BioRender MCP Server

Official BioRender MCP connector for searching scientific icons and templates from BioRender's life sciences illustration library via natural language.

Healthcare & Life Sciences by BioRender OAuth2 active

Connect (Remote Server) Docs

Overview

The BioRender MCP server is an officially hosted remote connector from BioRender, the scientific illustration platform used by researchers to build figures for publications, posters, and presentations. It lets an AI assistant search BioRender's library of professional life sciences icons and templates using natural language, and return references and clickable links that open directly in BioRender for further editing.

The server is hosted at https://mcp.services.biorender.com/mcp and authenticates users via OAuth using their existing BioRender account. After approving the requested permissions, the assistant can query the library on demand. Results come back in two forms: icons (returned with titles) and templates (returned with links that open in the BioRender editor). The connector does not generate images directly inside the chat; it surfaces existing assets from BioRender's curated scientific library.

BioRender also distributes the connector through the Anthropic life sciences plugin marketplace (anthropics/life-sciences) so it can be installed in Claude Code with a single command. It is one of the integrations highlighted as part of the Claude for Life Sciences launch.

Tools

Tool	Description
`search_icons`	Search BioRender's library of scientific icons by topic or keyword. Returns icon titles relevant to the query.
`search_templates`	Search BioRender templates for pathways, figures, and scientific illustrations. Returns clickable links that open the template directly in the BioRender editor.

Setup Guide

Prerequisites

A BioRender account (sign up at https://www.biorender.com)
An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or Cline

Option 1: Add as a remote MCP server

Add the following to your MCP config (for example mcp.json in Cursor or the mcpServers block in Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "biorender": {
      "url": "https://mcp.services.biorender.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart the client. On first use you will be redirected to log in with your BioRender credentials and approve the requested permissions.

Option 2: Install via the Claude Code life sciences marketplace

From within Claude Code, add the marketplace and install the plugin:

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/anthropics/life-sciences.git
/plugin install biorender@life-sciences

Then run /plugin, choose "Manage plugins", select BioRender, choose "Configure", sign in with your BioRender credentials, and restart Claude Code.

Use Cases

Find scientific icons for a specific topic (e.g. CAR-T therapy, apoptosis, RNA splicing) while drafting a paper or grant in Claude
Locate prebuilt BioRender templates for common pathways or assays and open them directly in BioRender to customize
Speed up figure creation for posters and presentations by letting the assistant pull relevant illustrations on demand
Build a shortlist of candidate icons for a review article without manually browsing the BioRender library
Streamline scientific communication workflows in Claude for Life Sciences by combining literature analysis with figure asset discovery

Example Prompts

"Find BioRender icons for CAR-T cell therapy mechanisms."
"Show me BioRender templates for protein aggregation pathways."
"Search BioRender for icons related to the JAK-STAT signaling pathway."
"Give me a template I can use as a starting point for a figure on mRNA vaccine delivery."
"Find icons for mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis I can use in my presentation."

Pros

Official, vendor-hosted MCP server maintained by BioRender, no self-hosting required
OAuth login with an existing BioRender account, no manual API key management
Templates are returned as clickable links that open directly in the BioRender editor for further customization
Distributed through both a direct remote URL and the Anthropic life sciences plugin marketplace

Limitations

Limited surface area: only icon and template search, no in-chat image generation or figure editing
Requires a BioRender account, and full editing of returned templates still depends on BioRender plan entitlements
Icons are returned by title only, so previewing assets still requires opening BioRender

Alternatives

The broader Anthropic life-sciences plugin marketplace which bundles BioRender alongside other life sciences MCP servers
General-purpose image generation MCP servers (e.g. OpenAI image tools) for cases where you need novel illustrations rather than curated scientific assets