Better Icons
Provides access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections with features for searching, recommendations, and direct file synchronization. It supports multiple frameworks and optimizes AI performance by writing icon code directly to project files.
What is Better Icons?
Better Icons is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections with features for searching, recommendations, and direct file synchronization. it supports multiple frameworks and optimizes ai performance ...
Provides access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections with features for searching, recommendations, and direct file synchronization. It supports multiple frameworks and optimizes AI performance by writing icon code directly to project files.
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx better-iconsConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Better Icons
Better Icons is an MCP server and CLI that gives AI assistants direct access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections including Lucide, Material Design Icons, Phosphor, Heroicons, and Tabler. It exposes dedicated tools for searching by keyword or use case, retrieving SVG code in multiple output formats (raw SVG, React component, Iconify, or URL), getting AI-powered recommendations, finding similar icons across collections, and writing icon code directly to project files. Frontend developers use it so their AI coding assistant can find and insert the right icon without leaving the conversation.
Prerequisites
- Node.js and npm or Bun runtime
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf
- No API key required — Better Icons works offline against a local icon index
Install Better Icons globally (optional CLI use)
Install the CLI globally to use Better Icons from the terminal for one-off searches and icon retrieval.
npm install -g better-icons
# or with Bun:
bun add -g better-iconsConfigure Claude Desktop
Add Better Icons to your Claude Desktop MCP server configuration. The server runs via npx so no global install is required.
{
"mcpServers": {
"better-icons": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "better-icons"]
}
}
}Configure Claude Code
For Claude Code, add the server entry to ~/.claude/settings.json under the mcpServers key.
{
"mcpServers": {
"better-icons": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "better-icons"]
}
}
}Restart your MCP client
Fully restart Claude Desktop or reload your editor's MCP configuration so Better Icons is registered. No environment variables are required.
Verify available tools
Ask your AI assistant to list available icons tools or search for a simple icon to confirm the server is active.
Better Icons Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop configuration for Better Icons. No API keys or env vars are needed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"better-icons": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "better-icons"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts once Better Icons is connected to your AI assistant.
- "Find me a shopping cart icon from the Lucide collection and add it to src/components/CartButton.tsx."
- "Search for arrow icons and recommend the best one for a 'next step' button in my app."
- "Get the Material Design Icons home icon as a React component and show me the code."
- "Find icons similar to the Heroicons 'bell' icon across other collections."
- "List all available icon collections and how many icons each has."
- "Search for settings icons and sync the best result directly to src/icons/settings.svg."Troubleshooting Better Icons
npx command takes too long or fails on first run
Better Icons downloads its icon index on first use. Ensure you have a stable internet connection and that npx can reach the npm registry. Run 'npx better-icons --version' in a terminal to pre-download and cache the package before connecting through an MCP client.
search_icons returns no results for a query
Try broader or different keywords — icon names vary across collections (e.g., 'chevron-right' vs 'arrow-right'). Use the list_collections tool to see available collections and then scope your search with the prefix filter to a specific collection.
sync_icon fails to write to a project file
Confirm that the target file path exists and that the process running the MCP server has write permission to it. Provide an absolute path when calling sync_icon to avoid working-directory ambiguity.
Frequently Asked Questions about Better Icons
What is Better Icons?
Better Icons is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to over 200,000 icons from 150+ collections with features for searching, recommendations, and direct file synchronization. it supports multiple frameworks and optimizes ai performance by writing icon code directly to project files. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Better Icons?
Follow the installation instructions on the Better Icons GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Better Icons?
Better Icons works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Better Icons free to use?
Yes, Better Icons is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up Better Icons in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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