What is AWS Nova Canvas?

AWS Nova Canvas is an MCP server designed to generate images using Amazon Nova Canvas with text prompts and color guidance.

How to use AWS Nova Canvas?

To use AWS Nova Canvas, you need to:

1. Install the required tools (uv, Python 3.10, and AWS credentials)
2. Configure the MCP server in your client settings
3. Use the generate_image or generate_image_with_colors endpoints to create images

Key features of AWS Nova Canvas

• Text-based image generation with customizable dimensions, quality, and negative prompting
• Color-guided image generation with up to 10 hex color values
• Workspace integration for saving generated images
• AWS authentication for secure access
• Multi-image generation support

Use cases of AWS Nova Canvas

1. Generating creative visuals for marketing materials
2. Creating concept art for design projects
3. Testing visual concepts based on specific color palettes
4. Developing artwork for gamers and digital artists

FAQ from AWS Nova Canvas

• What prerequisites are needed to use AWS Nova Canvas?

You need uv, Python 3.10, and AWS credentials with access to Amazon Bedrock and Nova Canvas.

• How do I configure AWS Nova Canvas MCP Server?

You can configure it via JSON in your MCP client configuration or use Smithery for automatic installation.

• What permissions are required for the AWS profile?

The IAM role/user needs permissions to use Amazon Bedrock and Nova Canvas.

• Can I generate multiple images in a single request?

Yes, you can generate between 1 and 5 images with the text-based image generation endpoint.

Amazon Nova Canvas MCP Server

MCP server for generating images using Amazon Nova Canvas

Features

Text-based image generation

• Create images from text prompts with generate_image
• Customizable dimensions (320-4096px), quality options, and negative prompting
• Supports multiple image generation (1-5) in single request
• Adjustable parameters like cfg_scale (1.1-10.0) and seeded generation

Color-guided image generation

• Generate images with specific color palettes using generate_image_with_colors
• Define up to 10 hex color values to influence the image style and mood
• Same customization options as text-based generation

Workspace integration

• Images saved to user-specified workspace directories with automatic folder creation

AWS authentication

• Uses AWS profiles for secure access to Amazon Nova Canvas services

Prerequisites

1. Install uv from Astral or the GitHub README
2. Install Python using uv python install 3.10
3. Set up AWS credentials with access to Amazon Bedrock and Nova Canvas
   • You need an AWS account with Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Nova Canvas enabled
   • Configure AWS credentials with aws configure or environment variables
   • Ensure your IAM role/user has permissions to use Amazon Bedrock and Nova Canvas

Installation

Configure the MCP server in your MCP client configuration (e.g., for Amazon Q Developer CLI, edit ~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "awslabs.nova-canvas-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["awslabs.nova-canvas-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "AWS_PROFILE": "your-aws-profile",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1",
        "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

or docker after a successful docker build -t awslabs/nova-canvas-mcp-server .:

# fictitious `.env` file with AWS temporary credentials
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=ASIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY
AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=AQoEXAMPLEH4aoAH0gNCAPy...truncated...zrkuWJOgQs8IZZaIv2BXIa2R4Olgk

  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "awslabs.nova-canvas-mcp-server": {
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "--rm",
          "--interactive",
          "--env",
          "AWS_REGION=us-east-1",
          "--env",
          "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL=ERROR",
          "--env-file",
          "/full/path/to/file/above/.env",
          "awslabs/nova-canvas-mcp-server:latest"
        ],
        "env": {},
        "disabled": false,
        "autoApprove": []
      }
    }
  }

NOTE: Your credentials will need to be kept refreshed from your host

Installing via Smithery

To install Amazon Nova Canvas MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @awslabs/nova-canvas-mcp-server --client claude

AWS Authentication

The MCP server uses the AWS profile specified in the AWS_PROFILE environment variable. If not provided, it defaults to the "default" profile in your AWS configuration file.

"env": {
  "AWS_PROFILE": "your-aws-profile",
  "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
}

Make sure the AWS profile has permissions to access Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Nova Canvas. The MCP server creates a boto3 session using the specified profile to authenticate with AWS services. Your AWS IAM credentials remain on your local machine and are strictly used for using the Amazon Bedrock model APIs.