MCP Preflight
ImageKit has three hosted MCP servers. Call the one that matches the job.
| Job | Server | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Search, upload, organize, tag, share, metadata, collections, path policies, public links, cache purge | DAM (https://imagekit.io/mcp/dam) | See skills below when the task is search, upload, sharing, or AI tasks |
| Origins / external storage (S3, GCS, Azure, web server, …) | Admin (https://imagekit.io/mcp/admin) | list_origins, create_origin, get_origin, update_origin, delete_origin |
| URL endpoints | Admin | list_url_endpoints, create_url_endpoint, get_url_endpoint, update_url_endpoint, delete_url_endpoint |
| Account usage totals or usage analytics | Admin | get_account_usage, get_account_usage_analytics |
| "How do I…", API/SDK details, whether a feature exists | DevTools search_docs | Read the search-docs skill first |
| Build a transformation URL | DevTools transformation_builder | Read the transformation-builder skill first |
| Integrate ImageKit into an app, CMS, or framework | — | Read imagekit-integrations to pick the SDK/plugin, then search_docs for details |
DAM and Admin each need a separate connection and ImageKit sign-in. DevTools does not. If a tool you need is missing, the user has not connected that server (or has not granted that permission).
When a skill actually helps
Most DAM and Admin tools are self-explanatory. Read a companion skill only for the cases below — they have calling conventions that the tool schema does not make obvious.
| Task | Skill |
|---|---|
| Search / filter / list assets | search-assets — Lucene searchQuery, and you must discover custom metadata fields and tags before guessing |
| Upload a file | upload-files — picker vs signed upload; never put file bytes in chat |
| Who can access a file, folder, or collection; grant or revoke access | asset-access-control — file/folder ACL tools are not the same as collection ACL tools |
| Create or apply AI tagging / metadata / QC workflows | ai-tasks — payload shape, vocabularies, and how they attach to saved extensions |
| Which SDK, plugin, or widget to use for a stack | imagekit-integrations — then search_docs for implementation details |
Rules
- DAM for the media library. Admin for origins, URL endpoints, usage, and usage analytics. Do not search DAM for origins or usage, and do not look for file tools on Admin.
- Never inline file bytes (no base64, no paths as file contents). See
upload-files. - Filter search on the server with
search_media_library. Seesearch-assets. - Use
transformation_builderinstead of hand-crafting transformation URLs. - Use
search_docsbefore writing ImageKit integration code. Do not rely on training data for method names or parameters. If you need to pick an SDK or plugin first, readimagekit-integrations.