Pexels MCP server

Connect Pexels to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, GitHub Copilot and any other MCP client, for your whole team. Metorial adds security, governance, and tracing, and gives everyone one Magic MCP URL to connect.

What you can do with the Pexels MCP server

Ask your agent in plain language. Each of these maps to a real tool on the server.

  • Use the search videos tool in Pexels
  • Use the search photos tool in Pexels
  • Use the list collections tool in Pexels
  • Use the get photo tool in Pexels
  • Use the get collection media tool in Pexels
  • Use the get video tool in Pexels

Supported Tools

search_videos

Search Videos

Search the Pexels library for royalty-free stock videos matching a keyword query. Supports filtering by orientation and size. Each video includes multiple file versions at different resolutions and preview pictures.

search_photos

Search Photos

Search the Pexels library for royalty-free stock photos matching a keyword query. Supports filtering by orientation, minimum size, and color. The library is searchable in 28 languages using the locale parameter.

list_collections

List Collections

Browse Pexels collections. Can list either **featured** collections curated by Pexels, or **your own** personal collections. Collections group photos and videos into themed galleries.

get_photo

Get Photo

Retrieve a specific photo by its Pexels ID. Returns full photo details including dimensions, photographer info, average color, alt text, and URLs for multiple image sizes (original, large, medium, small, portrait, landscape, tiny).

get_collection_media

Get Collection Media

Retrieve all media (photos and videos) within a specific Pexels collection. You can filter to receive only photos or only videos, and control the sort order.

get_video

Get Video

Retrieve a specific video by its Pexels ID. Returns full video details including duration, dimensions, videographer info, video files at various qualities/resolutions, and preview pictures.

curated_photos

Curated Photos

Browse real-time photos curated by the Pexels team. At least one new photo is added per hour, providing a changing selection of trending and featured content. Useful for displaying featured imagery without a specific search query.

download_video

Download Video

Download a specific file version of a Pexels video. Call get_video or search_videos to choose a fileId from videoFiles. HLS streaming playlists cannot be downloaded as a standalone video.

download_photo

Download Photo

Download a Pexels photo at its original size or a selected image size. Returns photo metadata and a downloadable image. Use search_photos or get_photo to find the photo ID.

Connect Pexels to your AI client

Every client uses the same Magic MCP URL, and so does any other MCP client. Add it once and sign in with SSO.

  1. Enable Pexels in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Pexels MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
  2. Add a custom connector. Open Customize, then Connectors. Select Add, then Custom, then Web.
  3. Paste your Metorial MCP URL. Name it Metorial, paste your Magic MCP URL (<your-magic-mcp-url>) and continue.
  4. Sign in. Select Add and sign in to load Pexels tools.

Run Pexels through the Metorial gateway

One governed layer for every app your agents reach, not a separate connector per tool.

  • Give Pexels and every other app to your whole team through one MCP gateway, behind your SSO.
  • Scope which teams and agents can use Pexels tools with role-based access control, and trace every call.
  • Prefer to run it yourself? Metorial is open source and self-hostable.

More integrations teams use with Pexels

Notion

Create, read, update, and archive pages and databases in a Notion workspace. Manage blocks (paragraphs, lists, headings, embeds, etc.) within pages. Query databases with filters and sorts across rich property types including text, numbers, dates, selects, relations, and formulas. Search across pages and databases by title. Add and read comments on pages and blocks. Upload files to pages. Manage workspace users and retrieve user profiles.

Google Sheets

Create, read, and update spreadsheets and their cell data. Read and write values to individual cells, ranges, or multiple ranges using A1 notation or named ranges. Apply cell formatting including text styles, backgrounds, borders, number formats, and conditional formatting. Manage sheets (tabs) within a spreadsheet—add, delete, copy, rename, and reorder them. Create and manage embedded charts, pivot tables, filter views, data validation rules, protected ranges, named ranges, and merged cells. Perform batch operations to apply multiple updates atomically.

Sharepoint

Manage SharePoint sites, document libraries, lists, and files. Create, read, update, and delete lists and list items with custom columns. Resolve site users to numeric Person/Group LookupId values. Upload, download, move, copy, and version files in document libraries. Search across sites, files, folders, lists, and list items using Microsoft Search. Manage permissions at site, list, and item levels with granular access control. Define and manage content types and site columns. Retrieve site properties and search for sites across Microsoft 365.

Google Drive

Upload, download, create, copy, move, rename, trash, and permanently delete files and folders in Google Drive. Search for files using complex queries filtering by name, MIME type, owner, modification date, labels, and other metadata. Share files and folders with specific users, groups, or domains with role-based permissions (owner, writer, commenter, reader). Manage shared drives and their members. Export Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, Slides) to standard formats like PDF, DOCX, and XLSX. Track file revision history and restore earlier versions. Create, read, update, and delete threaded comments and replies on files. Read label definitions and search files by label. Browse the Drive apps installed for your account. Store app-specific data in a hidden per-user folder.

Confluence

Create, read, update, and delete pages, blog posts, comments, and attachments in Confluence spaces. Manage spaces, permissions, labels, and content restrictions. Search content using Confluence Query Language (CQL). Upload and download file attachments with versioning. Manage users, groups, and group memberships. Create and manage whiteboards, databases, folders, and templates. View and update inline tasks. Access audit logs.

Google Slides

Create, read, edit, and delete Google Slides presentations. Create and manipulate slides with predefined or custom layouts. Insert, style, and replace text across slides, including bulk placeholder replacement for template-based generation. Add and position shapes, text boxes, lines, and images. Embed and refresh charts linked to Google Sheets. Manage speaker notes, duplicate or reorder slides, and perform batch updates combining multiple operations in a single call. Supports automated report and deck generation using templates with placeholder text and image substitution.

Technical notes for Pexels

Search and retrieve stock photos and videos from the Pexels library. Browse curated photos, popular videos, and featured or personal collections. Retrieve media metadata and download a selected image size or video file.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about connecting Pexels to AI agents with Metorial.

  1. How many tools does the Pexels MCP server have?
    The Pexels MCP server exposes 10 tools, including Search Videos, Search Photos, List Collections. Each one is governed and traced through Metorial.
  2. Pexels exposes tools your agents call on demand; it does not publish event triggers yet. Everything still runs through one governed MCP URL.
  3. Any MCP client, including VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, OpenCode and Grok. Each one reaches the Pexels MCP server through the same Metorial URL.
  4. Use role-based access control to decide which teams, users, and agents can use Pexels and which of its tools they can call.
  5. Yes. Metorial is open source, so you can run the Pexels MCP server yourself or use the hosted gateway.

Connect Pexels to production AI agents

See how Metorial gives your team governed access to Pexels, with tracing and security controls built in.