Remote MCP
Learn how to choose marketplaces, prepare source images and write prompts for MCP product image generation.
Connect a client that supports remote HTTP MCP and browser OAuth to
https://pictmagic.com/api/mcp. Sign in to PictMagic, review the client name and
permissions, and authorize the connection. No local package or provider API key is needed.
Account and connection
Any account can connect and check its credit balance. Uploading and generating images through MCP requires a paid plan. Your normal credits, daily image limit, storage limit, resolution permissions and watermark rules still apply.
Connections expire after 14 days without active tool use. Background polling and automatic token refresh do not extend access. Reconnect through your client when asked. Website login and MCP authorization expire independently. Open MCP in the account menu to inspect or immediately disconnect a client. Disconnecting does not cancel work the provider has already accepted.
Upload and generate
- Ask the client to check your balance and list supported platforms and sizes.
- Request an upload link and open it while signed in to the same account. You can also import publicly accessible HTTPS image URLs. Remote MCP cannot read local file paths directly.
- Upload actual product photos and optionally add product, style or layout references. Specify the marketplace, image purpose and instructions for each output. Several outputs can share references or use separate product images.
- Request a quote. Open its confirmation link and review the input thumbnails, full prompts, image count and exact credits before approving on the website.
- Return to the client and submit the approved quote. Approval alone does not start generation. Query progress and download the resulting images; they also appear in your normal gallery.
Quotes expire after ten minutes. Submit within five minutes of approval and before the quote expires. Changed instructions, references, quantities, sizes or prices need a new quote and approval. A chat reply alone does not authorize billing.
Your first image: a message to copy
Start with one product photo and one output. Check product accuracy before expanding to more references or marketplaces. Send this to your AI client:
Use PictMagic MCP:
1. Check my balance and list available marketplaces and image sizes.
2. Create an upload link so I can upload my actual product photo in the browser.
3. List uploaded filenames and asset IDs, and confirm which is the primary product.
4. Prepare one Amazon white-background main image. Show the complete product,
preserve its shape, colors, controls and markings, and invent no accessories or text.
5. Quote the request. Show the inputs, platform, purpose, dimensions, full prompt
and credits, and give me the website confirmation link. Do not submit yet.
6. After website approval, submit that same quote, query progress and give me the result link.A local path or chat attachment does not mean the image has reached PictMagic. If your client cannot transfer attachments, use the browser upload link. Use the asset IDs returned by the upload query for generation.
Choose a marketplace, purpose and size
The marketplace identifies the destination listing. The purpose describes what this output should accomplish. A primary input photo establishes product identity; a main-image output is a separate choice.
| Desired output | Purpose | What to describe |
|---|---|---|
| Product hero image | main | Complete product, clear subject, background and confirmed included accessories |
| Usage scene | lifestyle | A plausible setting, placement and mood without invented functions |
| Material or construction close-up | detail | A part visible in the source, without inventing hidden structure |
| Product and accessories arranged from above | flat-lay | Confirmed items, overhead view and arrangement |
| Creative advertising visual | creative | The concept and empty space while preserving product structure |
Ask for list_capabilities first. Common IDs include amazon, shopee,
taobao, tiktok, etsy and ozon; do not guess IDs or supported dimensions.
PictMagic currently prefers a 1:1 composition for Amazon, Shopee and Taobao,
9:16 for TikTok, 4:3 for Etsy and 3:4 for Ozon. These are application defaults,
not a description of every marketplace requirement.
To adapt an Amazon request for TikTok, say:
Keep the original product sources. Change the platform to tiktok and the purpose
to lifestyle. Select an available 9:16 portrait size. Place the product on a real
kitchen counter, keep it prominent, leave space above and add no text.
Preserve product structure and request a new quote first.Review purpose and dimensions when changing platforms. An explicitly selected square size is not automatically replaced with portrait dimensions. Specify resolution and any on-image text language before quoting, using current capabilities and prices. MCP does not publish images to stores.
Separate Amazon main images from usage scenes. The current amazon + main
request adds a pure-white background, product emphasis, and exclusions for
decorative food, promotional badges and unrelated props. To illustrate a vacuum
pump with food, make a separate lifestyle image. Do not imply decorative food
is included with the product. Check the destination marketplace and category
requirements before publishing.
Choose product sources and references
| Image role | What to upload | What to tell the client |
|---|---|---|
| Primary product | A clear, complete photo of the actual model being sold | This determines product identity and structure |
product reference | Another angle or detail of the same model | Supplement visible details; do not merge different products |
style reference | Desired lighting, palette, backdrop or mood | Borrow styling, not the reference product, brand or text |
layout reference | Desired placement, relative scale and empty space | Borrow composition; identity still comes from the primary photo |
Use images you have permission to use. Choose sources with recognizable colors, edges, controls and markings; resolve blur, obstructions and unrelated collages. Avoid relying solely on storefront screenshots, chat captures or posters covered with text. If a screenshot is all you have, identify the intended product and the interface or wording to ignore.
For example, upload machine-front.jpg as primary, machine-side.jpg as a
same-model product reference and layout.jpg only for composition. Ask the client
to list filename → asset ID → role before quoting. Every output needs its
own primary image; do not reference the same asset twice within one output.
Add references only when they contribute information. Clarify conflicting models, colors or accessories instead of including more conflicting images. Unreadable specifications, dimensions and package quantities are not confirmed facts; provide better photos or a separate factual description.
Write a useful prompt
Describe marketplace and purpose → product identity → composition → background and light → details to preserve → additions to exclude. Replace vague requests such as “make it premium” with visible features and placement. Give each image one clear objective.
Here is a white-background example. Replace the details with facts about your product:
Amazon main image of the white handheld vacuum pump in the primary source.
Show the full body and brown strap, centered and prominent with a small margin.
Pure white background, soft even lighting, no cast shadows or glow effects.
Preserve the original black panel, two round buttons, display, and orange and
transparent lower assembly. Show only the product. No food, text, badges,
specification numbers, extra controls or unconfirmed accessories.For a layout reference, add:
Image two is only a reference for placement and empty space. Do not copy its older
machine model. Image one determines product identity. Ignore the red annotations
and explanatory text in the reference.If text is needed, specify its exact wording and language. Otherwise request no text. Do not invent suction ratings, battery life, capacity, certifications or freshness claims. The quote page shows the full generation prompt, including template instructions. Check that it matches your intended result; adjust and re-quote if it does not.
Shared references and separate output items
Multiple input images can guide one output. Multiple outputs are separate generation items. Give each item its product sources, marketplace, purpose, dimensions and instructions instead of only asking for “a set.”
Three coordinated images for one product:
Plan three outputs for this machine and quote them without submitting:
1. amazon / main: use the front and side product photos, pure white background,
showing only the machine.
2. amazon / lifestyle: product photos establish identity; the kitchen reference
supplies only the lighting style. Place the machine on a kitchen counter,
without performance text.
3. shopee / detail: use product photos to emphasize the visible controls and
transparent lower material. Preserve structure and invent no measurements.
List each item's sources, prompt and credits, then provide a confirmation link.Separate products in one quote:
A-front.jpg is product A; B-front.jpg is product B. Do not merge them into one model.
Make one white-background shopee main image for each, showing the full product.
Each item must use its own primary source. Both may use light-style.jpg only as
a lighting reference. Confirm filenames and roles, then quote each output.Generate one image first to check direction before repeating a composition across a batch. Shared sources do not make extra outputs free. Input count and output count are different limits.
Refine results and control spending
Review shape, color, controls, markings, accessories and composition first. Focus each revision on one or two issues and describe what you already like:
Keep the original product as the primary source and use the last result only as
a layout reference. Make the subject larger without cropping the strap or base,
and remove the background shadow. Keep the direction and empty space I liked;
do not change the model or add accessories. List the new input roles and full
prompt, request a new quote and wait for website approval.The client must import the previous result's public HTTPS URL with import_images
to obtain an asset ID before referencing it. A result URL or generation ID is not
an image asset ID. Keep the original photo as primary when preserving identity.
Revisions regenerate the whole image; unchanged pixels are not guaranteed. Use
a tool that edits pixels precisely when a mark or local detail must remain exact.
A successful image you dislike requires a new paid generation; it is not a free
failure retry or refund. Use quote_retry only for definite failures, with a new
quote and approval. Poll already accepted or uncertain jobs instead of submitting
again because they are slow. Check the output count and total credits on the
confirmation page before approving this specific purchase.
Limits and billing
- Up to ten different PNG, JPEG or WebP inputs per plan; 4 MiB per file and 20 MiB combined. Animated files are not supported.
- Up to ten output images per quote, with two images executing simultaneously per account. Your plan can impose lower daily or size limits.
- Upload links expire after 15 minutes. Unsubmitted input assets remain available for 24 hours; originals used in submitted jobs are retained with those jobs.
- Uploads, quotes and progress checks do not consume image-generation credits. Credits are reserved per submitted image and settled for delivered results; definite failures release the reserved amount.
- An interrupted or ambiguous supplier response is marked uncertain. Its credits remain reserved until support verifies delivery or releases them; do not retry it.
- A quote does not freeze your balance. Other spending can pause remaining images. Stop prevents further submissions while accepted images may still finish. To resume a paused queue, request a new quote for its pending images and approve it.
- Retry definite failures manually with a new quote and website approval. Uncertain requests cannot be resubmitted until their acceptance is resolved.
Marketplace presets guide composition and dimensions; they do not guarantee platform approval. AI generation may alter product details and does not promise pixel-identical edits. Review each image before publishing.
Troubleshooting
Reconnect required: authorize again in the MCP client. Paid plan required: upgrade before uploading or generating. Quote expired or price changed: request a new quote. Unavailable asset: upload it again. Insufficient credits: check the account balance. Do not repeatedly submit an already accepted job; query its ID.
Preview and prepare the prompt first
Call preview_prompt({output: ...}) for a free preview without submitting or spending generation credits. The output has the same shape as a quote item, with optional requirements: operation (create, replace, repair, layout, lighting), target, preserve, composition, background, shadow (unspecified, none, contact, natural) and avoid.
For a machine replacement, keep the real product in primaryAssetId. Upload the selected prior result and include {assetId: "PRIOR_RESULT_ID", role: "base"} in references. Set operation: "replace", target: "machine on the left", preserve: "upright bags and food arrangement on the right" and shadow: "none". The base never replaces the current product identity source.
Resolve blocking issues until canProceed is true, then pass the same output to quote_generation and review the web confirmation. Carry forward all applicable requirements explicitly for each new quote; MCP has no hidden cross-quote memory. Current channels redraw the full image, so preserved pixels are not guaranteed. No automatic paid repair occurs.