Pixabay MCP Server: Complete Setup and Usage Guide

Transform your AI assistant into a powerful visual content discovery tool with the Pixabay MCP Server. This guide walks you through everything from installation to advanced usage, enabling you to search millions of royalty-free images and videos directly through natural language conversations.

What is the Pixabay MCP Server?

The Pixabay MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol implementation that provides your AI assistant with direct access to Pixabay’s extensive library of over 4.5 million royalty-free images and videos. Instead of manually searching Pixabay’s website, you can simply ask your AI assistant to find visual content using natural language.

Key capabilities:

• Search through millions of high-quality, royalty-free images
• Find professional stock videos and animations
• Apply advanced filters (orientation, color, category, size)
• Retrieve specific assets by ID
• Access different image sizes and video qualities
• All through simple conversational commands

Business Impact

Time Savings: Reduce visual content discovery time by 75% - instead of browsing through dozens of search result pages, get precisely what you need through conversational AI.

Cost Efficiency: Access professional-quality stock content without expensive subscriptions. Pixabay’s royalty-free license means no ongoing licensing fees.

Workflow Integration: Seamlessly integrate visual content discovery into your existing AI-powered workflows, from content creation to marketing campaigns.

Step 1: Get Your Pixabay API Key

Before installing the server, you’ll need a free Pixabay API key:

Create Your Pixabay Account

1. Visit Pixabay’s registration page
2. Create your free account using email or social login
3. Verify your email address if required

Obtain Your API Key

1. Navigate to the Pixabay API documentation
2. Log in to your Pixabay account
3. Your API key will be displayed at the top of the API docs page
4. Copy this key - you’ll need it for configuration

Important: Keep your API key secure and never share it publicly or commit it to version control.

Set Up System Environment Variable (Recommended)

For maximum security, set your API key as a system environment variable instead of putting it in configuration files:

For bash/zsh users (add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.bash_profile):

export PIXABAY_API_KEY="your-actual-api-key-here"

For fish users (add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish):

set -gx PIXABAY_API_KEY "your-actual-api-key-here"

For Windows users (Command Prompt as Administrator):

setx PIXABAY_API_KEY "your-actual-api-key-here"

After setting the environment variable:

1. Restart your terminal or run source ~/.zshrc (or your shell’s config file)
2. Verify it’s set: echo $PIXABAY_API_KEY should display your key

Step 2: Install the Pixabay MCP Server

Download and Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Unlock-MCP/pixabay-mcp-server.git
   cd pixabay-mcp-server
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the project:

   npm run build
   

The build process compiles the TypeScript source code into JavaScript, creating a dist/ directory with the executable files.

Verify Installation

Test that the server builds correctly:

node dist/index.js

If you see MCP server initialization messages, the installation was successful. Press Ctrl+C to stop the test.

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

Now you’ll integrate the Pixabay MCP Server with Claude Desktop so you can use it in conversations.

Locate Your Configuration File

The configuration file location depends on your operating system:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Update Configuration

1. Open the configuration file in your preferred text editor
2. Add the Pixabay server configuration:

Recommended (using system environment variable):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pixabay": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/pixabay-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Alternative (less secure - API key in config file):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pixabay": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/pixabay-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PIXABAY_API_KEY": "your-actual-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important configuration notes:

• Replace /full/path/to/pixabay-mcp-server/ with the actual full path to your installation
• Security: The recommended approach uses your system environment variable, keeping the API key secure
• If using the alternative approach, replace your-actual-api-key-here with your real Pixabay API key
• Ensure the JSON syntax is valid (proper commas, quotes, brackets)

Example Full Configuration

If you have other MCP servers, your configuration might look like this:

Secure approach (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/yourname/Documents"]
    },
    "pixabay": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/yourname/pixabay-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Alternative (API key in config file):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/yourname/Documents"]
    },
    "pixabay": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/yourname/pixabay-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PIXABAY_API_KEY": "12345678-abcdef123456789"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

After updating the configuration:

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop
2. Restart the application
3. The Pixabay server should now be available in new conversations

Step 4: Using the Pixabay MCP Server

Once configured, you can start using the server through natural language commands in Claude Desktop.

Basic Image Search

Simple searches:

• “Find me some mountain landscape photos”
• “Search for business meeting images”
• “Show me nature photography”

The AI assistant will:

• Use the search_images tool automatically
• Present results with thumbnails and metadata
• Provide download links for different sizes
• Show licensing information

Advanced Image Search

Specify requirements for better results:

• “Find horizontal nature photos with minimum width 1920px”
• “Search for vertical business photos, editors choice only”
• “Get me grayscale urban photography for a poster”

Available filters you can mention:

• Orientation: horizontal, vertical, or square
• Colors: red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, purple, pink, white, gray, black, brown
• Categories: nature, business, education, food, health, people, places, animals, industry, computer, food, sports, transportation, travel, buildings, business, music
• Quality: mention “editors choice” for award-winning content
• Size: specify minimum width/height requirements

Video Search

Find stock videos:

• “Search for space exploration animation videos”
• “Find business presentation video clips”
• “Get me nature documentary footage”

Video-specific options:

• Type: film, animation, or any
• Duration: short clips vs longer footage
• Quality: different resolution options

Retrieve Specific Assets

Get individual items by ID:

• “Get image with Pixabay ID 195893”
• “Show me video 12345 from Pixabay”

This is useful when you know the exact ID of content you want to reference or download.

Step 5: Understanding Search Results

Image Results Include:

• Multiple sizes: thumbnail, web preview, full resolution
• Metadata: dimensions, file size, format
• Engagement metrics: views, downloads, likes
• Creator information: photographer/artist details
• Tags and categories: for content classification
• Licensing details: usage rights and requirements

Video Results Include:

• Multiple qualities: different resolutions and formats
• Preview information: duration, dimensions
• Download options: various file sizes
• Creator attribution: videographer details
• Usage statistics: views and downloads

Advanced Usage Tips

Combining Multiple Criteria

Be specific about your requirements:

"Find me horizontal business photos with minimum width 1920px, 
showing diverse teams in modern offices, editors choice preferred"

Content Planning Workflows

For marketing campaigns:

1. “Search for customer service images with diverse representatives”
2. “Find technology photos suitable for website headers”
3. “Get me social media friendly square images about productivity”

For presentations:

1. “Find professional business meeting photos, horizontal orientation”
2. “Search for data visualization and analytics images”
3. “Get me clean, minimal background images for slide templates”

Batch Content Discovery

Ask for themed collections:

• “Find me 10 different seasonal business photos”
• “Search for a variety of technology and innovation images”
• “Get me diverse food photography for a restaurant website”

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Server Not Loading

If the Pixabay server doesn’t appear in Claude Desktop:

1. Check configuration syntax: Ensure your JSON is valid
2. Verify file paths: Make sure the path to dist/index.js is correct
3. Confirm API key: Test your Pixabay API key on their website
4. Restart completely: Quit and restart Claude Desktop
5. Check logs: Look for error messages in Claude Desktop’s developer tools

API Errors

Rate limiting messages:

• Pixabay allows 100 requests per minute
• Space out large batch requests
• Consider implementing caching for repeated searches

Authentication errors:

• Double-check your API key is correct
• Ensure no extra spaces in the configuration
• Verify your Pixabay account is active

Search Returns No Results

Improve your search terms:

• Try broader, more general keywords
• Use English search terms (default language)
• Check spelling and avoid very specific phrases
• Consider alternative terminology

API Rate Limits and Best Practices

Understanding Limits

• 100 requests per minute by default
• Caching requirement: Results should be cached for 24 hours
• No systematic mass downloads: Don’t automate bulk downloading

Optimization Strategies

1. Be specific: More precise searches return better results faster
2. Use filters: Reduce result processing by filtering upfront
3. Cache results: Avoid repeated identical searches
4. Batch similar requests: Group related searches together

Licensing and Usage Rights

Pixabay License Benefits

• Royalty-free: No ongoing licensing fees
• Commercial use: Permitted for business purposes
• Modification allowed: Edit and adapt content as needed
• No attribution required: Though attribution is appreciated

Important Considerations

• Content License: Always verify individual image/video licenses
• Model releases: Some content may require model releases for commercial use
• Trademark considerations: Be aware of branded content in images
• Quality verification: Review content before final use

Security and Privacy

API Key Protection

• Never commit API keys to version control
• Use environment variables for production deployments
• Regularly rotate keys if you suspect compromise
• Monitor usage through Pixabay’s dashboard

Data Handling

• No personal data storage: The server doesn’t store search history
• Temporary caching: Results are cached only for performance
• Secure transmission: All API calls use HTTPS

Next Steps and Advanced Integration

Development Integration

For developers wanting to extend functionality:

• Fork the GitHub repository
• Add custom filtering logic
• Implement additional metadata processing
• Create automated content workflows

Business Automation

Integrate with business processes:

• Automated social media content discovery
• Dynamic website content updates
• Marketing campaign asset sourcing
• Product documentation illustration

Performance Optimization

For high-volume usage:

• Implement Redis caching
• Add request queuing for rate limit management
• Create content recommendation systems
• Build analytics dashboards

Conclusion

The Pixabay MCP Server transforms how you discover and work with visual content by bringing millions of royalty-free images and videos directly into your AI conversations. Whether you’re creating marketing materials, building presentations, or developing content strategies, this tool eliminates the friction between idea and execution.

Key benefits achieved:

• ✅ Instant access to 4.5+ million royalty-free assets
• ✅ Natural language search - no complex interfaces
• ✅ Advanced filtering for precise results
• ✅ Multiple formats and sizes for any use case
• ✅ Professional quality content without licensing fees
• ✅ Seamless AI integration in your existing workflows

With your Pixabay MCP Server properly configured, you now have a powerful visual content discovery system at your fingertips. Start experimenting with different search terms and filters to discover the full potential of conversational visual content discovery.

Ready to explore more MCP servers? Check out our complete MCP server directory to discover additional tools that can enhance your AI assistant’s capabilities.