How to generate images in Claude, step by step

Claude can't make a photo or an illustration by itself. It has no built-in image model. But it can drive one through a connector, and the setup is a few clicks.

This guide shows each real route, from a plain chat on claude.ai to Claude Code in your terminal.

What Claude makes on its own

Claude reads images well. You can paste a screenshot or a photo and ask about it. Making new pixels is a different job, and Anthropic has not built an image model into Claude.

What Claude does draw is code. Since March 12, 2026, it builds charts and diagrams inline in chat. The feature is in beta on every plan. Claude Design, launched April 17, 2026 as a research preview for paid plans, makes prototypes, slides and one-pagers.

These are good for a flowchart or a landing page mockup. They won't give you a product shot, a portrait or a poster with a painted scene.

How a connector adds image generation

A connector links Claude to an outside service through MCP, the Model Context Protocol. MCP is an open standard that lets Claude call tools that live on another server.

An image connector gives Claude a tool such as "generate". You ask for a picture in plain words. Claude writes a detailed prompt, calls the tool, waits for the run, and hands you the result.

The model that paints is the one behind the connector. Claude does the part it's good at: turning a vague request into a precise prompt, and changing it when you say "warmer light" or "move the logo left".

Add a connector on claude.ai or Claude Desktop

Custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. A Free account is limited to one. On Pro or Max, the steps are:

1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Click + Add, then Add custom connector.
3. Give it a name and paste the server URL. For the Visual Sandbox connector, the URL is https://visualsandbox.com/mcp.
4. Sign in when the browser asks. There is no API key to copy.
5. In a new chat, click the + button at the lower left, open Connectors, and switch it on.

Now ask: "Make a 16:9 photo of a lighthouse at dusk." Claude picks a model, runs it, and replies with a link to the image.

On a Team or Enterprise plan, an Owner adds the connector for the whole organization first. Each member then connects from their own Connectors page.

Add it to Claude Code

Claude Code reads the same kind of server from the command line:

claude mcp add --transport http visual-sandbox https://visualsandbox.com/mcp

Then type /mcp inside Claude Code, pick the server, and sign in through the browser. Add --scope user to the first command if you want the server in every project, not only the current one.

There is also a Claude Code plugin that bundles the server with slash commands and prompt guides:

claude plugin marketplace add visualsandbox/skills
claude plugin install visual-sandbox@visual-sandbox

Sign in with /mcp, then try /image a lighthouse at dusk.

Claude Code is the better fit when the images belong in a project. It can save the file to public/hero.jpg, resize it, and wire it into the page in one task.

Other routes, and where they fall short

Ask Claude for the prompt only. Claude writes a strong image prompt, and you paste it into an image tool by hand. It costs nothing extra, but every revision is a copy and paste.

Have Claude write the code. For icons, logos and simple art, ask for an SVG. It's a real vector file you can open in any browser. It will not look like a photo.

Build your own tool. Developers can give Claude an image API as a tool through the Claude API. This is the most control and the most work, since you host and maintain it.

What to check before you connect one

A connector runs on someone else's server, and each run usually costs money. Anthropic's help page tells you to connect only to servers you trust.

Look for three things. Can you see the price before a run? Can you pick the model, or are you locked to one? Does the result land somewhere you can find it later?

The Visual Sandbox connector has a cost estimate tool, so you can ask "what will this cost?" before Claude starts. You pay per run from a balance, with no monthly fee required.

Start with the route that matches where you already work: the connector for chat, the plugin for Claude Code.