Get Started

Use Efecto with Claude

Create stunning visuals with AI. Just install Efecto and ask Claude to make posters, ASCII art, glitch effects, and more.

Install

Open your terminal and run this command:

terminal

npx @efectoapp/mcp-server install

That's it!

Restart Claude Code after installing. Then just ask Claude to create something.

Try It

After restarting Claude Code, try these prompts:

prompts.txt

"Create a cyberpunk poster with ASCII art"

"Make a retro gameboy-style image with dithering"

"Design a vintage halftone print poster"

"Search for a sunset photo and add a glitch effect"

What You Can Make

ASCII Art

8 styles: standard, blocks, braille, matrix, hatching, technical, dense, minimal

Dithering

Classic algorithms: Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, Sierra, Stucki, and more

Halftone

Print-style effects: mono dots or CMYK color separation

Glitch

Digital chaos: VHS, chromatic, digital blocks, weird

Art Effects

Painterly: kuwahara, crosshatch, lineart, engraving, stipple

Post-Processing

19 stackable effects: grain, bloom, scanlines, vignette, and more

Text Animations

12 per-character animations: wave, typewriter, glitch, neon, bounce, and more

Design Skill

Want better designs? The Design Skill teaches Claude typography rules, font pairings, effect combos, and layout patterns. It includes 5 complete poster recipes that produce polished results.

Tips

Be specific: "Make a cyberpunk poster" works better than "make a poster"
Ask for images: "Search for a mountain photo" finds free stock images
Iterate: "Make the text bigger" or "Add more grain"
Get the URL: "Give me the link" to see your design in the browser

Uninstall

To remove Efecto from Claude Code:

terminal

npx @efectoapp/mcp-server uninstall

Troubleshooting

"Command not found"

Make sure you have Node.js installed. Download it from nodejs.org

"Claude doesn't know about Efecto"

Did you restart Claude Code after installing? Close and reopen it.

Still not working?

Check your config file at ~/.claude.json. You should see an "efecto" entry under "mcpServers".

Reference

For developers who want to understand the technical details.

All MCP Tools

Tool	Description
`list_effects`	List all available effects
`list_fonts`	List available fonts
`list_palettes`	List color palettes
`list_materials`	List 3D materials
`list_postprocess`	List post-processing effects
`list_text_animations`	List text animation types
`search_images`	Search free stock photos from Lummi
`create_poster`	Create a new poster
`set_background`	Set background fill (solid/linear/radial gradient) or media (image/video)
`add_layer`	Add text (with optional animation), image, or video layer
`modify_layer`	Update an existing layer
`remove_layer`	Remove a layer
`apply_effect`	Apply main effect
`add_postprocess`	Add post-processing effect
`get_state`	Get current poster state
`generate_url`	Generate shareable URL
`render_image`	Render poster to image (returns base64 data via MCP)

Effect IDs

Category	Effect IDs
ASCII	`ascii-standard` `ascii-blocks` `ascii-braille` `ascii-hatching` `ascii-matrix` `ascii-technical` `ascii-dense` `ascii-minimal`
Dither	`dither-floyd-steinberg` `dither-atkinson` `dither-jarvis-judice-ninke` `dither-stucki` `dither-burkes` `dither-sierra` `dither-two-row-sierra` `dither-sierra-lite`
Halftone	`halftone-mono` `halftone-cmyk`
Glitch	`glitch-chromatic` `glitch-digital` `glitch-vhs` `glitch-weird`
Art	`art-kuwahara` `art-crosshatch` `art-lineart` `art-engraving` `art-stipple`

Post-Process Types

19 stackable effects: scanlines vignette chromatic-aberration curvature grain noise pixelate wave rgb-glitch brightness-contrast color-tint palette jitter bloom dot-screen sepia grid light-beams motion-blur