Glyphs MCP Desktop 2.1.0

Released: 2.1.0 · desktop build 63 · Glyphs 4. Review workflow results with Keep, Save and Restore, preview project templates before creation, and find skills through readable “Glyphs …” titles. Download the signed and notarized disk image and see the 2.1.0 release qualification for validation and recovery limits.

The twenty data/action tools and optional card-display tool includes font creation, native source opening, UFO/OTF/TTF import, window activation and closing with explicit save/discard handling. The save-free Edit-tab opening and unsaved duplicate_document copies introduced in 2.0.3 remain available; update the bridge and sidecar together through Setup. save_document persists an explicitly identified font.

Glyphs MCP connects AI applications to Glyphs 4 through a small native bridge and a separate MCP server. The installer includes its private Python runtime; no terminal setup is required for the Glyphs 4 sidecar. Install official Glyphs 4 first and launch it in trial mode or with your license. Install Python through Glyphs' Plugin Manager, then relaunch Glyphs. Setup detects the default module even when Glyphs has not saved a framework preference. If you use a custom Python, select it in Glyphs' Settings → Addons. Setup displays the detected Python for the selected application and offers a copy selector only when multiple Glyphs 4 applications are detected.

Open Glyphs MCP.app and use Setup. Install All reconciles Glyphs MCP, Curve Inspector and Reference Inspector, then configures Codex, Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor. Bundled component cards also support independent install, update, removal and retry. Upgrades preserve ports, startup settings and unrelated agent configuration.

Setup also introduces Beztrace, an independent Glyphs image-tracing plugin, with requirements, its independently signed build 15 release and setup guidance. The app bundles the universal stable 0.1.1 engine; the Glyphs plugin remains separate. See Beztrace setup.

The permanent app includes Setup and Project destinations, a static menu-bar popover, a dedicated troubleshooting-log window, local and public templates, and a Git diff browser with opt-in font checkpoints. Its native file tree opens source diffs in unified or split form and can compare individual .glyphspackage glyphs as visual overlays or source text. Automatic update checks are enabled by default and can be disabled in Settings. Desktop launch at login is a separate opt-in setting.

In Glyphs, Edit → Glyphs MCP Server… opens Start/Stop and port settings. The compact extension panel displays the project version and "Ready". Its heart button reopens Glyphs' nonmodal Welcome/support panel with documentation, issue and support links.

The v2 desktop companion includes a six-slide introduction covering control, connections, prerequisites, v2 changes and community support. It appears on first interactive launch and can be replayed through File → Welcome & Support or the sidebar. Skip to setup and Start setup open Setup. Desktop login launch stays quiet. See qualification and remaining manual checks.

Prepare supported spacing, kerning, slant, start-node, outline and negotiated closed native-action jobs; run feature compiler diagnostics; or stage verified static, variable and web-font exports. Conversation edits apply complete results under the original request; previews, warnings and incomplete coverage wait for review. Artifact publication remains separately authorized.

Exact kerning assignments use kerning_edit: 1–100 glyph/group pairs with explicit masters and directions, fractional values, and distinct set/remove operations. Native preparation avoids a font copy and worker startup while retaining selective recovery. Read-only language proofing offers bounded pairs to inspect from a pinned MIT dataset; it does not suggest values or launch collision analysis. See the kerning guidance. Results offer Keep, Save, and recovery, with consequences visible beneath the controls. Keep closes the task without saving; Save saves the whole font, including other unsaved edits. Both end the temporary recovery option. Typed Undo these changes covers the recorded edit; script Restore restores the complete pre-run memory copy, replacing later unsaved edits and clearing Undo. It preserves edits made before Run; recovery lasts for the current Glyphs session. Keep ends wrapper recovery without saving and preserves native Undo/Redo. accept_job verifies affected targets and saves the whole document when authorized. Spacing proposals and reference display ignore differences of at most 0.001 font units. Exact native history and recovery keep the original values without rounding.

The twenty data/action tools are get_status, list_documents, create_document, duplicate_document, open_document, import_document, activate_document, open_edit_tab, close_document, read_entities, start_job, compare_fonts, get_job, apply_job, accept_job, discard_job, and save_document, start_edit_workflow, get_edit_workflow, and respond_edit_workflow. The additional display-only show_edit_workflow opens an optional MCP App when a visual preview, substantial report, live controls or recovery information adds value. Routine progress, success and errors stay in native chat; unresolved decisions and missing information prefer the host's native question tool, grouping related independent questions. Ordinary chat is the fallback. Disable Automatic Keep before waiting on a native answer; silence, Skip and dismissal apply no choice. Every action also works in text. Scripts can run on clean, dirty or pathless fonts without saving. The resulting edit remains unsaved until separately authorized. Cards reuse matching Script details, and typed results show their intended change. Exact source stays optional; fresh server checks still guard actions. See conversation edits. The conversation UI guide maps use cases to native questions, conversation feedback and optional cards, including current renderer limits. See installation and the Glyphs 4 contract.

The v2 source targets Glyphs 4 only. Glyphs 3 remains available through the separate pinned v1.11.0 release and its existing dependency setup. The two documentation tracks describe these versions separately. V2 is available as a signed and notarized GitHub release.

Documentation sources: v2 · 2.1.0 and v1 · 1.11.0. The local site build has a version selector; existing v1 URLs stay at /docs/, and v2 is configured at /docs/v2/. Both are built together from website/. See release qualification for current results and limits. Historical beta reports remain in the qualification archive; the original beta guides and plans are preserved in the v2.0.0 source tag. Compatibility repository guide: Glyphs 3 / 1.11.0.

For contributors, use CODEX.md and the local packaging instructions in macos-installer/README.md. The published disk image is Glyphs-MCP-2.1.0.dmg. Stable releases retain Glyphs-MCP-latest.dmg. The separate lit/v2-beta feed delivers the published stable update to existing beta installations.

For the next development cycle, see proposed priorities and Anotherplanet/AP.CX page updates.

Author: Thierry Charbonnel. Documentation, Issues, Support.

New stable versions appear on GitHub Releases. Use Check for Updates in the desktop app to check on demand; beta builds use a separate beta feed. Releases are built, signed and notarized locally; no GitHub Actions are used for release publishing.

Historical lean v2 qualification is indexed in reports/README.md. The RV02 follow-up covers the installed OpenType, precision and native API guidance. Native Python uses the advertised python_script job and script.native.v1 without adding tools. Preparation never executes code. An ordinary task authorizes Run without a separate source review; previews wait. Dirty, clean and pathless fonts run without Save under script.recovery.snapshot.v1 and preparation version 3. Restore returns to a detached full-font copy, including earlier unsaved edits; recovery is limited to the current Glyphs session. With Automatic Keep enabled, a visible, connected and freshly reconciled successful edit or script card offers a 30-second countdown to Keep, leaving changes unsaved and ending the workflow recovery offer. Failed, partial, blocked and uncertain outcomes and text-only interaction remain manual. Typed Keep preserves native Undo/Redo. Say “wait for my answer” to disable the countdown; that preference persists until changed. See script execution and recovery.

Native scripts have no 4,096-surface ceiling while retaining the complete 4 MiB request budget. Large selectors use incremental read-only preparation, one pre-run recovery copy and one result workflow. Typed edit and read limits are unchanged. Qualification is tracked in the V2 release notes.

Local font checkpoints

The opt-in project setting records exact saved baselines and authorized MCP saves as font-scoped Git checkpoints. Keep stays unsaved; failed checkpoints can be retried without another Save. Bounded history, recorded actions, comparison and whole-font historical reload share the existing twenty tools and app project UI. See checkpoint workflow. See the milestone 6 qualification report for installed editor/app checks, measured costs and remaining limits.

Upgrade to 2.1.0

1. Use Check for Updates or download the signed disk image above and replace the desktop app in Applications.
2. Save your work and quit all open Glyphs 4 copies normally.
3. Open Setup. If several Glyphs 4 copies appear, choose the one you actually use and check its detected Python. Update the bundled components together, or use Install All to reconcile components and connections.
4. Reopen that Glyphs copy and reload your configured AI application. Use get_status to confirm the loaded bridge and sidecar identities.

Existing ports, startup preferences and unrelated agent configuration are preserved. A failed Python readiness check offers Install anyway after an explicit warning. This permits component installation; it does not install Python or make an unavailable scripting environment work. Install the official module in Glyphs and relaunch to restore scripting. Export verification uses the server's private FontTools/HarfBuzz runtime.

For a failed setup, share the desktop troubleshooting log. It now records application paths and identities, preference domains, detected Python candidates and probe failures. Review it for personal paths before sharing. See the installation guide and 2.1.0 qualification.

Earlier 2.0.3 release

Already-authorized scripts run directly after preparation, with current-state recovery and no forced Save. Preview requests still wait. Curve Inspector 0.5.2 explains no-change results, and the versioned agent package exposes its skills digest. See 2.0.3 qualification.

Earlier 2.0.2 release

The 2.0.2 release introduced responsive initialization status and compiled-font comparison through compare_fonts. Diffenator and Beztrace have optional managed Setup cards; their downloads remain gated on independently signed and qualified distributions. See compiled comparisons and 2.0.2 qualification.