openmandel

openmandel is an MCP server that gives AI assistants deterministic Mandelbrot image-generation tools.

Seahorse Valley deep zoom, electric blue, smooth coloring	Boundary region, viridis, escape-time coloring
Triple spiral, inferno, smooth coloring	Elephant Valley organic coral, gold fire, smooth coloring

Install from source

pip install openmandel
# or
uvx openmandel

LM Studio setup

Add to mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmandel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["openmandel"],
      "env": {
        "OPENMANDEL_OUTPUT_DIR": "~/Pictures/openmandel"
      }
    }
  }
}

If LM Studio cannot find uvx, run which uvx and use the absolute path as command.

Claude Desktop setup

Same setup in claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmandel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["openmandel"],
      "env": {
        "OPENMANDEL_OUTPUT_DIR": "~/Pictures/openmandel"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

CLI

openmandel          # Start MCP stdio server
openmandel serve    # Same
openmandel render plan.json    # Render from JSON plan file
openmandel presets             # List presets
openmandel palettes            # List palettes
openmandel gallery ~/Pictures/openmandel  # Generate gallery HTML

Example prompts

Use openmandel to inspect the seahorse_valley viewport at zoom 100000 and 1024x1024. Use the returned iteration guidance to choose a max_iter. Then render the image with electric_blue palette and smooth coloring.

Use openmandel to list the available Mandelbrot presets and palettes. Then render a 1024x1024 icy blue spiral image using a good preset for intricate spirals.

Use openmandel to create four Mandelbrot variations that look like molten gold recursive suns in a black void. Use a nested or recursive preset if available, and create a contact sheet.

Output and security

• All output is written under ~/Pictures/openmandel (configurable via OPENMANDEL_OUTPUT_DIR).
• The server will not write outside the output root unless OPENMANDEL_ALLOW_ARBITRARY_OUTPUT_DIRS=true.
• No network access required for normal operation. No telemetry.

License

MIT