Claude ships no image model, and Anthropic's directory policy excludes standalone image generators. Claude Imagine covers both routes: a Claude Code plugin you install with two /plugin commands, and a custom connector you add to claude.ai and Claude Desktop by URL.
Both point at the same hosted MCP server, so Claude gets generate_image and edit_image with Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.5, Seedream 4.5, Flux 2 Pro and Z-Image, and you never create a Google or OpenAI key.
9 signup credits · 6 more on your first connection · No Google or OpenAI key needed · Independent tool, not affiliated with Anthropic
Install
Use the plugin in Claude Code and the connector in claude.ai and Claude Desktop. Either way you sign in once in the browser, and there is no key to paste.
Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add lumian2015/claudeimagine-mcp
/plugin install claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcpRun them one at a time. Then open /mcp, pick plugin:claude-imagine:claude-imagine and complete the browser sign-in.
From your shell
claude plugin marketplace add lumian2015/claudeimagine-mcp
claude plugin install claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp
claude mcp listclaude mcp list should show plugin:claude-imagine:claude-imagine waiting for authentication. Start Claude Code, run /mcp and sign in.
claude.ai and Claude Desktop
https://claudeimagine.com/api/mcpOpen Customize → Connectors, choose Add, then Add custom connector. Paste this URL, connect and sign in. Free plans allow one custom connector.
Search results mix these terms. They are different packaging around the same thing: a server that gives Claude tools it does not have on its own.
A package Claude Code installs with /plugin. It can bundle skills, agents, hooks and MCP servers. The Claude Imagine plugin bundles exactly one thing: the hosted MCP server.
What claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Cowork call a remote MCP server. You add Claude Imagine under Customize → Connectors as a custom connector, by URL.
The part that does the work. claudeimagine.com/api/mcp exposes generate_image, edit_image, list_styles, quote_generation and six more tools, with sign-in over OAuth.
Instructions Claude loads when they are relevant. A Skill cannot render an image by itself; it needs a tool or a script with network access. Our separate Nano Banana Skill is the script route.
Anthropic's Software Directory Policy lists software that uses AI models to generate images, video or audio as unsupported. Design tools that make visual aids are the exception. Image generators are added as custom connectors or third-party plugins instead.
The plugin, the connector, the API and the web generator draw from the same credits. Failed generations are refunded automatically.
Choose by where you use Claude. You can run both at once; they share one account and one image history.
Install the plugin. /plugin can update or disable it later, and claude plugin uninstall removes it cleanly.
Anthropic's plugin docs say a plugin installed at user scope in the terminal is also available in the VS Code extension and the desktop app's local Code sessions on the same computer.
Add the custom connector. The finished image appears as a card in the chat, with its URL alongside.
Add the connector under Customize → Connectors. Anthropic lists custom connectors as available in Claude, Cowork and Claude Desktop.
Cloud sessions do not load the plugins in your local settings, so a plugin installed on your laptop will not appear there.
Both register the same server. The plugin adds versioned updates and a one-switch disable through /plugin; claude mcp add is a single line with nothing else attached.
Tested
Output from a clean install on Claude Code 2.1.263 on October 8, 2026, in a fresh config directory. Status lines are shortened.
Install
$ claude plugin marketplace add lumian2015/claudeimagine-mcp
✔ Successfully added marketplace: claudeimagine-mcp
$ claude plugin install claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp
✔ Successfully installed plugin:
claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp (scope: user)
$ claude plugin list
❯ claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp
Version: 1.0.1
Scope: user
Status: ✔ enabledUser scope means the plugin is enabled in every project on that machine.
Sign-in pending
$ claude mcp list
plugin:claude-imagine:claude-imagine:
https://claudeimagine.com/api/mcp (HTTP)
- ! Needs authenticationThat is expected. Run /mcp inside Claude Code and sign in once. Your first connection adds 6 bonus credits.
Inventory
$ claude plugin details claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp
Component inventory
Skills (0)
Agents (0)
Hooks (0)
MCP servers (1) claude-imagine
LSP servers (0)
Projected token cost
Always-on: ~0 tok added to every sessionNo hooks or scripts run on your machine. Remove it any time with claude plugin uninstall claude-imagine@claudeimagine-mcp.
Most image plugins listed on GitHub and plugin directories call Google's Gemini API or OpenAI's image API with a key you create and pay for, which works well if you already have one. When you pick a plugin or connector, check four things: which models it runs, whether you need your own provider key, whether it can edit an existing image, and whether failed renders are refunded. Here is how Claude Imagine answers each.
Claude Imagine hosts the models. You sign in with OAuth, and there is nothing to set up in Google AI Studio or the OpenAI dashboard.
Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.5, Seedream 4.5, Flux 2 Pro and Z-Image. Name one in plain English or let Nano Banana 2 handle it. Seedream 4.5 and Flux 2 Pro need a Pro plan.
quote_generation tells Claude the exact credit cost and your balance before a render starts, without spending anything.
edit_image changes an image by URL, list_styles offers named looks for thumbnails, covers and product shots, and generate_video animates a still.
The same server is the claude.ai and Claude Desktop connector, and list_generations finds images you made in any of them or on the website.
Credits are charged when a task starts and returned automatically if the task fails.
The same four steps work in Claude Code with the plugin and in claude.ai with the connector.
Run the two /plugin commands or add the connector, then complete the browser sign-in. A new account starts with 9 credits, and the first connection adds 6.
"Generate a 16:9 image of a ceramic coffee cup on a linen tablecloth, soft window light." In Claude Code, add "and save it to public/img/hero.png" and Claude downloads it there.
Ask "What would that cost at 4K?" and Claude calls quote_generation, which spends nothing.
Follow up with "make the cup sage green" for edit_image, or "turn it into a 6-second clip" for generate_video.
Have another question? Email us at support@claudeimagine.com.
Install, list, details and uninstall output verified October 8, 2026 on Claude Code 2.1.263. Plugin behavior per Anthropic's plugin documentation; connector steps per Anthropic's custom connector guide; directory rules per the Anthropic Software Directory Policy. Plugin source: lumian2015/claudeimagine-mcp. Full connector walkthrough: MCP setup.
Two commands in Claude Code or one URL in claude.ai. Your first connection adds 6 credits to the 9 you start with.