Nano Banana — Claude Code MCP server: generate and edit images
An MCP server that hands your agent image generation and editing through Google Gemini. Useful when a picture has to come out of the coding session itself.
claude mcp add --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH=<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH> --env NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS> --env NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS> --transport stdio nano-banana -- npx -y @mindstone/mcp-server-nano-bananaWhat Nano Banana does
Three tools ship with the server. nano_banana_generate draws an image from a text description, nano_banana_edit changes one you already have, and configure_nano_banana_api_key stores the Gemini key. Everything runs against the cloud API, so nothing heavy happens on your machine.
nano_banana_edit takes up to 14 reference images, each either a workspace path or an https:// URL. A single source is capped at 20MB. Remote fetches go through SSRF checks: HTTPS only, no userinfo, private and loopback hosts refused. PNG, JPEG and WebP are accepted; a GIF comes back as UNSUPPORTED_IMAGE_FORMAT. Saving never overwrites — an existing file at save_path triggers SAVE_EXISTS.
You need a GEMINI_API_KEY; without it the server will not start. Node.js 20+ and npm are required too. Output size is set with image_size — "1K", "2K" or "4K", defaulting to "1K". Only the Gemini 3 image models honour anything above 1K; gemini-2.5-flash-image stays near 1K and rejects an explicit image_size. The Gemini request timeout defaults to 180000 ms, and slow generations on gemini-3-pro-image-preview will need it raised.
What it helps with
- generate an image from a description without leaving the agent chat
- touch up an existing picture from inside the editor
- fuse several source images into one composition
- write the result into the project without clobbering an old file
- get a 2K or 4K render for a layout
Example prompts for the agent
- Generate an image: a logo for the dark theme, save it to
assets/logo.png - Edit
assets/hero.jpg— drop the background, put the result inassets/hero-clean.png - Combine
shot-1.pngandshot-2.pnginto one collage at 2K
How to install Nano Banana
Platform CLI
claude mcp add --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH=<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH> --env NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS> --env NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS> --transport stdio nano-banana -- npx -y @mindstone/mcp-server-nano-bananaReplace <…> with your own values
Platform CLI
codex mcp add nano-banana --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH=<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH> --env NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS> --env NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS> -- npx -y @mindstone/mcp-server-nano-bananaReplace <…> with your own values
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"nano-banana": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@mindstone/mcp-server-nano-banana"
],
"env": {
"GEMINI_API_KEY": "<GEMINI_API_KEY>",
"MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH": "<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH>",
"NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS": "<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS>",
"NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS": "<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values
Config file
{
"servers": {
"nano-banana": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@mindstone/mcp-server-nano-banana"
],
"env": {
"GEMINI_API_KEY": "<GEMINI_API_KEY>",
"MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH": "<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH>",
"NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS": "<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS>",
"NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS": "<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add -e GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> -e MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH=<MCP_WORKSPACE_PATH> -e NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_GEMINI_TIMEOUT_MS> -e NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS=<NANO_BANANA_BRIDGE_TIMEOUT_MS> nano-banana npx -y @mindstone/mcp-server-nano-bananaReplace <…> with your own values
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Nano Banana
How do I install Nano Banana in Claude Code?
One command: claude mcp add mcp-server-nano-banana -e GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> -- npx -y @mindstone/mcp-server-nano-banana. Replace <GEMINI_API_KEY> with your own Gemini key.
What does Nano Banana do?
It exposes three tools to the agent: text-to-image generation, editing of existing images, and saving the Gemini API key. All calls go to Google Gemini's cloud API.
What does the server need to run?
Node.js 20+, npm and a GEMINI_API_KEY. No key, no startup.
