indesign-mcp

MCP server bridging Claude to Adobe InDesign 2026. v1 dispatches ExtendScript via macOS osascript. UXP plugin upgrade deferred to v2.

26 tools live across document lifecycle, text + paragraph styles, visuals & geometry, parent pages & page numbers, inline character styling, frame refinements, and read/utility helpers. Verified by 415 unit tests + 79 live integration tests against InDesign 2026 (21.3.0.60).

See docs/PROJECT_STATE.md for current status, conventions, and what's not yet shipped. See docs/superpowers/specs/ and docs/superpowers/plans/ for the design specs and implementation plans behind each iteration.

Requirements

• macOS
• Node 20+
• Adobe InDesign 2026 (installed; running when tools are called)

Install & build

npm install
npm run build

Test

Unit tests (no InDesign required):

npm test

Integration tests (requires InDesign 2026 running):

npm run test:integration

Wiring up Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/indesign-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Confirm the server appears as connected in the MCP status panel.

Wiring up Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json (or your project's .claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "indesign-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/indesign-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Smoke test

1. Launch InDesign 2026. Wait until the app is idle (no startup dialogs).
2. In Claude (Desktop or Code), ask: "Use the indesign-mcp tool get_app_version and tell me the result."
3. Expected: Claude reports a version string like 21.0 (or higher).

If Claude reports app_not_available, InDesign isn't fully launched. Wait and retry. For other errors, check ~/Library/Logs/indesign-mcp/server.log.

Logging

The server appends one JSON line per event to:

~/Library/Logs/indesign-mcp/server.log

Useful for diagnosing "Claude said it did X, but X didn't happen" cases — the log captures the composed ExtendScript and the raw return.

Status

All seven implementation plans (B1 through B7) are merged. See docs/PROJECT_STATE.md for the tool inventory and what isn't shipped yet.