Setup with agent

Imagine MCP — Agent Setup Guide

Give this file to your AI agent to automatically set up imagine-mcp.

2026-05-02 Update (v+): Plugin install (Option 1) now uses pure stdio mode with provider API key env vars. The previous “Zero-Config Relay” auto-spawn pattern has been removed. If you relied on the relay form to enter your keys, please:

1. Set at least one of GEMINI_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY / XAI_API_KEY directly in plugin config (Option 1), OR
2. Switch to HTTP mode (self-host) for browser-based paste-token setup — see setup-manual.md “Method 3: Docker HTTP (recommended)”.

Method overview

This plugin supports 3 install methods. Pick the one that matches your use case:

Priority	Method	Transport	Best for
1. Default	Plugin install (uvx/npx)	stdio	Quick local start, single workstation, no OAuth/HTTP needed.
2. Fallback	Docker stdio (docker run -i --rm)	stdio	Windows/macOS where native uvx/npx hits PATH or Python version issues.
3. Recommended	Docker HTTP (docker run -p 8080:8080)	HTTP	Multi-device, OAuth/relay-form auth, team self-host, claude.ai web compatibility.

All MCP servers across this stack share this priority hierarchy. Note: 2 plugins (better-godot-mcp and better-code-review-graph) only support Method 1 (stdio) — they need direct host access to project files / repo paths and don’t ship Docker / HTTP variants.

⚠️ Mutually exclusive — pick ONE per plugin: If you choose Method 2 (Docker stdio override) OR Method 3 (HTTP), do NOT also /plugin install this plugin via marketplace. Both load simultaneously and create duplicate entries in /mcp dialog (plugin’s stdio + your override). Plugin matching is by endpoint (URL or command string) per CC docs, not by name — and npx/uvx ≠ docker ≠ HTTP URL, so all three are distinct endpoints. Trade-off: choosing Method 2 or Method 3 means you lose this plugin’s skills/agents/hooks/commands. For full plugin features, use Method 1 (default plugin install) with userConfig credentials prompted at install time.

Option 1: Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

Plugin marketplace install runs the server in pure stdio mode with provider env vars. No daemon-bridge, no auto-spawn, no relay form.

Credential prompts at install

When you run /plugin install, Claude Code prompts you for the following credentials (declared in userConfig per CC docs). Sensitive values are stored in your system keychain and persist across /plugin update:

Field	Required	Where to obtain
XAI_API_KEY	Optional	https://console.x.ai/ (default provider per spec)
GEMINI_API_KEY	Optional	https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
OPENAI_API_KEY	Optional	https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Steps

1. Get at least one provider API key (see table above).
2. Install the plugin (press Enter to skip providers you do not have):

   /plugin marketplace add n24q02m/claude-plugins
   /plugin install imagine-mcp@n24q02m-plugins

This installs the server with skill: /image-describe.

Note: This installs the full plugin (skills + agents + hooks + commands + stdio MCP server). If you’d rather use Option 2 (Docker stdio) or Option 3 (HTTP) below, DO NOT /plugin install this plugin — pick Option 2 or Option 3 instead. All three methods are mutually exclusive (see Method overview).

Option 2: Docker stdio (fallback)

⚠️ Before adding the Docker stdio override below, ensure this plugin is NOT installed via marketplace: Run /plugin uninstall imagine-mcp@n24q02m-plugins first if you previously ran /plugin install. Otherwise both entries (plugin’s npx/uvx stdio + your docker run stdio) will load simultaneously since plugin matches by endpoint (command string), not by name.

Trade-off accepted: Choosing this method means you lose this plugin’s skills/agents/hooks/commands. Use Option 1 instead if you want full plugin features.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "imagine": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "GEMINI_API_KEY",
        "-e", "OPENAI_API_KEY",
        "-e", "XAI_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/n24q02m/imagine-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Set the keys in your shell profile or pass them inline.

Why upgrade to HTTP mode?

Stdio is the default and works fine for single-user local setups. You may want to switch to HTTP self-host mode when you need any of the following:

• claude.ai web compatibility — claude.ai (the web UI) supports HTTP MCP servers but cannot spawn local stdio processes.
• One server shared across N Claude Code sessions — a single HTTP instance serves multiple terminals/IDEs without re-spawning per session.
• Browser-based paste-token setup — enter API keys in a relay form rather than editing JSON config; keys saved encrypted on disk per JWT subject.
• Multi-device credential sync — save keys once, the same self-hosted server serves your desktop / tablet without re-entering.
• Multi-user team sharing — a self-hosted server can serve multiple users, each with their own isolated set of provider keys (per-JWT-sub).
• Always-on persistent process for webhooks/agents — HTTP servers stay alive between sessions, enabling background work, scheduled agents, or webhook listeners.

Option 3: Docker HTTP (recommended)

⚠️ Before adding the HTTP override below, ensure this plugin is NOT installed via marketplace: Run /plugin uninstall imagine-mcp@n24q02m-plugins first if you previously ran /plugin install. Otherwise both entries (plugin’s stdio + your HTTP override) will load simultaneously since plugin matches by endpoint, not name.

Trade-off accepted: Choosing this method means you lose this plugin’s skills/agents/hooks/commands. For example, the imagine-mcp:image-describe skill will no longer be available. Use Option 1 instead if you want full plugin features.

Switching transport vs. setting credentials: The userConfig prompt only configures credentials for stdio mode (Method 1 / Option 1). To switch transport to HTTP, override mcpServers in your client settings per the snippets below — this is a separate path from userConfig and is not driven by the install prompt.

3.2. Self-host with docker-compose

Imagine MCP does not offer an n24q02m-hosted public instance — provider API keys are paid per-token. Run your own:

docker run -p 8080:8080 \
  -e TRANSPORT_MODE=http \
  -e PUBLIC_URL=https://imagine.your-domain.com \
  -e MCP_DCR_SERVER_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32) \
  ghcr.io/n24q02m/imagine-mcp:latest

Then point clients at your server:

Claude Code (settings.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "imagine": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://imagine.your-domain.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI (config.toml)

[mcp_servers.imagine]
type = "http"
url = "https://imagine.your-domain.com/mcp"

OpenCode (opencode.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "imagine": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://imagine.your-domain.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

On first use, a browser window opens to the relay form. Each user pastes the API keys they want (any subset of Gemini / OpenAI / xAI), submits, and the keys are stored encrypted under that user’s JWT subject.

For full self-host setup details (TLS, tunnel, env reference), see setup-manual.md “Method 3 (Docker HTTP — Self-host)”.

Edge auth: relay password

Public HTTP deployments expose <your-domain>/authorize to URL discovery. To prevent random Internet users from accessing the relay form, mint a relay password:

openssl rand -hex 32
# Save in your skret / .env as:
MCP_RELAY_PASSWORD=<generated-32-byte-hex>

Share this password out-of-band (Signal/email/SMS) with anyone you invite to use your server. They will see a login form when first opening /authorize; once logged in, the cookie persists 24 hours.

Single-user dev exception: If PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:8080, you can leave MCP_RELAY_PASSWORD empty to disable the gate. The server logs a warning if you skip the password with a non-localhost PUBLIC_URL.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
GEMINI_API_KEY	At least one (stdio)	—	Google AI Studio (Gemini) API key.
OPENAI_API_KEY	At least one (stdio)	—	OpenAI API key.
XAI_API_KEY	At least one (stdio)	—	xAI (Grok) API key.
TRANSPORT_MODE	No	stdio	Set to http for multi-user paste-token mode.
MCP_TRANSPORT	No	—	Equivalent to TRANSPORT_MODE.
PUBLIC_URL	Yes (http)	—	Server’s public URL for HTTP self-host.
MCP_DCR_SERVER_SECRET	Yes (http)	—	HMAC secret for stateless client registration.

Authentication

Stdio Mode (Provider API Keys)

Get at least one of:

• Gemini: https://aistudio.google.com/apikey — key starts with AIza
• OpenAI: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys — key starts with sk-
• xAI: https://console.x.ai — key starts with xai-

Any subset is fine — providers without a key surface CredentialMissingError only when called.

HTTP Self-Host Mode (Paste-Token Relay)

No env-var keys on the server. Each user pastes their own provider API keys via the relay form on first connect; keys are encrypted to disk per JWT subject.

Verification

After setup, verify the server is working:

Use the understand tool with a sample image URL and prompt to verify the server is connected and at least one provider key is configured.

Example call:

understand(
  media_urls=["https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Cat_November_2010-1a.jpg/300px-Cat_November_2010-1a.jpg"],
  prompt="What animal is this?",
  provider="gemini",
  tier="poor"
)

Expected: a JSON dict with text describing a cat and model naming a Gemini model ID.