise a modal dialog. "ask" opens a save prompt, and "yes" opens a Save As dialog for a document that was never saved; both block the script until the bridge times out. Save first with document_save { filePath }, then close.

MCP Resources

URI	What it gives you
`mcp://session/status`	Active document session state
`mcp://bridge/status`	WebSocket bridge health + queue depth
`mcp://tools/inventory`	Full 198-tool catalog for agent self-discovery
`mcp://document/active`	Currently active document info

🎯 Use Cases

🏢 Agency Production

"Create a 200-page catalog from this CSV. Product name in 14pt Arial Bold, price in 12pt Arial Regular, description in 10pt. Add a red 'SALE' badge on page 1, 50, 100, 150. Export as PDF."

📚 Book Publishing

"Import this Word document. Map Heading 1 to 'Chapter Title' style, Normal to 'Body Text'. Add running headers with page numbers. Generate a TOC. Export to PDF with crop marks."

🎨 Creative Automation

"Take this InDesign template and generate 50 variations with different colors and text from this spreadsheet. Export each as a separate PDF."

🏭 Print Production

"Check all 200 files for missing fonts and broken links. Fix them. Export as PDF/X-1a."

🔄 Continuous Publishing

"Every morning at 8am, update the daily newspaper template with fresh content from our CMS, preflight, and upload to the web server."

⚡ Quick Start (30 seconds)

Two halves: the server your agent runs — one line from npm, no clone and no build — and the bridge that reaches InDesign on this machine.

1️⃣ Connect InDesign

The server listens on 127.0.0.1:8120; something still has to drive InDesign. Pick by platform:

macOS — with the UXP panel (also emits change events)

Open UXP Developer Tool
Load the plugin/ directory — it ships in this repository, so clone it once: git clone https://github.com/nutriandrea/adobe-indesign-mcp (no build step)
Open the MCP Bridge panel — it connects on its own

macOS — without the panel

git clone https://github.com/nutriandrea/adobe-indesign-mcp
cd adobe-indesign-mcp
npm install            # gives the proxy its `ws` dependency; nothing to build
./start-bridge.sh      # launches InDesign, then the JXA proxy

2️⃣ Connect your AI agent

Both hosts start the same published package — nothing to clone, nothing to build.

Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "indesign-nutria-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

OpenCode (project opencode.json, or the same block in ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "indesign": {
        "type": "local",
        "command": ["npx", "-y", "indesign-nutria-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

On OpenCode the servers live under mcp.servers, not mcpServers, and the command is an array — that is the documented V2 shape.

Ready-made files for Claude Desktop, Cursor and Claude Code — including the Windows COM variant — are in examples/. Each one is copy-paste.

3️⃣ Start creating

🤖 "Create a landscape A3 document with 3 pages."
🤖 "Add a blue rectangle covering the top half of page 1."
🤖 "In the rectangle, add text 'Hello World' in white, Arial Bold 72pt."
🤖 "Export page 1 as JPG."

📝 Notes for MCP client developers

Building a custom client (script, harness, test runner) against this server? Two lessons from real-world integration:

Pitfall	Fix
Large responses arrive split across stdout chunks. `preview_document` at 150ppi returns ~100+ KB of base64 — more than one pipe chunk. Parsing each `data` event with `JSON.parse(chunk)` silently drops the pieces and the call appears to hang forever.	Accumulate stdin into a buffer and only `JSON.parse` complete newline-delimited lines: `buf += chunk; while ((i = buf.indexOf('\n')) >= 0) { parse(buf.slice(0, i)); buf = buf.slice(i + 1); }`
Image tools return `image` content, not `text`. `preview_document` responds with `{ type: 'image', mimeType: 'image/png', data: '<base64>' }` — reading `.text` yields `undefined`.	Read the base64 payload from `content[0].data` (check `content[0].type`).

Every message is a single-line JSON-RPC object terminated by \n; there is no framing beyond the newline.

🆕 What's New in v1.6.0

Fixed

⚠️	Read this before you script
The layout skill named tools that do not exist	`skills/indesign/indesign-mcp-layout/SKILL.md` advertised an `mcp_indesign_*` prefix the registry never used, and pointed connectivity checks at `health_check` and `list_ai_skills` — neither is registered by any handler. A skill is instruction, so naming a tool that does not resolve sends a model into a second failure on top of the one it was recovering from.

Change	What it means for you
The skill names real tools now	It points at the bare tool names the registry actually exposes, and documents the read-only resources (`mcp://bridge/status` and friends), which never touch InDesign and cost no round-trip.
Skills are guarded like the instructions are	`tests/unit/skillGuidance.test.ts` walks every `SKILL.md` under `skills/` and `marketplace/` and fails on a tool name the registry does not know — and on a skill whose frontmatter `name` disagrees with its folder. Regression-proven against the bug above.
Marketplace counts are checked too	`verify:tool-counts` now reads the markdown under `marketplace/`, so the number quoted to a buyer is checked alongside the README, `llms.txt` and the package description.

Added

Change	What it means for you
Client configs	`examples/` holds copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop (macOS, and the Windows COM variant), Cursor and Claude Code, plus `examples/README.md`.
Registry and bundle metadata	`server.json` — generated from `package.json` and gated by `verify:server-json` — and `mcpb/manifest.json`, so the MCP Registry and an MCP Bundle can be published from the same release.
Release automation	`release.yml` takes a tag through `verify` and `verify:pack`, publishes to npm with provenance, builds the `.mcpb` and attaches it to the GitHub Release with the CHANGELOG notes. `publish-mcp-registry.yml` chains off the release, so the registry never advertises a version npm does not have. `validate-release-tag.sh` refuses a tag that disagrees with `package.json` or has no CHANGELOG section.
A packaged companion skill	`marketplace/agensi/` prepares the skill for a third-party marketplace, with `npm run build:agensi` asserting the archive shape the reviewer requires — one top-level folder, `SKILL.md` at its root, text files only. Like `mcpb/`, it does not ship to npm.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Pass `document_id` — don't trust the front tab	Every tool takes an optional `document_id`: a document name (as `document_listOpen` reports it) or a 0-based index. With more than one document open the front tab is not reliably the intended target, and a call that lands on the wrong document edits the wrong file. Call `document_getState`, then pass `document_id` on everything that follows.

Change	What it means for you
`document_id` on every tool	198 tools, one extra optional parameter. Omit it and a tool acts on the front document — exactly the previous behaviour, so nothing you already send changes.
A target that is not open fails loudly	`document_id 'Gone.indd' is not open. Open documents: A.indd, B.indd`, classified `document_not_found` and suggesting `document_listOpen`. Previously the script silently edited whichever document happened to be frontmost.
One shared resolver	`app.activeDocument` was written inline in 197 places across 32 handlers; `__resolveDocument()` is now injected with every script and every document-scoped handler resolves through it, so the target holds for the whole call — even if the front tab changes mid-script.
Safe by construction	`document_id` reaches InDesign as a JSON string literal and is matched by name, so it is never executable. It is bound per call in `AsyncLocalStorage`, so a call that awaits before dispatching cannot be hijacked by a concurrent one.

Changed

Change	What it means for you
The "pin the document" advice is now executable	The connect-time contract used to tell the host to ask which document was meant. It now names `document_id` and how to pass it, and the shipped `indesign-mcp-layout` skill points at it too.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Failures now tell you how to recover	A failing call returns a JSON envelope `{ ok: false, code, message, suggested_next_tool?, suggested_args? }` instead of prose. Branch on `code`, and call `suggested_next_tool` when it is present rather than guessing.
State before action	`document_getState` returns the front document's geometry, its index, every open document, the active layer and the selection count in one round-trip. Call it before mutating instead of assembling that state from four separate calls.
A recipe is one call, not a chain	`recipe_flowTextStory` places a text file and flows it across pages; `recipe_exportPreset` applies a named PDF preset and exports. Measured live, the flow cost 1 call / 215 bytes against 6 calls / 786 bytes for the nearest atomic chain — which cannot place the text at all.

Change	What it means for you
Structured error envelopes	Sixteen failure classes, each with a `suggested_next_tool` checked against the live registry (a bad frame index suggests `document_getInfo`; a timeout suggests `document_listOpen`). ExtendScript errors carry `line`, `file` and `stack`.
A workflow contract on connect	The server advertises roughly 680 tokens of `instructions` — bridge bootstrap, state-before-action, the `document_close` save trap, the error-envelope shape and undo grouping.
`document_getState`	One round-trip replaces the `document_getInfo` + `document_listOpen` + layer + selection sequence.
`preview_document` takes `documentIndex`	Render any open document, not only the front one. Exports are capped at 4 MB and re-rendered once at a fitting resolution before failing with `output_too_large`.
Two new recipes	`recipe_flowTextStory` and `recipe_exportPreset`, bringing the catalog to 197.
Opt-in success envelope	`RESPONSE_ENVELOPE_SUCCESS` (or `responseEnvelope.success`) wraps successful results as `{ ok: true, ... }`, so a single key covers success and failure. Off by default, because it changes the response shape.
A smaller, correct package	A `files` allowlist replaces the `.npmignore` denylist: 1.6 MB unpacked, down from 4.4 MB — and the `bridge-proxy.mjs` that the macOS launcher execs is now actually shipped.

Changed

Change	What it means for you
Error responses are JSON text	The failure message is preserved verbatim inside the envelope; `isError: true` is unchanged.
`document_close` defaults `saveOptions` to `"no"`	`"ask"` raised a modal save dialog that blocked until the bridge timed out and could leave InDesign wedged; `"no"` cannot prompt. Call `document_save` first when you want the work kept.

Fixed

Fix	What it means
Every call after `undo_beginGroup` failed	`wrapExtendScript` set `app.scriptPreferences.undoMode`, a property InDesign does not have. Undo groups now run through `app.doScript(..., UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT)`.
`undo`, `redo` and `undo_history` threw on every call	They read `document.undoable` / `document.redoable`, which are not part of the DOM.
The server reported itself as v1.0.0	Four releases after v1.0.0 it advertised the old literal on `initialize`. `SERVER_VERSION` is now the single source of truth, and two gates keep it honest.

For AI agents

⚠️	Read this before you script
Prefer the typed tools	`export_executeScript` and `script_run` have no cancellation. A hung script leaves the bridge busy and every later call queues behind it until the host restarts. Loops, font enumeration and multi-mutation probes belong in the typed tools, which validate arguments and time out. See skills/indesign/indesign-mcp-layout.

Change	What it means for you
The bridge protocol is now canonical	Responses are `{ type: 'result', id, result }` or `{ type: 'error', id, error }`. Legacy `success`/`response` types are still accepted on input, but an unknown type with a valid `id` is now an explicit error instead of a silently resolved promise.
Plugin-free macOS setup	`start-bridge.sh` launches InDesign and the JXA proxy — no UXP panel to load.
The JXA proxy no longer blocks or corrupts	Scripts reach `osascript` through a temp file instead of shell-quoted `-e` strings, and execution is asynchronous with a FIFO queue. A script containing a quote, backslash or newline can no longer be mangled, and the MCP server keeps answering while InDesign works.
Configurable InDesign version	`INDESIGN_APP` replaces the hardcoded "Adobe InDesign 2024" process name.
The panel connects itself	The MCP Bridge panel connects on open, so there is no Connect click to miss.
InDesign 2026 anchoring	Creating an anchored object no longer depends on `move()`, which 2026 rejects for insertion-point targets.
The shipped config starts everywhere	It declared the wrong MCP transport and would have aborted startup on macOS and Linux had it enabled the Windows COM bridge. Both are now covered by a test.

Change	What it means for you
Agent vision: `preview_document`	Render any page as an image the agent can actually see — layout mistakes get caught in the loop, not after export.
Batch PDF: `export_batchFolder`	Export every `.indd` in a folder to PDF in one call, with per-file results.
Windows COM bridge	Run with zero plugins via `COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=true`. See WINDOWS.md.
Hardened file paths	Every file-touching tool validates paths up front — traversal attempts (`..`) and system directories are rejected before InDesign ever sees them (now 11 guarded call sites).

Change	What it means for you
InDesign 2026 ready	Color and anchored-object tools work on 2026's renamed enums — no more silent failures after upgrading.
Real env var config	Every setting in `.env.example` is now honored: `BRIDGE_PORT`, `HTTP_BRIDGE_ENABLED`, `LOG_LEVEL`, … Invalid values never block startup.
No more 30s hangs	If the plugin isn't connected, tool calls fail instantly with "Bridge is not connected" instead of timing out.
One escaping path	All handlers share a single battle-tested ExtendScript string escaper.
Hardened path validation	File-path checks now use true containment (no prefix-collision escapes).
Honest status	`getStatus().connected` reflects actual plugin connectivity, and CI enforces coverage gates.

Feature	Tools	What it solves
Text formatting read	`text_getFormatting`	Get font/size/style per text range. No more custom scripts.
Character style apply	`text_applyCharStyle`	Apply to a range in one call.
Font apply	`text_applyFont`	Apply font family/style/size to a range.
Text search	`text_search`, `text_searchFormatting`	GREP + format-aware search with paragraph-relative positions.
Story→Page map	`document_getPageStories`, `document_getStoryPages`	Which stories are on which pages.
Undo groups	`undo_beginGroup`, `undo_endGroup`	Group operations into one undo step.
Debug mode	`script_run(code, debug=true)`	Full ExtendScript stack traces.
BOM filtering	Text reads	`\ufeff` and `\u0004` filtered by default.
Timeout/maxResults	`text_getStories`, etc.	Custom limits for large documents.
MCP resources	`mcp://tools/inventory`	Agent auto-discovers all tools.

⚙️ Configuration

All settings have defaults — zero config required. To customize, copy .env.example to .env or pass a JSON file; environment variables win over the file:

BRIDGE_PORT=8120            # WebSocket port the UXP plugin connects to
HTTP_BRIDGE_ENABLED=false   # optional REST fallback bridge
HTTP_BRIDGE_PORT=3000
SERVER_TRANSPORT=stdio      # stdio | websocket
LOG_LEVEL=info              # debug | info | warn | error
COM_BRIDGE_ENABLED=false    # Windows only: drive InDesign over COM, no plugin
RESPONSE_ENVELOPE_SUCCESS=false  # wrap successful results as { ok: true, ... }

The plugin-free macOS proxy takes its own variables:

INDESIGN_APP="Adobe InDesign 2026"     # matches your installed version
BRIDGE_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:8120
BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=120000               # a long export is not a hang
BRIDGE_RECONNECT_DELAY_MS=3000

Precedence: environment variables > JSON config file > defaults. Invalid values are ignored, never fatal.

🪟 Windows

Two ways to run on Windows: the standard UXP plugin flow (identical to macOS) or the new opt-in COM bridge that needs no plugin at all. See WINDOWS.md.

📦 Project Structure

├── src/
│   ├── server/          # MCP server (STDIO transport)
│   ├── bridge/          # WebSocket bridge, ScriptExecutor, protocol, COM executor
│   ├── handlers/        # 34 handler modules (198 tools)
│   ├── schemas/         # Zod parameter schemas
│   ├── core/            # Session tracking
│   ├── types/           # TypeScript definitions
│   └── utils/           # Config, logger, security, JSON polyfill
├── plugin/              # UXP panel (index.html, index.js, manifest.json)
├── examples/            # Copy-paste client configs (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code)
├── mcpb/                # MCP Bundle manifest (npm run build:mcpb packs the archive)
├── server.json          # MCP Registry manifest (generated from package.json)
├── llms.txt             # llms.txt index for agents and directories
├── bridge-proxy.mjs     # Plugin-free macOS proxy (JXA/osascript)
├── jxa-driver.js        # Runs one ExtendScript inside InDesign
├── start-bridge.sh      # Launches InDesign + the proxy
├── skills/              # Agent-facing skills shipped with the server
├── marketplace/         # Store listings that package a skill for third-party channels
├── tests/               # 1131 tests (vitest)
├── .opencode/skills/    # 10 AI agent skills
├── docs/                # Documentation and fork audits
├── media/               # Social preview, hero images
├── dist/                # Compiled output
└── opencode.json        # MCP configuration

📋 Requirements

Requirement	Version
Adobe InDesign	2022+ (2024/2025/2026 recommended)
Node.js	18+
OS	macOS or Windows (Linux can run the MCP server, but no InDesign automation path exists there)

🧪 Development

npm test            # Run 1131 tests
npm run test:watch  # Watch mode
npm run build       # TypeScript compile
npm run lint        # ESLint

Live smoke test (macOS)

npm run smoke:macos

Run it by hand before releasing a change to the bridge, the protocol, the proxy or the driver.

npm run smoke:recipes   # the live gate for the two recipes

npm run smoke:target    # the live gate for document_id

🗺️ Roadmap

InDesign Server — headless server support for CI/CD pipelines
Live preview — stream InDesign canvas to agent
Template marketplace — share and discover InDesign templates
Natural language → layout — describe a page, get a page
Batch PDF processing — apply changes across hundreds of files
VSCode extension — control InDesign from your editor

📚 Deep Dives

Architecture — the four-process macOS path, request lifecycle, error contract
Available tools — every tool, generated from the registry
Troubleshooting — modal hangs, port conflicts, missing fonts, blocked scripts
Development — build, test, and the live smoke test
Origin Story — how this project came to life
Comparison docs — MCP vs CEP vs ExtendScript in depth
Launch thread — social launch content

🤝 Contributing

PRs welcome! The handler pattern is designed to be simple:

Create src/handlers/YourHandler.ts
Define tools with Zod schemas
Register in IndesignMcpServer.ts
Add tests

Check CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

🙏 Acknowledgements

This server is a merge of what four people found in the field. Each of these contributions fixed something that was genuinely broken, not a cosmetic preference.

@graydini — built the Windows COM bridge that this project runs on today: a persistent cscript process holding one live COM connection, NEVER_INTERACT so export dialogs can never block, and the path-containment hardening in validateFilePath. See PR #1 and the PR #21 merge. Also reported the InDesign 2026 API incompatibilities that shaped official Windows support: renamed and read-only ColorModel and AnchorPoint enums, and move() no longer accepting InsertionPoint targets. Earlier fixes from the same line of work landed on main as safe basedOn/pointSize reads in style listing, rich style-creation parameters, \n → paragraph-break normalization in text content, and an eval-free JSON polyfill that survives the ExtendScript sanitizer. Their branch also carried COM-specific operational knowledge — that a hung script wedges the Windows bridge with no way out, that fontFamily, italic and weight throw under COM, and that InDesign must be visibly running — now documented in WINDOWS.md and the layout skill. A file-by-file audit of what was still unmerged is in docs/forks/graydini-windows-com-bridge-audit.md.
@advaitakelkar — diagnosed why the macOS proxy returned junk, in PR #22. Three real bugs in one report: osascript sends script results on stderr, so every successful call was read as a failure; the script was passed through shell -e quoting, which mangles any quote, backslash or newline; and the app name was hardcoded to "Adobe InDesign 2024", so every other version failed. The same work also moved the connection handshake out of app.doScript, where it was being parsed as ExtendScript. Adopted and extended — see What's New in v1.4.2.
@ijeetu — two fixes, both easy to miss and both real. The MCP Bridge panel now connects on open instead of waiting for a Connect click, so the panel no longer looks dead when the server is already running. Earlier, they traced a parse failure in the JSON polyfill to sanitizeCode() rewriting eval( into a comment and orphaning the parentheses — the shipped wrapExtendScript already reflects that fix.

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Adobe Indesign?

Does Adobe Indesign need an API key?

What transport does Adobe Indesign use?

When was Adobe Indesign last checked?

Documentation

🚀 Why This Exists

🆚 MCP vs The Old Ways

✨ What It Can Do

📝 Text & Typography (27 tools)

🎨 Shapes & Objects (20 tools)

🖼️ Images (5 tools)

🎭 Colors & Swatches (6 tools)

📄 Pages & Documents (15 tools)

📊 Tables (20 tools)

🧬 Styles (10 tools)

🏗️ Masters & Books (10 tools)

📤 Export (9 tools)

🔍 Find & Replace (5 tools)

🔄 Transform (5 tools)

🔗 Interactive (5 tools)

📚 References (10 tools)

📋 Lists (6 tools)

🧩 XML & Data Merge (11 tools)

🔧 Other

🧠 Included AI Skills

🏗️ Architecture

Two ways to reach InDesign

Full Handler Catalog

MCP Resources

🎯 Use Cases

🏢 Agency Production

📚 Book Publishing

🎨 Creative Automation

🏭 Print Production

🔄 Continuous Publishing

⚡ Quick Start (30 seconds)

1️⃣ Connect InDesign

2️⃣ Connect your AI agent

3️⃣ Start creating

📝 Notes for MCP client developers

🆕 What's New in v1.6.0

Fixed

Added

For AI agents

Changed

For AI agents

Changed

Fixed

For AI agents

⚙️ Configuration

🪟 Windows

📦 Project Structure

📋 Requirements

🧪 Development

Live smoke test (macOS)

🗺️ Roadmap

📚 Deep Dives

🤝 Contributing

🙏 Acknowledgements

📄 License

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Adobe Indesign?

Does Adobe Indesign need an API key?

What transport does Adobe Indesign use?

When was Adobe Indesign last checked?

Documentation

🚀 Why This Exists

🆚 MCP vs The Old Ways

✨ What It Can Do

📝 Text & Typography (27 tools)

🎨 Shapes & Objects (20 tools)