Distill Mcp

What is Distill Mcp?

Distill Mcp is an open-source MCP server that acts as a stdio-to-HTTP bridge to the Distill macOS app. It lets Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client automatically rename files based on content analysis performed by Distill’s AI (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence). It is for macOS users who want AI-powered file naming from their AI assistant.

How to use Distill Mcp?

Install the binary (build from source or use the pre-built release), ensure Distill app is installed and running with credentials from its Settings page. Configure your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) to run the DistillMCP binary with the environment variables DISTILL_PORT (default 22200) and DISTILL_TOKEN. No other setup is needed.

Key features of Distill Mcp

• Exposes 9 MCP tools including rename, preview, undo, folder monitoring
• Supports five AI providers: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama, Apple Intelligence
• Reads PDFs, images (OCR), Office docs, emails, HTML, RTF, and media
• Fully local mode with Ollama (no data leaves your Mac)
• Configurable naming rules: date format, casing, categories, custom templates
• Pay-per-use credits starting at €1.99 per 100 renames (free trial available)

Use cases of Distill Mcp

• Ask an AI assistant to rename 47 PDFs in ~/Downloads with preview before applying
• Automatically rename files dropped into a monitored folder
• Revert a batch rename and review the history of changes
• Switch AI provider on the fly to use a local Ollama model for sensitive files
• Bulk rename old scans (IMG_4521.jpg -> 250401 Invoice Telekom.pdf)

FAQ from Distill Mcp

What are the dependencies of Distill Mcp?

You need macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, the Distill app installed and running, and Swift 5.9+ (Xcode 15+) if building from source. The Distill app itself requires macOS 14+.

How does the bridge work?

Distill Mcp reads JSON-RPC 2.0 requests from stdin, forwards them via HTTP with a Bearer token to Distill’s local server on port 22200, and writes responses to stdout. All file analysis and AI calls happen inside Distill.

What file types does Distill Mcp support?

It supports PDFs, images (with OCR), Office documents, emails, HTML, RTF, and media files. Distill extracts dates, categories, descriptions, senders, and amounts to build descriptive filenames.

Is my data kept local when using Distill Mcp?

Yes, if you choose Ollama as the AI provider, nothing leaves your Mac. With other providers file data is sent to their APIs. The Distill app itself runs entirely on your machine.

What pricing does Distill Mcp require?

Distill Mcp is free, open-source. The Distill app is free to try and uses a pay-per-credit model: 100 free credits, then 100 for €1.99, 400 for €4.99, or 1,000 for €8.99. No subscription is needed.