SmugMug
SmugMug is a platform for photographers to showcase, share, and sell their photos and videos.
Verdict
Common use cases
- Audit client gallery structure before delivery
- Find specific albums by creation date
- Generate album inventory reports for stakeholders
- Retrieve folder metadata for project documentation
- Cross-reference node IDs across multiple accounts
Integration
- Vendor
- SmugMug
- Category
- developer-tools
- Auth
- API_KEY
- Tools
- 5
- Composio slug
smugmug
Tools
- Get Folder Details
This tool retrieves the details of a specific folder for a smugmug user using its node id. tags = ["important", "openworldhint", "readonlyhint"] creation and modification dates, node id, and optionally the uri of the album set as the highl
- Get Node Details
This tool retrieves the details for a specific node (e.g., album, folder, page) using its unique nodeid. it uses the api endpoint get /api/v2/node/{nodeid} to fetch details such as uri, nodeid, name, type, and urlpath.
- Get User Profile
Retrieves the public profile information for a smugmug user.
- List Albums in Folder
This tool retrieves a list of all albums within a specified user's folder on smugmug. it allows for pagination to handle large numbers of albums.
- List Child Nodes
Retrieves a list of all child nodes (albums or folders) for a specified parent node in smugmug.
Setup
Setup guide
- 11. Open your Switchy workspace and navigate to Settings > Integrations > Add MCP Server. 2. Select SmugMug from the catalog and choose API Key authentication. 3. Log into your SmugMug account, go to Account Settings > API Keys, and generate a new key (you'll need to register an application if you haven't already). 4. Copy the API key and paste it into the Switchy connection form, then click Connect. 5. Return to any Space and type '@SmugMug get user profile' followed by a username to test the connection — if it returns profile details, you're ready. 6. To invoke tools, @mention SmugMug in a message and describe what you need (e.g., '@SmugMug list albums in folder [node_id]') — the AI will call the appropriate tool and return results inline.
What teammates see: by default, memories from SmugMug are scoped to the Space (PROJECT visibility) - you can mark any memory PRIVATE or share it ORG-wide.
Works well with
Top models
Compatibility data appears once enough Spaces have used this MCP together with a given model.
How Switchy teams use it
Starter prompts
Folder Inventory Report
@SmugMug list all albums in folder node abc123 and format the results as a table with album name, creation date, and node ID.Open in a Space →
User Profile Summary
@SmugMug get the profile for username johndoe and summarize their bio, website, and account creation date.Open in a Space →
Child Node Explorer
@SmugMug retrieve all child nodes for parent node xyz789 and show me the hierarchy with names and types.Open in a Space →
Album Metadata Lookup
@SmugMug get details for node def456 and tell me the album name, last modified date, and any privacy settings.Open in a Space →
Folder Date Audit
@SmugMug get folder details for node ghi012 and report the creation date, last modified date, and total child count.Open in a Space →
Example outputs
Illustrative - representative of the model's voice and quality, not literal recordings.
@SmugMug list all albums in my 'Client Work 2024' folder and show me which ones have been updated in the last 30 days
Found 12 albums in your 'Client Work 2024' folder. Three have been modified recently: 'Anderson Wedding' (updated 8 days ago, 247 photos), 'Tech Startup Headshots' (updated 12 days ago, 89 photos), and 'Product Launch Event' (updated 19 days ago, 156 photos). The remaining 9 albums haven't been touched since early December. All albums are currently set to private visibility.
This example shows the MCP's folder navigation and album listing capabilities. Requires a valid API key with read access to your SmugMug account. The MCP returns node metadata (modification dates, photo counts) but doesn't fetch individual image files — you're working with album-level organization data, not the photos themselves.
@SmugMug get the details for node ID NQx7Km and tell me if it's an album or a folder, plus who can view it
Node NQx7Km is an album titled 'Iceland Road Trip - Summer 2023'. It contains 342 photos and was last modified on January 4, 2025. Privacy is set to 'Unlisted' — anyone with the direct link can view it, but it won't appear in public searches or your main gallery. The album sits inside a parent folder called 'Travel Archives' (node ID P8mKLp).
Demonstrates direct node lookup, useful when you have a SmugMug URL or node ID from another context. This is a read-only operation — the MCP can't change privacy settings or move nodes between folders. You'll need to know the node ID in advance; the MCP doesn't auto-discover all your content without a starting point.
@SmugMug check my user profile and then scan my top-level folders to give me a content inventory — how many albums and total photos do I have organized?
Your SmugMug profile shows username 'jenna_captures' with account created in 2019. Scanning your root-level structure: you have 6 top-level folders ('Weddings', 'Portraits', 'Travel', 'Commercial', 'Personal', 'Archive'). Drilling into child nodes across all folders reveals 87 total albums. SmugMug's API doesn't return aggregate photo counts at the folder level, so I can't give you a total image count without iterating through every album individually — that would hit rate limits quickly.
This synthesis example shows how the MCP can combine profile data with hierarchical folder traversal to build an organizational overview. The limitation here is real: SmugMug's API structure means getting total photo counts requires many sequential requests, which can be slow and may trigger rate limits on large accounts. Best used for structural audits, not real-time photo counting.
Use-case deep-dives
When SmugMug MCP streamlines wedding photographer handoffs
A 2-person wedding photography studio uses SmugMug to deliver final galleries to clients. Before each delivery, they run a Switchy workflow that pulls folder details and child nodes to verify album structure matches their naming convention (ceremony, reception, portraits). The MCP's read-only tools let them audit 40+ albums in seconds without opening the SmugMug web UI. They paste the node list into a template email with direct links. This works because their volume is under 100 weddings per year—if you're delivering 300+ events annually, you'll want SmugMug's native automation instead. The API key setup takes 5 minutes and the workflow saves 20 minutes per delivery.
SmugMug MCP falls short for real-time portfolio updates
A freelance designer wants to pull SmugMug album metadata into their Next.js portfolio site on every build. The MCP's 5 tools cover folder and node retrieval, but they're built for manual inspection, not programmatic sync. There's no webhook support, no batch operations, and no image URL extraction at scale. If you're running a static site that rebuilds weekly and you manually curate 10-15 featured projects, the MCP works—you can grab album names and dates in a Switchy chat, then copy-paste into your CMS. But for live portfolio sites or anything pulling 50+ albums, you need SmugMug's full REST API with a custom integration. The MCP is a lookup tool, not a sync engine.
When to use SmugMug MCP for quarterly client reviews
A 6-person creative agency manages SmugMug accounts for 12 retail clients, each with 20-40 product photo albums. Every quarter, the account manager audits folder structure to catch naming inconsistencies or orphaned albums before client QBRs. She runs a Switchy workflow that lists child nodes for each client's root folder, then asks the AI to flag albums missing dates or using old naming patterns. The MCP's node and folder tools handle this perfectly because it's low-frequency (4 times per year) and the output is a report, not a data pipeline. If your agency has 50+ clients or needs weekly audits, the manual API key rotation and lack of bulk export become friction points. For quarterly checks across a dozen accounts, it's faster than logging into each SmugMug dashboard.
Frequently asked
What does the SmugMug MCP let me do in Switchy?
It lets your team browse SmugMug folder structures, pull album metadata, and retrieve node details without leaving the chat. You can ask questions like "show me albums in this folder" or "what's in node X" and the AI fetches the answer directly from your SmugMug account. It's read-only—no uploads, no edits, no deletions.
Do I need a SmugMug Pro account to connect this MCP?
You need any SmugMug account that can generate an API key. SmugMug issues keys to all paid tiers (Basic, Power, Pro, Portfolio). Free trial accounts typically can't create keys. Once you have the key, paste it into Switchy during setup—no OAuth dance, no admin approval required.
Can the SmugMug MCP upload photos or create new albums?
No. The five tools are all read operations—get folder details, list albums, retrieve node info. If you need to upload images or reorganize albums, use SmugMug's web interface or a dedicated upload client. This MCP is for querying your library, not managing it.
Why use this instead of just opening SmugMug in a browser tab?
Speed and context. If you're already chatting in Switchy about a project that references specific albums or folders, the AI can pull those details inline without you switching tabs, logging in, or remembering node IDs. It's faster for spot checks; the browser is still better for bulk browsing or visual work.
Who on my team should connect the SmugMug account?
Whoever owns the API key. SmugMug keys are tied to a single user account, so connect the account that holds the albums your team needs to query. If multiple people need access, they each connect their own key—or you share one key and one Switchy connection across the workspace.