# mcp-icon-visual [![MCP Registry](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP_Registry-published-6f42c1)](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/?q=io.github.n0isy/mcp-icon-visual) [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@br-ai-n/mcp-icon-visual)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@br-ai-n/mcp-icon-visual) [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) MCP server that gives AI agents the ability to **search**, **retrieve**, **compare**, and **render** SVG icons. Built with Rust and the [rmcp](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/rust-sdk) SDK. Combines local filesystem access with a remote rendering API to resolve SVGs from any source — inline strings, URLs, local files, or [Iconify](https://iconify.design/) IDs — and render them onto visual comparison grids. The key insight: every tool returns **images**. A vision-capable LLM doesn't just get metadata — it *sees* the icons. This turns icon selection from guesswork into a visual conversation.

search_icons result for 'machine learning' — 4x4 grid with 16 icons
search_icons("machine learning") — 4x4 grid, cells 0–15, returned as PNG

## Agent Pipelines These tools are designed to be composed by AI agents with vision. Below are three proven patterns. ### 1. Visual Search & Selection An agent searches for icons and **visually picks** the best match — no blind URL selection. ``` ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Agent + Vision │ └──────────────┬──────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────┼────────────────┐ v v v search_icons search_icons search_icons "cloud" "upload" "storage" │ │ │ v v v ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ 4x4 grid │ │ 4x4 grid │ │ 4x4 grid │ │ (sees) │ │ (sees) │ │ (sees) │ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ │ │ │ └───────────────┼───────────────┘ v "cells 3, 7, 12 match the project style" │ v render_grid [3 winners] │ v ┌──────────────────┐ │ final comparison │ │ grid (sees) │──> pick best └──────────────────┘ ``` The agent runs multiple searches, **looks** at each grid, picks candidates by cell number, then renders a final side-by-side comparison to make the choice. Works especially well when the agent has context about the project's visual style. ### 2. Iterative Icon Editing An agent modifies SVG code and uses `render_grid` as a **visual diff** to track progress across iterations. ``` get_svg "mdi/cloud" │ v ┌───────────┐ │ raw SVG │ │ markup │ └─────┬─────┘ │ ┌────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Edit Loop │ │ │ │ Agent modifies SVG code │ │ │ │ │ v │ │ render_grid [original, v1, v2, v3] │ │ │ │ │ v │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ cell 0: original │ │ │ │ cell 1: thicker strokes │ │ │ │ cell 2: rounded corners │ │ │ │ cell 3: filled variant │ │ │ └──────────────┬───────────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ agent sees all versions │ │ decides next edit │ │ │ │ │ └──── loop ──────────────────┘ │ v save final SVG to disk ``` Each iteration, the agent passes **all versions** (original + edits) as inline SVGs to `render_grid`. It sees them side-by-side in one image and decides whether to keep iterating or stop. The original always stays in cell 0 as a reference. ### 3. Style Matching & Consistency An agent ensures new icons match the visual style of existing project icons. ``` Project icons on disk Candidate sources ───────────────────── ───────────────── /app/icons/nav-home.svg search_icons "settings" /app/icons/nav-search.svg │ /app/icons/nav-profile.svg v │ picks cells 2, 5, 9 │ │ └──────────┬───────────────────┘ v render_grid [ /app/icons/nav-home.svg, ← cell 0: existing /app/icons/nav-search.svg, ← cell 1: existing /app/icons/nav-profile.svg, ← cell 2: existing candidate_url_1, ← cell 3: candidate candidate_url_2, ← cell 4: candidate candidate_url_3, ← cell 5: candidate "...custom edit..." ← cell 6: agent's edit ] │ v ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ grid image: │ │ existing icons vs candidates │ │ (agent sees style match/clash) │ └────────────────┬───────────────┘ │ agent judges: "cell 4 matches stroke weight and corner radius of cells 0-2, cell 3 is too thin, cell 5 wrong fill style" │ v get_svg cell_4_url │ v save to /app/icons/nav-settings.svg ``` By mixing local file paths and remote sources in a single grid, the agent can visually compare existing project icons against candidates in one shot. The grid becomes a style audit tool. ### Combining Pipelines These patterns compose naturally. A real-world workflow might: 1. **Search** across multiple keywords (pipeline 1) 2. **Compare** top candidates against existing project icons (pipeline 3) 3. **Edit** the closest match to fix style inconsistencies (pipeline 2) 4. **Verify** the final icon one more time against the full icon set (pipeline 3) All driven by a single agent with vision, using three tools. ## Tools ### `search_icons` Semantic icon search. Returns a 4x4 PNG grid (512x512, cells 0-15) and a mapping of cell numbers to SVG URLs. | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `keyword` | string | *required* | Semantic search query (e.g. `"cloud computing"`, `"arrows"`) | | `background` | string | `"#FFFFFF"` | Grid background color, CSS hex | | `color` | string \| null | `null` | Recolor all icons to this CSS hex color | ### `get_svg` Retrieve raw SVG markup from any source. Returns the complete SVG string for inspection or modification. | Parameter | Type | Description | |-----------|------|-------------| | `source` | string | URL, Iconify ID (`mdi/cloud`), absolute file path, or inline `` | ### `render_grid` Render 1-16 SVGs onto a 4x4 comparison grid (512x512, cells 0-15). Useful for comparing icon variants side-by-side or previewing local icons alongside search results. | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `sources` | string[] | *required* | 1-16 SVG sources (URLs, Iconify IDs, file paths, or inline SVGs) | | `background` | string | `"#FFFFFF"` | Grid background color, CSS hex | ## Source Resolution All tools share a unified resolution pipeline that classifies sources automatically: | Source type | Example | Resolution | |-------------|---------|------------| | Inline SVG | `...` | Returned as-is | | URL | `https://mdn.alipayobjects.com/.../original` | Resolved via API | | File path | `/home/user/icons/logo.svg` | Read from local disk | | Iconify ID | `mdi/cloud`, `lucide/home` | Resolved via API | File paths are detected by prefix (`/`, `./`, `~/`) or `.svg` extension. Everything else without `http://`/`https://` is treated as an Iconify ID. ## Grid Format All grid outputs are **512x512 PNG** images with a **4x4 layout** (128x128 cells), numbered 0-15 left-to-right, top-to-bottom: ``` ┌────┬────┬────┬────┐ │ 0 │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ ├────┼────┼────┼────┤ │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ ├────┼────┼────┼────┤ │ 8 │ 9 │ 10 │ 11 │ ├────┼────┼────┼────┤ │ 12 │ 13 │ 14 │ 15 │ └────┴────┴────┴────┘ ``` Cell numbers appear at the bottom-left of each cell. Unused cells show the number only. ## Installation ### npx (recommended) No build needed. Works on Linux (x64/arm64), macOS (Intel/Apple Silicon), and Windows (x64). ```json { "mcpServers": { "icon-visual": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@br-ai-n/mcp-icon-visual"] } } } ``` ### From source Requires Rust (edition 2024): ```bash cargo build --release --target x86_64-unknown-linux-musl ``` The release profile produces a fully static binary (musl libc, `rustls-tls`, LTO, stripped). ## Usage ```bash # Default upstream API ./mcp-icon-visual # Custom API endpoint ./mcp-icon-visual --api-base http://localhost:3000 ``` The server communicates over **stdio** using the MCP protocol. ## MCP Client Configuration ### Claude Desktop / Cursor ```json { "mcpServers": { "icon-visual": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@br-ai-n/mcp-icon-visual"] } } } ``` ### Custom API endpoint ```json { "mcpServers": { "icon-visual": { "command": "/path/to/mcp-icon-visual", "args": ["--api-base", "http://localhost:3000"] } } } ``` ## Project Structure ``` src/ ├── main.rs # Entrypoint, CLI args, stdio transport ├── server.rs # IconServer + MCP tool routing + response builders ├── api_client.rs # HTTP client for upstream rendering API ├── resolve.rs # Source classification and SVG resolution ├── error.rs # Error types └── tools/ ├── mod.rs ├── search_icons.rs # SearchIconsParams ├── get_svg.rs # GetSvgParams └── render_grid.rs # RenderGridParams ``` ## Testing ```bash # Unit tests (source classification) cargo test # Integration tests (requires network access to icons.buan.me) cargo test -- --ignored ``` ## Dependencies | Crate | Purpose | |-------|---------| | `rmcp` | MCP server SDK (tool routing, stdio transport) | | `tokio` | Async runtime | | `reqwest` | HTTP client (`rustls-tls`, no OpenSSL) | | `serde` / `serde_json` | Serialization | | `schemars` | JSON Schema generation for tool parameters | | `clap` | CLI argument parsing | | `base64` | Base64 encoding | | `tracing` | Logging | | `thiserror` | Error derive macros | ## License MIT License Copyright (c) 2025 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.