Nanobanana MCP Server

A production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI-powered image generation capabilities through Google's Gemini models with intelligent model selection. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People connecting media tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-05-18 · ★ 393 · #15 OF 155 MAINTAINED MEDIA · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

MIT · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Nanobanana MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set GEMINI_API_KEY, NANOBANANA_AUTH_METHOD, GCP_PROJECT_ID, GEMINI_BASE_URL, LOG_LEVEL, LOG_FORMAT before connecting. GCP_REGION, NANOBANANA_MODEL, IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR are optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add zhongweili-nanobanana-mcp-server -- uvx nanobanana-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zhongweili-nanobanana-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "nanobanana-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license MIT - declared in the repository

pypi package nanobanana-mcp-server - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

registry namespace io.github.zhongweili is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Nanobanana MCP Server can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

Latest releases

v0.4.2 · 2026-02-27

Bug Fix · Live testing after v0.4.1 revealed two more default-parameter scoring bugs that kept routing all requests to PRO instead of NB2. · Root Causes · Bug 1 - thinking_level="high" tool default · The generate_image…

v0.4.1 · 2026-02-27

Bug Fix · The auto model selection was routing every request to Pro instead of NB2. · Root Cause · The scoring in _auto_select() assumed grounding and high resolution were Pro-only features: · resolution="high" (tool…

v0.4.0 · 2026-02-27

Nano Banana 2 - New Default Model · Introduces Nano Banana 2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview): Flash-speed generation with Pro-level quality. NB2 is now the AUTO default, replacing Gemini 2.5 Flash. · What's New…

04 · Who maintains Nanobanana MCP Server

nanobanana-mcp-server is maintained by zhongweili. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Aug 2025.

05 · Facts

category
media - ranked #15 of 155 actively-maintained media servers as of 2026-08-25.
registry
io.github.zhongweili/nanobanana-mcp-server (active, first published 2025-09-09 · 2 versions)
packages
pypi:nanobanana-mcp-server

06 · Nanobanana MCP Server FAQ

What is Nanobanana MCP Server?

A production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI-powered image generation capabilities through Google's Gemini models with intelligent model selection. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

Is Nanobanana MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-05-18. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Nanobanana MCP Server?

Run `uvx nanobanana-mcp-server`. The README documents 9 environment variables (GEMINI_API_KEY, NANOBANANA_AUTH_METHOD, GCP_PROJECT_ID…) to set first. Set GEMINI_API_KEY, NANOBANANA_AUTH_METHOD, GCP_PROJECT_ID, GEMINI_BASE_URL, LOG_LEVEL, LOG_FORMAT before connecting. GCP_REGION, NANOBANANA_MODEL, IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR are optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Nanobanana MCP Server run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Nanobanana MCP Server