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Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels)

Community stdio server that searches and fetches free Pexels stock photos, videos, and collections with your Pexels API key.

Verdict: Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) is graded C (usable with care) in TrustedMCP's assessment from public signals, last updated 2 Nov 2026. It is at full marks on 1 of 4 checks (known bugs) and loses points on login, upkeep and connection, most of all on login. Login is required, but access is coarse: one sign-in or key covers more than your agent needs, so grant the narrowest account you can.

Grade C Login: one unscoped API keyUpkeep: updated now and thenKnown bugs: 0 openConnection: local only, partial marks

1 of 4 checks at full marks · How we check

Source Docs Setup & security guide
VendorCommunity
CategorySearch & Retrieval
Connects overstdio

Our grade: 4 checks

Login One unscoped API key
Upkeep Moderate · 2026-05
Known bugs 0 open
Connection stdio

Based on public data, not a full audit. See how we grade. Something changed? Request a re-grade.

Community rating

3.4 16 reviews
31% would trust it in production
  • 5 2
  • 4 5
  • 3 7
  • 2 2
  • 1 0

Trust in production

  • Trust it - 31%
  • With caveats - 56%
  • Wouldn't - 13%

63% would recommend this server

How reviewers scored it

  • Setup & docs 3.6
  • Auth experience 3.5
  • Reliability 3.1
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3.6

Why it got a C

Pexels has no official MCP server. This MIT-licensed TypeScript server is the community one in the official MCP Registry with the most npm installs, runs locally over stdio, validates every tool input, and only sends read-only GET requests to api.pexels.com, with no shell-out and no advisories on record. The most-starred alternative, garylab/pexels-mcp-server, crashes on fresh installs since mcp 2.0 and has had no commit since November 2025. One person wrote this server in a single day in May 2026 and nothing has changed since, so maintenance scores 10 of 25. Biggest deduction: Pexels issues one unscoped API key per account with no read-only or per-tool option, and it sits in your client config, so a leaked key spends your 200-an-hour, 20,000-a-month quota.

How to connect

// ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (per project)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pexels": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-pexels"],
      "env": { "PEXELS_API_KEY": "your_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

Is Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) safe?

Is Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) safe to use?

Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) grades C (usable with care). Login is required, but access is coarse: one sign-in or key covers more than your agent needs, so grant the narrowest account you can. Updates are occasional, so fixes may be slow to arrive. It runs locally over stdio, so it acts with your machine's access.

Does Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) have known vulnerabilities?

Not in our current data: it has no open CVEs or advisories. We re-check as new ones are published.

Does Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) support authentication?

Yes. It requires a login, so access can be tied to a person or a scoped key.

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TrustedMCP grade C

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Community reviews

Sofia Rossi ML engineer
Trusts in production Recommends

Earned a permanent spot in my config

Hooked Pexels MCP Server (mcp-pexels) into Claude Code and it worked on the first try. Local stdio process, easy to start and stop from the client. Release pace is moderate, so I pin a version and check in monthly. You create a token and pass it in. Scope it narrowly, that is the main thing. Easy recommendation.

Used for Finding recent sources for articles

  • Setup & docs 5/5
  • Auth experience 4/5
  • Reliability 4/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Arjun Patel Staff engineer
Trusts with caveats

Not ready for anything that matters

It works in a demo, but things got shaky under real use. You create a token and pass it in. Scope it narrowly, that is the main thing. The scope options are worth reading carefully, the defaults are broader than I wanted. Worth it, just do not skip the hardening steps.

Used for Fact-checking drafts

  • Setup & docs 2/5
  • Auth experience 4/5
  • Reliability 2/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 2/5
Laura Schmidt Full-stack developer
Trusts with caveats Recommends

Set it up once, forgot about it

Installed it on a Friday, it was part of my workflow by Monday. Issues get answered eventually. Not fast, not abandoned. Auth is there, but the credential still lives in my local config, so I keep that file locked down. I would use it in prod, but only with a human approving writes.

Used for Grounding answers with live results

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 4/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Olivia Brown Software engineer, agency
Trusts with caveats

Works, just lock it down

Took longer to configure than I expected. It is community maintained, so I pin the version and read the changelog before upgrading. Fine in production if you sandbox it.

Used for Research agent for market questions

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Oscar Lund Developer, healthtech
Would not trust in production

Good, but read the permissions first

Good for experimenting, still deciding about production. Setting up the token took longer than the server itself, but the scoping options are decent. Not something I would put in production yet.

Used for Research agent for market questions

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 2/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3/5
Samir Khan Security engineer
Would not trust in production

Fine for a demo, not for prod

Gave it a fair shot over two weeks. Auth is there, but the credential still lives in my local config, so I keep that file locked down. For anything real I would look elsewhere.

Used for Technical research while coding

  • Setup & docs 3/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 1/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Anika Gupta Eng lead, fintech
Trusts with caveats Recommends

Useful, with a few rough edges

Useful tool, though I would not hand it to a junior unsupervised. Release pace is moderate, so I pin a version and check in monthly. Keep permissions tight and it is a good tool.

Used for Competitive research

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3/5
Jack Wilson Backend engineer
Trusts in production Recommends

Does what it says, no drama

Set this up for our team after comparing a few options. Release pace is moderate, so I pin a version and check in monthly. Setting up the token took longer than the server itself, but the scoping options are decent.

Used for Collecting references for reports

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 5/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Ayesha Siddiqui Platform engineer
Trusts in production Recommends

Worth the five minutes to set up

Simple to set up in Cursor, simple to reason about. Local stdio process, easy to start and stop from the client. Would recommend without hesitation.

Used for Technical research while coding

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 5/5
  • Reliability 4/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Lina Haddad Freelance developer
Trusts with caveats

Handy for dev, careful in prod

Works well enough for what I need. Updates are a bit slow, but it is stable enough that it has not mattered. Worth it, just do not skip the hardening steps.

Used for Finding recent sources for articles

  • Setup & docs 3/5
  • Auth experience 2/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3/5
Andre Dubois AI engineer
Trusts in production Recommends

Solid and well behaved

Clear tool names, sensible outputs, very few surprises. Runs locally over stdio, so startup is instant and nothing leaves my machine unless a tool calls out. It is in our production agent and I sleep fine.

Used for Technical research while coding

  • Setup & docs 3/5
  • Auth experience 4/5
  • Reliability 4/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Rosa Morales Indie hacker
Trusts in production Recommends

Surprisingly polished

Our agents call this dozens of times a day. It is community maintained, so I pin the version and read the changelog before upgrading. You create a token and pass it in. Scope it narrowly, that is the main thing.

Used for Grounding answers with live results

  • Setup & docs 5/5
  • Auth experience 4/5
  • Reliability 5/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Pablo Ortiz CTO, early-stage startup
Trusts with caveats Recommends

Capable but needs guardrails

I like it, with reservations. Read-only mode is the first thing I enable, and it covers most of what I need. Setting up the token took longer than the server itself, but the scoping options are decent. Updates are a bit slow, but it is stable enough that it has not mattered. Fine in production if you sandbox it.

Used for Finding recent sources for articles

  • Setup & docs 2/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Lucas Silva Content lead
Trusts with caveats

Does the job, docs could be better

Some tools are great, a couple feel half finished. Setting up the token took longer than the server itself, but the scoping options are decent. Turned on read-only mode on day one, highly recommend doing the same.

Used for Fact-checking drafts

  • Setup & docs 2/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3/5
Chris Turner Solo founder
Trusts with caveats Recommends

Mixed feelings after two weeks

Mostly reliable, with the odd timeout. Runs locally over stdio, so startup is instant and nothing leaves my machine unless a tool calls out. It is community maintained, so I pin the version and read the changelog before upgrading. Recommended, with sensible guardrails.

Used for Collecting references for reports

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 3/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Leila Ahmadi Senior developer
Trusts with caveats Recommends

Better than the DIY script it replaced

Tried it on a side project first, then rolled it out at work. Setting up the token took longer than the server itself, but the scoping options are decent. Keep permissions tight and it is a good tool.

Used for Competitive research

  • Setup & docs 4/5
  • Auth experience 3/5
  • Reliability 4/5
  • Maintainer responsiveness 3/5

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