CoDesign: the IMG.LY design engine for an AI agent
codesign
The agent builds posters, posts and videos in the CE.SDK engine, and every layer stays editable, as in PSD and InDesign
- 45 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Extended access
Why this level
- The plugin downloads and updates its runtime from IMG.LY servers every 6 hours, and the proprietary engine checks its licence and reports usage in a way no setting turns off
- The agent reads and writes design files and fetches assets from given addresses, including images and fonts by URL
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add mcp/codesignDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewExtended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.
- The plugin downloads and updates its runtime from IMG.LY servers every 6 hours, and the proprietary engine checks its licence and reports usage in a way no setting turns off
- The agent reads and writes design files and fetches assets from given addresses, including images and fonts by URL
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
CoDesign gives the agent the CE.SDK CreativeEngine that IMG.LY builds its commercial SDKs on. The @imgly/codesign-mcp server runs locally over stdio and exposes edit, preview, export, list and history tools. Headlines, images, shapes and clips stay separate layers, so a font or logo can change without rebuilding the design. Import takes InDesign (.idml), Photoshop (.psd), PowerPoint (.pptx), PDF and images. Export returns print-ready PDF/X with CMYK and bleed, PNG, JPEG, SVG, HTML, MP4, and .idml and .psd files for further work in Adobe tools. The server ships skills for resizing to social formats, translating a layout with text reflow, applying brand colors and checking against guidelines. The result opens in a built-in editor.
Who it is for. Designers, social teams and agencies that produce many similar layouts and want to edit the agent output by hand without losing layers
Good fit when
- One campaign has to go out in every format: post, Stories, LinkedIn and X
- An old InDesign file has to be recolored for a new brand and exported back to .idml
- A print layout has to be translated into German so the text does not overflow
- You need one speaker card per CSV row from a single template
- A flyer has to be prepared for print: A4, 3 mm bleed, CMYK
Not a fit when
- You need a quick illustration with no layers or print: an ordinary image generator is enough
- You work on Windows and need video export: it runs the WASM engine, which has no video
- Company policy forbids telemetry: the engine checks its licence with IMG.LY on start
- You need an open engine: CoDesign is proprietary software, free for local use
Example request
Take this Instagram post and make Story, LinkedIn and X versions in the same brand colors, then export PNG.MCP
- Transport
- stdio
- Authentication
- not required
Environment variables
IMGLY_TELEMETRY- The value off disables usage data
DO_NOT_TRACK- The value 1 disables telemetry
Limitations
Node.js 18 or newer is required, and 22.15 or newer for the direct npx commands; without Node the server does not start and reports a failure without explanation. The engine and assets are downloaded into ~/.codesign and updated every 6 hours. Some features, such as splitting a flat photo into layers and generating music and voiceover, need a free IMG.LY sign-in. On Windows the direct commands work only through WSL. Version 0.6.0 is pinned in the recipes.
How to disable. Run claude mcp remove codesign or claude plugin uninstall codesign, and delete the ~/.codesign folder with the downloaded engine and the design workspace by hand. Telemetry is turned off with IMGLY_TELEMETRY=off.
FAQ
Do I need an IMG.LY account?
No account is needed to start. A sign-in is needed only for splitting photos into layers and generating music and voiceover.
Which files does CoDesign open?
InDesign (.idml), Photoshop (.psd), PowerPoint (.pptx), PDF, PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and SVG images, and its own .imgly files.
Where are my files processed?
On your computer: the engine renders and exports locally, and designs stay in a local workspace. The network carries the engine download, the licence check, telemetry and AI generation.
Who owns the code?
The repository with the plugin and docs is MIT-licensed, while the engine in @imgly/codesign-mcp is proprietary and free for local use.
Which agents are supported?
Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, Antigravity and Cursor. The README says Antigravity and Cursor are untested.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Authentication | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoDesign: the IMG.LY design engine for an AI agent (this card) | yes | not required | 45 | |
| Canva MCP | yes | OAuth | works with a Canva account and templates, while this is a local engine with layers and print output | |
| Figma MCP Server | yes | OAuth | 2,179 | reads and edits Figma files, while this generates and exports PSD, IDML and PDF/X |
README in short
The README presents CoDesign as a design layer for the agent era: layers, Adobe and Microsoft imports, print export and video. It details what the plugin runs, which hosts it calls and how to turn off data collection, plus Windows limits and Node.js requirements.