ClayStage now speaks MCP (the Model Context Protocol), the open standard that lets an AI assistant like Claude connect to an outside service and use it directly. In plain terms: you point your Claude at ClayStage and build your studio scene by chat. Connecting is one click (sign in and click Allow, no tokens), and once you switch on Claude control it builds in your live studio: backdrops, props, materials, lights, characters, cameras and animation, then renders, all on your plan.
What MCP is, and why it matters here
Most AI tools live in their own window. MCP is the bridge that lets them reach into the apps you already use. By exposing a small MCP "server," ClayStage becomes something your Claude can drive: it stages the scene, sets materials and lighting, frames the camera, and renders, while you watch and tweak, without copying and pasting between tabs.
Safe by design
This is the part we cared about most. A connected Claude can do only the specific things we hand it, and nothing else:
- A fixed list of tools. The connection exposes a short, named allowlist. There is no general "run code," no database access, no way to reach the app's source.
- It runs as you. Every account action uses your own ClayStage sign-in, so the exact same per-user rules apply as in the app. It can never see another customer's work or your back end.
- It builds only when you allow it. Browsing your catalog and account works on its own; to let Claude change your scene you switch on Claude control in the studio, and anything that spends credits keeps the same plan limits and paywall as the website.
What it can do
With Claude control on, your Claude builds in your live studio:
- Work from a photo: share a reference image and Claude rebuilds the look from ClayStage parts, backdrop, materials, lighting and framing.
- Set the scene: cyclorama walls, stages and pedestals, models, and 3D text, placed where you want them. It reads the scene back (object positions, sizes, the stage surface) so placement is deliberate, not blind.
- Look and light: apply any material and recolor it, set the lighting preset and HDRI environment, and add gobos for window light and patterns.
- People: add a character, dress them, pose them, and set expression and gaze.
- Frame and move: add and switch cameras, set focal length and aperture, position the shot, and animate, object motion, camera orbits, even a dolly zoom.
- Render: when the scene looks right, render it photoreal or turn it into video, on your plan, in your browser.
It also reads your plan and credits and pulls up your recent renders, each with a fresh, private download link.
How to connect
The connection lives at https://claystage.studio/api/mcp (the URL must start with https://). In a client that supports custom connectors (for example, the Claude desktop app or claude.ai), add it as a custom connector. Claude opens a ClayStage sign-in page; sign in and click Allow. That is it, no tokens to copy. The full step-by-step lives on the Connect page and in the in-app guide. To unplug it later, open Account & settings, then Connected apps, and disconnect.
What comes next
This is the foundation, and we keep widening what Claude can reach: more of the studio's controls and sharper spatial awareness so it places and frames shots even more precisely. Same stage, new way in.
We build in public and ship often. MCP is a big step toward ClayStage being wherever your work already happens. Connect it, switch on Claude control, and build your next scene by chat.