COLOR PALETTE MCP SERVER FOR AI ASSISTANTS

Your next idea.In good color.

Connect your agents to QRCO MCP.
Find your colors, try them in an interactive workspace, build light and dark brand systems, and take CSS or Tailwind tokens into your project. Get named colors and calculations you can check. When the nearest print swatch is still a poor match, QRCO tells you.

Connect your agent

A LITTLE THEORY.MEET YOUR NEXT TOOL.

Made for ideas.
Built for possibility.

YOUR ASSISTANT + QRCOColor tools + your saved library.

01#2256F202#DCE5FF03#F6EEE304#CEDEB505#272D3B

Public color tools · No QRCO account or API key neededIllustrative palette / Made to inspire

01 / A SIMPLE CONNECTION

Your words.
Our color engine.

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It gives your AI assistant a standard way to use tools—including QRCO.

You ask
“Find five pastel colors for a bakery.”
Your assistant calls QRCO
Our engine generates the palette and returns the color data.
You keep creating
Ask your assistant to explain the colors, write CSS variables or apply them to your project.

Your assistant handles the conversation. QRCO supplies the color calculations and, in compatible apps, an interactive palette workspace right in your chat.

Why call a tool instead of just asking the model? A convincing color suggestion still needs checking. QRCO calculates contrast, color mixing and color distance, so your assistant can work with the numbers instead of guessing them. You keep the conversation—and get something you can build with.

02 / YOUR CONNECTION DETAILS

One URL.
A whole spectrum.

MCP server URL

Paste this into your AI app’s MCP settings.

Name: qrco
Transport / Type: Streamable HTTP
Authentication: None
API key / Token: Leave blank

The MCP URL is for your AI client. Opening it as a webpage can show “Use POST”—that is expected.

Working with your saved palettes? Connect your QRCO account below ↗. Both connections are free.

CONNECT THE PUBLIC TOOLS

A few steps.
Then just ask.

01 Desktop MCP settings

In your AI app, open Settings → MCP servers and choose Add server.
Enter qrco, choose Streamable HTTP, and paste the URL on this page.
Choose No authentication if asked. Leave token fields empty.
Save. If the app asks you to restart the MCP connection, use its Restart button. Start a new conversation and try a prompt below.

Labels vary by app. Your client must support remote Streamable HTTP MCP servers. OpenAI desktop and Codex setup ↗

02 Codex CLI

If you already have the Codex CLI installed, run:

codex mcp add qrco --url https://qrco.ca/mcp

Run codex mcp list to confirm it is configured. Start a new Codex session and ask it to use QRCO.

Official Codex MCP guide ↗

03 ChatGPT on the web

If available for your account, enable Developer mode in Settings → Security and login.
Open Plugins, select the plus button and create a developer-mode app.
Name it QRCO, enter https://qrco.ca/mcp and choose No authentication.
Select the app through the composer’s Developer mode tools in a conversation, then try a prompt below.

Availability and workspace permissions vary. If these controls are missing, check your account or administrator settings. Official ChatGPT developer-mode guide ↗

04 Another MCP client

Choose the client’s remote MCP or HTTP connection option and enter the details shown here. If your client accepts JSON configuration, its documentation may use this common format:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qrco": {
      "url": "https://qrco.ca/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Configuration formats differ between clients; some require an explicit HTTP type. Follow your client’s guide. QRCO uses stateless Streamable HTTP, not the older SSE-only transport.

YOUR SAVED BRAND, IN YOUR AI APP

Bring your brand.
Keep control.

Read your saved palettes and brand systems. Choose whether your agent may also save or publish. Account access is free.

Account MCP server URL

Add this as a separate connection in your AI app. Keep the public connection for generating colors and opening the interactive workspace. Use the account URL exactly as shown, without a trailing slash.

Name: qrco-account
Transport / Type: Streamable HTTP
Authentication: OAuth
Sign-in: On QRCO’s website

Google sign-in identifies you to QRCO. This connection does not grant access to Gmail. Never paste passwords, login codes or access tokens into your chat.

CONTINUE WITH YOUR OWN WORK

Your palette.
Ready when you are.

Add qrco-account with the account URL and choose OAuth in your AI app.
Follow the app’s authorization link. Sign in to QRCO using the Google account you use in Studio.
Review the requested permissions and approve the access you want. Reading, private saving, revising and publishing are separate permissions.
Refresh the connection’s tools if your app requires it, then try the read-only prompt below.

Use my connected QRCO account to list my saved palettes. Open one I choose and show its saved color names and any brand-system roles.

Success means your assistant calls list_saved_palettes and returns your actual saved work. An empty library can be valid; check the signed-in account and whether your palettes were saved to your account rather than only on your device.

01 What can I let my agent do?

Ask get_capabilities to inspect the connection. Read access also includes search_explore_for_account, which can exclude palettes similar to your saved library. Read access (palettes:read) enables list_saved_palettes and get_saved_palette, including saved names and brand roles. It also enables preview_brand_revision and get_palette_history. Revision access (palettes:revise) enables save_brand_revision to update a private brand system while retaining earlier versions. Existing connections need a new approval for revision access. Private save access (palettes:save) enables save_palette. Publishing access (palettes:publish) enables publish_palette and unpublish_palette.

Saving stays private. Tell your agent explicitly when you want a public page. Connecting does not automatically grant saving, revision or publishing access. Each needs your approval.

02 My assistant sees only twenty-two tools.

Those are the public tools. Add the separate account connection above. Your approved permissions determine which account tools are available. Ask get_capabilities to show what your connection can do and which actions need additional permission. If the account connection is already present, complete authorization and refresh its tools.

03 My app cannot finish account setup.

Keep OAuth enabled for the account URL. If no sign-in window opens, or approval fails, note the app name and exact error. Do not include tokens, login codes or callback URLs in feedback.

The client must support OAuth authorization code with PKCE and dynamic registration of public clients (token endpoint authentication method none). That technical method does not mean selecting “No authentication” in the app. HTTPS and loopback callback URLs are accepted. Clients should send the account MCP URL as the OAuth resource. For compatibility, an omitted resource defaults only to QRCO’s account MCP; an explicitly different resource is rejected. Compatibility with each AI app requires testing.

Follow a saved palette. In a compatible Events client, ask to watch palette.revised for one saved palette and explain its next revision. The account connection provides the event; the client manages the watch and notification. Watching does not grant permission to edit, and device push notifications depend on the client.

Connections expire after 30 days. Review or disconnect applications ↗. Website sign-out does not disconnect them. An application may retain data it already received.

03 / START WITH A CONVERSATION

A spark.
In your own words.

Copy a prompt into your connected assistant. No tool names to memorize.

TRY THE WORKSPACE

Use QRCO’s present_palette tool to show #A65F40, #292321, #F3EBDD, #8CB2AB and #597A8C as Copper & Counsel. Open the interactive Brand and Balance workspace. Do not save or publish.

THE FIRST TEST

Use QRCO to build a warm, intelligent luxury brand system around #A65F40. Give me checked light and dark color roles, semantic CSS, Tailwind CSS v4 and a Studio link.

KEEP A COLOR YOU LOVE

Use QRCO to create a five-color elegant palette. Keep #2256F2 locked at index 0. Turn the result into CSS variables.

EXPLORE ANOTHER FEELING

Use QRCO’s vary_palette tool on #2256F2, #DCE5FF, #F6EEE3, #CEDEB5 and #272D3B. Show three variations and explain how their moods differ.

TEST ITS HONESTY

Use QRCO’s match_swatch tool on #FF0000 and tell me the nearest print swatch—and tell me plainly if nothing in the catalog is close enough to recommend.

How you know it worked

Your assistant shows a QRCO tool call and returns color values. If it only suggests colors without a tool call, ask: “Please call the connected QRCO tool for this.”

04 / THE TOOLKIT

Twenty-two ways
to find your color.

All twenty-two tools are public. Generate, inspect, audit, export and share colors without changing your QRCO account.

Generate a palette

generate_palette

Choose 2–10 colors, a style or generation mode, and optional locked colors. Ask for pastel, vintage, neon, dark, elegant or QRCO’s trend mode.

Compare a few directions

generate_palette_set

Get 1–5 palette options with 2–10 colors each. Useful when you want to choose a direction before refining it.

Find a happy accident

random_palette

Let QRCO choose a generation mode. Specify a size or let the engine choose.

Get to know a color

inspect_color

Explore RGB, HSL, HSB, Lab and CMYK values, nearest RAL, and an optional Pantone® approximation. Get a QRCO name for the color, too.

Change the feeling

vary_palette

Supply 2–10 HEX colors and request 3–5 variations of the palette.

Find a nearby swatch

match_swatch

Find the nearest Pantone® catalog swatch and its measured color distance. Nearest does not always mean close: QRCO flags poor matches instead of presenting them as a good fit. Digital matching is an approximation; check a physical guide for print decisions.

Check a text pairing

check_contrast

Measure two colors against WCAG 2.x AA/AAA text thresholds. See normal and large-text results before choosing a foreground and background.

Audit the whole palette

audit_palette

Compare every color pair and find a readable black or white foreground for each swatch. These are measured contrast checks, not a complete accessibility certification.

Bring your names into the studio

create_studio_link

Make a studio link with your palette title and custom color names. Save the opened palette to keep those names on your device or in your account.

Take your colors into a project

export_palette

Take up to 12 colors into a project as CSS variables, Tailwind CSS v4, SCSS variables, JSON, a labeled SVG swatch sheet, Adobe ASE or DTCG design tokens. Your assistant receives the content and can help you put it into a file.

Find an existing favorite

search_explore

Browse QRCO’s Explore collection by palette name, declared tags or exact HEX color. For a warm sunset, search “sunset” with the temperature filter set to “warm”—no HEX needed. Add source or color-count filters, then open a result in the studio.

Build a usable brand system

build_brand_system

Turn your palette or a V6 generation into light, dark or dual-mode backgrounds, text, buttons, accents and borders. Get measured contrast pairings, separate link-text checks on page and card backgrounds, suggested link shades, semantic CSS and a Studio link. Link suggestions are for review and do not change your brand colors or exports. Save in Studio to retain the roles; CSS, Tailwind CSS v4 and JSON exports keep them. Dual-mode CSS follows system preference, with an explicit data-theme override. Changing palette colors clears the old system so it can be rebuilt.

Compare your directions

compare_palettes

Compare up to five palettes for measured color differences, contrast on your actual backgrounds and exact brand-color retention. Choose unordered colors or corresponding roles. Review trade-offs without an invented beauty score.

Audit several palettes at once

audit_palettes

Check up to ten palettes in one call. Start with compact summaries, then request failed pairings or full measurements. Test intended text/background combinations and spot similar colors. No palette is automatically saved or published.

Give your color a full range

generate_tonal_scale

Build a light-to-dark 50–950 scale while keeping your exact original as its own token. Get measured contrast on white, black and your own surfaces, plus CSS and Tailwind exports. See where saturation was reduced to fit screen colors. Pick a subset when bringing a scale into a Studio palette.

Bring controls to life

generate_state_colors

Explore hover, pressed, selected and focus colors on your actual background. See contrast failures clearly, keep disabled states informational, and export CSS or Tailwind tokens. Check the finished interface for focus size, visibility and state cues.

Look beyond color alone

check_color_vision

Review simulated colors for protanopia, deuteranopia and severe tritanomaly. Spot pairs that become closer, then add labels, icons or patterns. These approximations guide review; they do not certify accessibility or simulate tritanopia.

Start from a photo

extract_image_colors

Ask your assistant to prepare a small image sample, then pull out up to 10 named colors with coverage percentages. Take those colors into the brand builder and keep going. Your assistant supplies the image pixels; QRCO does not open photo links or files.

Nudge a color

adjust_color

Lighten, darken, saturate, desaturate, invert or turn a color gray. When mixing two colors, choose sRGB, linear sRGB, Oklab or OKLCH—the same pair can look quite different in each.

Draw the road between colors

generate_gradient

Build a 2–64 step gradient from 2–10 colors in sRGB, linear sRGB, Oklab or OKLCH. Compare the colors in between and pick the result that feels right.

Ask QRCO what it can do

get_capabilities

See the tools, input limits, export formats and connection details in one place. On an account connection, see your granted permissions and which actions need more approval.

Put your palette to work

present_palette

Open 2–10 colors in QRCO’s interactive workspace inside compatible apps. Try the Brand and Balance views, choose a lead color, adjust proportions and generate around locked colors. Keep custom names and exact HEX values, or bring a complete brand system into System view. It is a working preview: nothing is saved or published.

05 / GOOD TO KNOW

A little clarity.
More possibility.

01 Do I need a QRCO account?

No. These public MCP tools currently need no QRCO login or API key. Your AI app may have its own subscription or usage limits.

02 Can my agent access my saved palettes?

The public connection cannot access your library. The optional account connection can read saved palettes and brand systems only after you sign in and approve access. With separately approved save or publish permissions, the account connection can also save privately or publish/unpublish on your instruction. The public connection never accesses accounts.

03 What gets sent to QRCO?

The tool inputs, such as requested style, palette size, HEX colors and image pixels for photo extraction, are sent to QRCO for processing. These tools do not require your full conversation or Google sign-in credentials. Your AI provider separately handles your chat. QRCO keeps private daily totals of tool successes, failures, response times and tagged Studio page requests for up to 90 days. These counters do not store tool inputs, palette contents, IP addresses or account identifiers; they do not identify returning users. Hosting logs and existing website analytics are separate.

04 Why don’t I see color swatches in my chat?

QRCO returns structured color data. Your AI app decides how it displays that data. Ask it to show HEX values, build a palette preview or write CSS variables. Ask your assistant to call present_palette. Compatible MCP Apps hosts, including the tested ChatGPT workspace, can show QRCO’s Generate button, locks and Brand/Balance tabs. Refresh or rescan the public connection after updates and request a fresh presentation. Other clients still receive color data and a Studio link. File downloads depend on the host; not every format works in every chat app.

05 It says the connection failed.

Check which connection you are adding. The public /mcp URL uses no authentication; the account /mcp/account URL requires OAuth. Both use Streamable HTTP. For account problems, follow the saved-library setup and troubleshooting. Reconnect or restart the client’s MCP connection if needed. If only a particular tool fails, try a valid HEX color such as #2256F2 and choose one generation mode at a time.

06 It says “too many requests” or times out.

Pause for about a minute, then try again. QRCO limits requests to keep the shared service responsive. Make fewer simultaneous calls; avoid asking an agent to generate palettes continuously.

07 Why won’t QRCO recommend the nearest swatch?

Because the nearest one can still be a poor match. QRCO shows the measured distance and a match-quality warning so you can judge for yourself. Calling it “close” would not make it right on paper. For anything going to press, check a physical guide before deciding.

FROM A PROMPT TO A PALETTE

Give your ideas
somewhere to begin.

Connect your assistant, try one prompt, and see where the colors take you.

Get connected ↗

PREFER TO EXPLORE BY HAND?

Meet you in the studio.

Generate, adjust and preview palettes in QRCO’s color workspace.

Open QRCO studio ↗