The Alien Art Chart MCP

Let Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor build animated chart videos for you. Paste one URL, authorize with OAuth, and your AI assistant can spin up editable projects, upload spreadsheets, and render MP4/WebM video or PNG/JPEG/WebP images — through tool calls.

The only chart MCP that produces motion, video, and editable projects rather than static images.

Setup instructions ↓

What is the Alien Art Charts MCP?

The Alien Art Charts MCP is a remote Model Context Protocol server hosted at https://staging.alienart.io/mcp. It exposes the Alien Art chart editor as a set of tools any MCP-compatible AI client can call:

  • Create a chart project (bar chart race, line chart race, map chart race, table chart race, slideshow, advanced comparison)
  • Upload spreadsheet data (CSV / XLSX) or push values cell by cell
  • Add layers and overlay elements (titles, images, totals, flags, logos)
  • Render the result as MP4 / WebM video, PNG / JPEG / WebP image, or a hosted iframe URL
  • Keep the project editable in the web UI afterwards

Connects via Streamable HTTP. Auth: OAuth. Requires a Pro plan — free trial available.

Live example

Example chart built through the MCP

Bar chart race generated from a single AI prompt — 60fps MP4 + an editable project URL.

Clone This Project

What your AI assistant can build

Real prompts your AI assistant can complete end-to-end — from raw data to a finished, shareable chart.

Prompt

"Build a bar chart race of the world's richest people from 2010 to 2024 using this CSV."

Result

Animated 60fps MP4 plus an editable Alien Art project. You get the video file and a link to keep iterating.

Prompt

"Make an animated world map showing CO&sub2; emissions per country, 1990 to 2023."

Result

Map chart race with countries shaded by value and a synced ranked side panel. Pulls from public datasets if you don't supply one.

Prompt

"I have last season's standings as XLSX — turn it into a ranking table chart with team logos."

Result

Table chart race with multi-column rows, animated reorders, and per-row logos uploaded automatically.

Prompt

"Compare iPhone vs Pixel specs side by side as an animated explainer."

Result

Advanced comparison layout with sequenced reveals, brand colors, and clean exec-deck styling. Exports to video or as a hosted iframe.

Prompt

"Render a clean PNG of US state populations for my Notion page."

Result

High-resolution PNG (or JPEG/WebP) you can drop into Notion, slides, or a doc. Same project, static export.

Prompt

"Make a 15-second TikTok intro animating our top 10 customer wins this quarter."

Result

Vertical 9:16 slideshow with branded titles, paced for the platform. WebM or MP4 ready to upload.

MCP tools your assistant can call

A focused tool surface — not 50 micro-actions, just the verbs that map to "build a chart from data."

Discover

list_chart_options
Browse project types, layer types, map paths, region maps, and element catalogs.
list_charts
List the user's existing chart projects, with filters and search.
get_chart
Read a project's full state: layers, elements, spreadsheets, render URLs.

Build

create_chart
Spin up a new project: bar chart race, line chart race, map chart race, table chart race, slideshow, advanced comparison.
add_layer
Add a chart layer or visual layer; data-driven layers auto-create a backing spreadsheet.
update_layer
Tune layer settings — colors, fonts, animation speed, axes, ranks.
set_layer_format
Change a layer's chart format in place (e.g. bar → line).
add_element
Overlay titles, images, totals, watermarks, channel logos, country flags.
update_element
Adjust an element's text, position, style, or animation.
delete_layer
Remove a layer.
delete_element
Remove an overlay element.

Data

upload_spreadsheet
Upload a CSV or XLSX file as the data source for a layer.
fetch_spreadsheet_file
Pull a Wikipedia table or remote CSV directly into the project.
read_spreadsheet
Inspect a spreadsheet's schema: row labels, column headers, row counts.
patch_spreadsheet
Update individual cells, rows, or columns.
wait_for_spreadsheet_idle
Block until background processing settles before rendering.

Statistics library

list_statistics_categories
Browse Alien Art's curated public datasets (YouTube channels, etc.).
get_statistics_category
Fetch the schema and entries of a statistics category.
add_statistics
Attach a curated dataset as the data source for a layer.

Edit & render

update_chart
Rename, resize, change duration, mark public/private.
describe_layer_settings
Get the schema for a layer type before editing it.
describe_element_settings
Get the schema for an element type.
render_chart
Start a render job. Pick format: MP4, WebM, animated WebP for video; PNG, JPEG, WebP for image.
get_task
Check render status, fetch the finished file URL or hosted embed URL.

Set it up in under a minute

No API keys to manage, no local server to run. OAuth handles authentication.

  1. 1
    Sign up and start your Pro trial

    MCP access is part of the Pro plan. Create an account, start the Pro trial, and you're ready to connect. The trial requires a credit card; you can cancel anytime before it ends.

  2. 2
    Add the MCP URL to your AI client

    In Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor, open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector and paste: 

    https://staging.alienart.io/mcp
  3. 3
    Authorize with OAuth

    Your client redirects to Alien Art and asks you to authorize. Approve it — the AI assistant can now create projects, upload data, and render charts through tool calls.

Client-specific instructions

Exact menu paths for each major MCP-compatible client.

Claude Desktop
  1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
  2. Paste https://staging.alienart.io/mcp as the Remote MCP server URL. Leave OAuth Client ID and Secret blank.
  3. Click Add. You'll be redirected to Alien Art to authorize.
  4. Back in Claude Desktop, ask Claude to list your charts to verify the connection.

ChatGPT (custom connectors)
  1. Open ChatGPT → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
  2. Paste https://staging.alienart.io/mcp as the server URL.
  3. Authorize with OAuth when redirected.
  4. Mention "Alien Art" in a chat to make ChatGPT use the connector.

Cursor
  1. Open Cursor → Settings → Features → MCP → Add new MCP server.
  2. Choose Streamable HTTP as the transport.
  3. Set the URL to https://staging.alienart.io/mcp.
  4. Authorize with OAuth on the redirect.

Claude Code (CLI)
  1. In your terminal, run:
claude mcp add alienart-charts --transport http --url https://staging.alienart.io/mcp

Claude Code will open a browser window for OAuth on first use. After authorizing, ask Claude to list your charts.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated

Which AI clients does the Alien Art chart MCP work with?

Any MCP-compatible client that supports remote Streamable HTTP servers. Verified clients include Claude Desktop, Claude Code (CLI), ChatGPT custom connectors, and Cursor. The server speaks the standard Model Context Protocol — no client-specific code paths.

Do I need a paid plan?

MCP access requires a Pro plan, but every new account gets a free Pro trial. The trial requires a credit card to prevent abuse — you can cancel before it ends and pay nothing. Pro removes the watermark, unlocks 60fps export, and gives you unlimited monthly render minutes.

What chart types can the MCP build?

Bar chart races, line chart races, table chart races, map chart races (world plus per-country maps), slideshows, and advanced comparison layouts. The list_chart_options tool returns the canonical list so your AI assistant always picks a valid type.

What output formats are supported?

Video: MP4, WebM, animated WebP — up to 60fps. Image: PNG, JPEG, WebP. Hosted: a public URL you can embed via iframe on any site. Pick the format when calling render_chart; the AI gets back a finished file URL or embed URL when the render job completes.

How does authentication work?

OAuth, end to end. Your AI client redirects to Alien Art, you approve the connection, and the client receives a bearer token it sends with every tool call. No API keys to copy, no secrets to manage, no env vars to set. You can revoke the connection any time from your account settings.

Can the AI edit my existing projects?

Yes. Ask it to list your charts (list_charts), pick one, and call update_chart / update_layer / patch_spreadsheet to keep iterating. Every project lives in your Alien Art account — you can also open it in the web editor and keep working manually.

Is rendering synchronous or background?

Background. render_chart returns a task ID; get_task polls until the render finishes and returns the file URL. Short renders complete in seconds; longer ones can take a minute or two. The AI assistant handles the polling for you.

How does it compare to other chart MCPs?

See the full ranked comparison of chart-generator MCPs for a side-by-side with AntV, mcp-echarts, QuickChart, Chart.js, Vega-Lite, Vizro, diagrammo, and others. The short version: every other chart MCP wraps an existing JS charting library and returns a static image or spec. Alien Art is the only one that produces motion, video, and editable projects.

Connect your AI assistant in under a minute

Sign up, start your Pro trial, and paste https://staging.alienart.io/mcp into Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor. OAuth handles the rest.

Still comparing options? See the ranked list of chart-generator MCPs.

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