Pexels
Search Pexels photos, videos, and curated collections from your agent while you assemble landing pages, apps, or marketing assets.
Overview
Pexels MCP is a Build-phase MCP server that lets AI assistants search Pexels stock photos, videos, and collections through the mcp-pexels npm package.
What is this MCP server?
- npm package mcp-pexels version 1.0.2 with stdio transport
- Search Pexels stock photos, videos, and curated collections via MCP tools
- Requires PEXELS_API_KEY from pexels.com/api free signup
- Documented free tier: 200 requests per hour and 20,000 requests per month
- GitHub source developer-ishan/mcp-pexels
- Package version 1.0.2 in server.json
- Free tier documented: 200 requests per hour
- Free tier documented: 20,000 requests per month
What problem does it solve?
Hunting stock media in a browser tab slows you down when the agent is already writing your landing page or app UI.
Who is it for?
Indie builders who need quick, legal stock imagery in code or copy workflows and already use MCP in Cursor or Claude Code.
Skip if: Custom brand photography, unlimited high-volume media pipelines without respecting Pexels rate limits, or print-licensing edge cases.
What do I get? / Deliverables
After you set PEXELS_API_KEY and register stdio MCP, your agent can return Pexels assets ready to drop into your project.
- Agent-returned Pexels photo, video, and collection results
- Configured mcp-pexels stdio MCP server
- Faster UI and marketing asset selection inside the agent session
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Journey fit
Stock media lookup happens while you are implementing UI and content surfaces, which is Build rather than pure launch analytics. Visual asset pickers most often land in frontend and marketing UI work—frontend is the canonical subphase.
How it compares
Pexels API MCP integration, not a design skill or image editor.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is Pexels MCP for?
Solo builders and marketers wiring UIs or content who want their coding agent to query Pexels for photos, videos, and collections.
When should I use Pexels MCP?
Use it during Build when you are selecting visuals for landing pages, apps, or docs, or whenever you need agent-driven stock search inside the repo workflow.
How do I add Pexels MCP to my agent?
Get a free API key at pexels.com/api, set environment variable PEXELS_API_KEY, and add stdio MCP server mcp-pexels version 1.0.2 in your client config.