Carbon MCP Server: Carbon Design System for AI Agents

What is the Carbon MCP server?

Carbon MCP is a hosted server that gives an AI coding agent direct access to Carbon Design System components, icons, charts and documentation. It runs on IBM Cloud, so any MCP client connects with a URL instead of running local code.

The repository itself is where issues and feature requests go, and where the companion Carbon Builder skill is published. The server content keeps growing as more of the design system gets indexed.

Tool coverage

What it changes in your workflow

• An agent queries live component source, props and usage guidance instead of guessing at Carbon's conventions.
• Generated code can be checked against Carbon guidelines with one tool call before it ships.
• Designers, developers and product managers get the same answers from one shared server instead of drifting apart.
• Pairing the server with the Carbon Builder skill adds rules for when to ask the server for facts.

Who it is for

Best for

• Teams already building on Carbon React or web components who want an agent that writes to the system correctly.
• Organizations with an IBMid who are comfortable signing in to a hosted server rather than running one locally.
• Anyone who wants chart code for React, Angular, Vue, Svelte or plain HTML generated from one source.

Not for

• If your job is mostly building against monday.com's own design system instead of Carbon, the Vibe MCP server is the better fit for that.
• If your job is mostly pulling a live icon set for a Svelte project, shadcn-svelte MCP is the better fit for that.
• If your job is mostly installing animated React components from a separate library, Lightswind UI MCP Server is the better fit for that.
• If your job is mostly pulling design tokens from many sources for a mood board, Frontend Inspo MCP is the better fit for that.

Connect Carbon MCP Server: Carbon Design System for AI Agents to your AI client

Add https://mcp.carbondesignsystem.com/mcp as a remote server and sign in with an IBMid

1. Add the remote server

   Add the config above to a client that reads an mcp.json entry, or follow the onboarding guide for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Figma Make or Claude Code.

2. Sign in

   Authenticate with an IBMid when your client prompts for it. Clients without OAuth discovery can use a token and session ID instead.

3. Install the Carbon Builder skill

   Pair the server with the Carbon Builder skill so the agent knows when to ask the server for component and token facts.

4. Try a prompt

   Ask for a button and tabs example in Carbon React, then ask the audit tool to check the result against Carbon guidelines.

Client configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "carbon-mcp": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.carbondesignsystem.com/mcp",
      "oauth": true,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

What you can do with it

• Hosted, no local processThe server runs on IBM Cloud, so a client connects with a URL and an IBMid sign-in instead of installing or running anything locally.
• Direct Carbon accessAn agent queries colors, typography, component source and usage guidelines straight from the Carbon Design System instead of inferring them.
• Code audit against guidelinesThe code_audit tool checks generated code for design tokens, component usage, accessibility and layout against Carbon's own practice.
• Charts across frameworksget_charts returns chart code and demo links for React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, Vanilla JS and HTML from one tool.
• Carbon Labs coveragelabs_search reaches experimental Carbon Labs components, with props, events and usage docs alongside the stable component set.
• Carbon Builder skill pairingAn installable skill tells the agent when to call the server for facts and how to turn the answers into working code.
• Several client onboarding pathsSetup guidance covers IBM Bob, Cursor, Figma Make, desktop agent apps and other MCP clients, including a token-based path for ones without OAuth.

Tools it exposes

Frequently asked questions