Pexels MCP. Find, filter, and retrieve millions of free visual assets directly.
Pexels MCP gives your AI client direct access to millions of free stock photos and videos. It lets you search for visuals by keywords or color, pull detailed asset information, and browse entire curated collections without leaving your development environment. Stop browsing websites; start retrieving media data instantly.
Give Claude and any AI agent real-world access
The MCP finds relevant photos and videos based on natural language search terms, including filtering results to match specific hex colors.
You can pull all the metadata—like resolution, file type, and ID—for a single photo or video asset.
The agent lists out official Pexels collections, whether they're generally popular, editor-picked, or part of your own saved folders.
It fetches a list of high-performing and trending video assets directly from the platform.
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What AI agents can do with Pexels: 10 Media Tools for Visual Assets
These tools let your agent perform every action related to Pexels media—from searching specific keywords to pulling detailed asset information.
Make your AI actually useful.
Add this MCP to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf and your AI stops guessing. It gets real tools to look things up, take action, and handle the stuff you keep doing by hand.
Start using Pexels MCPGet Collection Media
Retrieves all the photos and videos that belong inside a specified Pexels collection.
Get Curated Photos
Fetches a list of hand-picked photos selected by Pexels staff for current trends or...
Get Featured Collections
Lists the official, recommended collections curated and highlighted by Pexels itself.
Get Photo Details
Pulls all available metadata for one specific photo asset using its ID.
Get Popular Videos
Gets a list of the highest-performing and most popular videos currently on Pexels.
Get Video Details
Pulls all available metadata for one specific video asset using its ID.
List My Collections
Displays a list of personal collections that you have created or saved on Pexels.
Search Photos By Color
Searches the entire photo library and filters results to only show images containing...
Search Photos
Performs general searches for free stock photos across all keywords, supporting...
Search Videos
Performs general searches for free stock videos based on descriptive keywords.
Security and governance baked right in.
Pick your AI client below to get set up. Just create a Vinkius account, subscribe, and you're instantly up and running. We handle the entire backend infrastructure, delivering out-of-the-box support for HTTPS Streamable, SSE, and OAuth2—zero messy routing required.
Choose How to Get Started
Build a custom MCP for your own tools, or connect a ready-made integration from our catalog.
Build Your Own
Turn any API into an MCP. Import a spec, define Agent Skills, or deploy with MCPFusion.
- Import from OpenAPI, Swagger, or YAML specs
- Create Agent Skills with progressive disclosure
- Deploy to edge with MCPFusion framework
- Built in DLP, auth, and compliance on each call
- Real time usage dashboard and cost metering
- Publish to catalog or keep private
Make Your AI Do More
Start with Pexels, then connect any of our 5,200+ other servers whenever your AI needs more. One click, no limits.
- Use this MCP plus 5,200+ others, all in one place
- Add new capabilities to your AI anytime you want
- Connections are secured and governed automatically
- Track usage and costs across all your servers
- Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more
- New servers added to the catalog weekly
Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by Pexels. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.
VINKIUS CLOUD
Cloud Hosted
Managed infra
V8 Isolated
Sandboxed per request
Zero-Trust Proxy
No stored credentials
DLP Enforced
Policy on each call
GDPR Compliant
EU data residency
Token Compression
~60% cost reduction
Sifting through millions of images feels like wasted time.
Right now, finding the perfect stock photo means opening Pexels in a browser. You type keywords, click filters (aspect ratio, color), and then you're left scrolling endless pages, copy-pasting links into a spreadsheet, or bookmarking dozens of mediocre options just to get started.
With this MCP, your AI client handles the entire search process internally. You give it the constraints—keywords, colors, collections—and it executes the query and returns only the structured data you need. The result isn't 50 links; it’s a clean list of actionable media assets.
Get Visual Assets Directly via Pexels MCP
Manual steps like opening the site, remembering to hit 'download,' and then manually checking if the image fits your dimensions all disappear. The agent handles that complexity for you.
Now, you simply ask it what you need—whether it’s running `search_videos` or listing a whole collection with `get_collection_media`. It's instant data retrieval.
What Pexels MCP does for your AI
Need high-quality visual assets but don't want to open a new browser tab? This MCP connects your AI agent straight to Pexels’ massive library of free stock photos and videos. You can ask your client to find everything you need, from specific images based on color codes to entire sets of professionally curated content.
It handles the heavy lifting: searching for general keywords, pulling metadata for single assets, or listing out all the media in a pre-defined collection.
This means instead of manually clicking through image search results and copying links, your agent executes complex visual queries behind the scenes. You can pull down popular videos, check specific photo details, and even see what collections Pexels has highlighted for you. Because this MCP is hosted on Vinkius, it acts as a universal gateway, giving any compatible AI client access to these media tools right alongside whatever else your agent needs to do.
It's about getting the content you need, structured data, and ready-to-use links—all without leaving your chat window or IDE.
019d75f1-c6c6-7351-bad9-1d13bab08a8b How to set up Pexels MCP
The bottom line is you get clean, actionable data about visual assets without ever touching a Pexels website.
First, you enable this MCP connection by providing your specific Pexels API token. This authorizes the system to access the visual library.
Next, your AI client uses a natural language prompt to execute the search or retrieval command (e.g., 'Find me photos of dogs in blue').
The MCP runs the query and returns structured JSON data containing media links, metadata, and results that your agent can immediately process.
Who uses Pexels MCP
Content Designers who spend hours manually searching for perfect visuals are the primary users. Marketing Analysts need to quickly prove asset availability across campaigns. Frontend Developers rely on it to pull placeholder images or video assets directly into their local testing environment.
They use this MCP to test visual concepts by asking the agent to find all available photos matching a specific mood or color palette, saving hours of inspiration board building.
The developer uses it to programmatically request placeholder image sizes and types for components that need testing before assets are finalized.
They use the MCP to track trending video content or list out media from specific campaign collections, ensuring all visual materials are compliant and ready to deploy.
Benefits of connecting Pexels MCP
Stop clicking through dozens of search pages. Use search_photos or search_videos to query the entire library instantly for relevant visuals based on keywords, delivering immediate results to your agent.
Need a specific aesthetic? The search_photos_by_color tool lets you filter assets by exact hex code, ensuring every photo matches your brand's precise color requirements. It’s surgical asset retrieval.
Don't waste time figuring out where the best content is. You can check what Pexels has highlighted using get_curated_photos or view their official recommendations with get_featured_collections.
When you find a promising photo, use get_photo_details to pull every piece of data—like resolution and file type—without leaving your workflow. This metadata is crucial for front-end implementation.
The MCP makes browsing complex; simply ask the agent to list all assets in a specific folder using list_my_collections, making it as easy as reading a directory structure.
Pexels MCP use cases
Designing an ad campaign with strict color palettes
A designer needs images that are exactly Pantone 293. The agent runs search_photos_by_color using the hex code, instantly providing dozens of options instead of manually cross-referencing swatches and searching.
Building a test site with placeholder visuals
A developer needs 10 different sizes of images for component testing. They use search_photos to query 'office desk' and then loop through the results, calling get_photo_details on each one to grab multiple placeholder IDs.
Curating a themed gallery portfolio
A content strategist wants to show off the best of Pexels. They use list_my_collections first, then ask the agent to pull all media from 'Nature' and combine it with data from get_curated_photos for maximum impact.
Checking video trends for a client pitch
A marketing analyst needs proof of high-engagement video content. They use get_popular_videos to quickly pull metrics and links for the most viewed assets, structuring their presentation data points.
Pexels MCP tradeoffs
What to watch out for, and the recommended way to handle each one.
Searching by vague concepts
Asking your agent, 'Show me some nice pictures of nature.' This results in a massive list that is too broad and requires manual filtering.
Be specific. Instead of general terms, use search_photos with precise keywords like 'mountain foggy dawn' or narrow it down entirely using the color filter via search_photos_by_color.
Assuming asset availability
Trying to build a component and assuming the image exists. You waste time checking multiple sites for variations.
Always check first using get_photo_details on a base ID. This verifies if the necessary metadata, like high-resolution versions, is actually available for your use case.
Ignoring official selections
Missing out on Pexels' hand-picked content because you only search general keywords.
Always check the curated content first. Use get_curated_photos or get_featured_collections. These tools surface assets that Pexels itself promotes as high quality.
When to use Pexels MCP
Use this MCP if your primary need is accessing vast, free visual libraries for research, prototyping, or basic content needs. You want to programmatically query millions of photos and videos without the friction of a web browser. However, don't use this if you require assets with specific commercial licensing agreements beyond Pexels' free license structure—you'll need a paid stock media service connector instead. Also, if your requirement is for extremely niche or proprietary corporate data, this MCP won't help; it only handles public visual libraries.
Frequently asked questions about Pexels MCP
How do I search for specific colors using Pexels MCP? +
You use the search_photos_by_color tool. You pass it a hex color code (like #FF5733) and it filters millions of images to show only those that contain that precise shade.
Does Pexels MCP work for videos or just photos? +
It handles both. You use search_videos for video queries, and you get access to the most popular clips via get_popular_videos. Both types of media are supported.
Can I see my own saved Pexels folders? +
Yes. Use the list_my_collections tool to pull a list of your personal collections, and then use get_collection_media to retrieve all assets inside them.
What is the difference between searching and getting curated photos? +
Searching (search_photos) finds everything matching keywords. Getting curated photos (get_curated_photos) pulls a pre-filtered, high-quality selection that Pexels editors recommend.
How do I get full details for one photo? +
Use the get_photo_details tool and provide it with a unique image ID. This returns all metadata about that specific asset, which is helpful for development work.