For AI agents & MCP clients
BananaBanana MCP Server
Generate AI images and videos directly from Claude Desktop, Claude Code and any other MCP client — billed per generation from your BananaBanana balance. No subscription.
One endpoint, every model
A remote Model Context Protocol server exposing the full BananaBanana generation stack as agent tools: Google Nano Banana 2 Lite / 2 / Pro images (from $0.03), Veo 3.1 / Fast / Lite video and Gemini Omni Flash with sound (flat $1.00). Your agent sees live prices, confirms costs before expensive runs, and every generation lands in the same history and balance as the website.
- Endpoint:
https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp(Streamable HTTP) - Auth: Bearer API key from your profile (OAuth 2.1 support is planned)
- Rate limit: 20 tool calls per minute per key; optional per-key daily spend cap
- No MCP client? The same endpoint is plain JSON-RPC over HTTPS — call it from curl, Python or TypeScript without any SDK
- Failed or filtered generations are refunded automatically
- Open docs,
server.jsonand copy-paste client examples in the bananabanana-mcp GitHub repository
Connected in three steps
1. Create an account and top up the balance. 2. In Profile → MCP API Keys create a key (shown once). 3. Add the server to your client:
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http bananabanana https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY"Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config); requires Node.js for the mcp-remote bridge:
{
"mcpServers": {
"bananabanana": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y", "mcp-remote", "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp",
"--header", "Authorization: Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY"
]
}
}
}Cursor
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in the project; to keep the key out of the file, use ${env:BB_API_KEY} instead of the literal value:
{
"mcpServers": {
"bananabanana": {
"url": "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY"
}
}
}
}Full Cursor walkthrough, including quirks and a live-key demo: Generate Images in Cursor.
VS Code / GitHub Copilot
Add to .vscode/mcp.json in the workspace (or your user settings.json); VS Code prompts for the key once and stores it encrypted:
{
"servers": {
"bananabanana": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${input:bb-api-key}"
}
}
},
"inputs": [
{
"type": "promptString",
"id": "bb-api-key",
"description": "BananaBanana API key (bb_live_…)",
"password": true
}
]
}Full VS Code / Copilot walkthrough, including quirks and a live-key demo: Generate Images in VS Code: Copilot MCP Setup Guide.
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"bananabanana": {
"serverUrl": "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY"
}
}
}
}Any other MCP client (raw JSON-RPC)
POST https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp
Authorization: Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json, text/event-stream
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}Prefer a walkthrough? The tutorial Generate Images in Claude Code covers the Claude setup end to end, with four real use cases and their actual costs.
Client compatibility
MCP is an open protocol: any client that speaks Streamable HTTP and can attach an Authorization header connects. Current state, verified against each vendor's official docs (last checked July 2026):
| Client | Works today? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | yes | claude mcp add --transport http … --header |
| Claude Desktop / claude.ai | yes | custom connector with a request header (beta, rolling out) or the mcp-remote bridge |
| Cursor | yes | .cursor/mcp.json: url + headers, secrets via ${env:…} — see the snippet above |
| VS Code / GitHub Copilot | yes | .vscode/mcp.json: type: "http" + url + headers; store the key as a promptString input — VS Code asks once and keeps it encrypted |
| ChatGPT desktop / Codex CLI / IDE | yes | shared ~/.codex/config.toml: url + bearer_token_env_var (put the key in the env var). ChatGPT web connectors are the exception — they authenticate via OAuth, not pasted keys |
| Gemini CLI | yes | httpUrl + headers in settings.json |
| xAI API (Grok) | yes | MCP tool with server_url and an authorization value sent to the server |
| grok.com (web) | partially | custom connectors take a server URL (Connectors → New Connector → Custom); the docs don't state whether a pasted API-key header is supported, so this path may need our upcoming OAuth 2.1 |
| ZCode (GLM-5.2) | yes | Settings → MCP Servers → type HTTP + Authorization header; GLM-5.2 inside Claude Code inherits the Claude Code config |
| Anything else | yes | raw JSON-RPC over HTTPS — see Call it from code below |
Codex example — add to ~/.codex/config.toml and export BB_API_KEY=bb_live_…:
[mcp_servers.bananabanana]
url = "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "BB_API_KEY"Full Codex walkthrough — CLI, IDE extension and ChatGPT desktop from one config, with quirks and a live-key demo: Codex MCP Setup: Images and Video from One config.toml.
Call it from code
Don't use an MCP client? You don't need one — and you don't need an SDK either. The server is plain JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTPS: one POST endpoint, a Bearer header, a single JSON response. It is stateless, so there is no session handshake to manage — tools/call works as the very first request from curl, Python, TypeScript or anything else that can send HTTP.
curl
# start an image generation (charges one image, $0.06 on the default model)
curl -s https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp \
-H "Authorization: Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{
"name":"generate_image",
"arguments":{"prompt":"studio photo of a ceramic mug on linen, soft daylight"}}}'
# → result.structuredContent.job_id = "cmxy…"
# fetch the result (long-polls server-side up to 30 s; free)
curl -s https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp \
-H "Authorization: Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{
"name":"get_result",
"arguments":{"job_id":"cmxy…","wait_seconds":30}}}'Python
Only requests — no MCP library:
import requests
MCP = "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp"
HEADERS = {"Authorization": "Bearer bb_live_YOUR_KEY"}
def call(tool, **args):
r = requests.post(MCP, headers=HEADERS, json={
"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/call",
"params": {"name": tool, "arguments": args},
})
r.raise_for_status()
return r.json()["result"]["structuredContent"]
job = call("generate_image", prompt="watercolor painting of a lighthouse at dawn")
result = call("get_result", job_id=job["job_id"], wait_seconds=30)
while result["status"] == "processing":
result = call("get_result", job_id=job["job_id"], wait_seconds=30)
print(result["files"][0]["url"], "cost:", result["cost_charged_usd"])TypeScript / Node.js
Zero dependencies — built-in fetch (Node 18+, Deno, Bun, browsers):
const MCP = "https://bananabanana.pro/api/mcp";
async function call(tool: string, args: Record<string, unknown>) {
const res = await fetch(MCP, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.BB_API_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
jsonrpc: "2.0", id: 1, method: "tools/call",
params: { name: tool, arguments: args },
}),
});
const { result } = await res.json();
return result.structuredContent;
}
const job = await call("generate_image", {
prompt: "isometric 3D render of a tiny greenhouse at golden hour",
});
let out = await call("get_result", { job_id: job.job_id, wait_seconds: 30 });
while (out.status === "processing") {
out = await call("get_result", { job_id: job.job_id, wait_seconds: 30 });
}
console.log(out.files[0].url, "cost:", out.cost_charged_usd);Details that matter when you script it:
- Every tool response carries the same JSON twice: machine-readable
result.structuredContentand a text block inresult.content— parse whichever is easier. - Video (and multi-image batches) are a two-step call: the first
generate_videoreturns a quote and charges nothing; repeat it withconfirm_costset to the quoted amount to start. - Pass an
idempotency_keyon generation calls — network retries will never double-charge. tools/listworks without a key, so you can explore the full schemas before creating an account. Tool calls are limited to 20 per minute per key.
Seven task-shaped tools
| Tool | Cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| list_models | free | All models with live per-unit prices, resolutions and constraints. |
| get_account | free | Balance, key spend cap and today's usage. |
| generate_image | $0.03–$0.20 | Text-to-image on Nano Banana 2 Lite / 2 / Pro, up to 4K. Returns a job_id. |
| edit_image | price of one image | Refine a finished image with a text instruction (multi-turn editing). |
| generate_video | $0.10–$4.40 | Veo 3.1 family or Omni Flash (always with sound). Always quotes the exact cost first. |
| get_result | free | Poll a job: hosted media URLs (24 h links), cost charged, balance left, inline image preview. |
| list_generations | free | Recent generation history — shared with the website. |
Cost transparency, built in
- Prices are served live by
list_models— the same source the website uses. - Every video (and multi-image batch) call first returns a quote and charges nothing; the agent repeats the call with
confirm_costto start. - Every result includes
cost_charged_usdandbalance_remaining_usd. - Upstream failures and content-filter rejections are refunded automatically — same policy as the web app.
- Optional
idempotency_keyguarantees retries never double-charge.
A real conversation
→ generate_video {"prompt": "drone shot over a misty pine forest", "model": "veo-3.1-fast"}
← {"status": "confirmation_required", "quoted_cost_usd": 0.70, ...}
→ generate_video {..., "confirm_cost": 0.70}
← {"job_id": "cmxy…", "status": "processing", "cost_charged_usd": 0.70, "balance_remaining_usd": 12.40}
→ get_result {"job_id": "cmxy…"}
← {"status": "completed", "files": [{"url": "https://…"}], "cost_charged_usd": 0.70}Media URLs & security
- Result URLs are signed and valid for 24 hours; the media itself stays in your account — call
get_resultagain for fresh links, or download from the website. - API keys are stored hashed and shown only once at creation; revoke them any time in your profile.
- Per-key usage log (tool, model, cost, prompt preview) is visible in Profile → MCP API Keys.
- MCP generations appear in the same generation history and analytics as web generations.
Ready to plug your agent in?
Create a key, add one config line — your agent generates studio-grade media in minutes.
Get your API key