You can ask an AI assistant to remove the hidden metadata from your files and get clean copies back, without opening a website. This works through MCP, the Model Context Protocol, which lets assistants such as Claude, Cursor and VS Code use outside tools. Once you add the MetadataRemover.tools server, a request like “remove the location from the videos in my Downloads folder” becomes a real action on your computer. This guide covers setup, what to ask, what the assistant can see, and the limits.
What you need
- A MetadataRemover.tools account. The MCP server is included on every plan, Free too. See pricing.
- An API key. Create one under Dashboard, API keys. It starts with
mrt_live_and is shown once, so copy it when it appears. - Node.js 18 or newer on your computer, for the small server that runs locally. Most developers already have it.
Set it up once
The local server is an npm package called metadataremover-mcp. Your AI app starts it on demand with npx, so there is nothing to install by hand.
Claude Desktop
Open Settings, Developer, Edit Config, add this block with your own key, and restart the app:
{
"mcpServers": {
"metadataremover": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "metadataremover-mcp"],
"env": { "MRT_API_KEY": "mrt_live_..." }
}
}
}On Windows, if the server does not start, set command to cmd and args to ["/c", "npx", "-y", "metadataremover-mcp"].
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport stdio --env MRT_API_KEY=mrt_live_... metadataremover -- npx -y metadataremover-mcpCursor and VS Code
Cursor reads the same JSON as Claude Desktop, from Settings, MCP, or from ~/.cursor/mcp.json. VS Code uses .vscode/mcp.json and can prompt for the key so it is never stored in the file. Both configurations are on the MCP page.
Ask in plain words
Name the files or the folder the way you would to a colleague. A folder means the supported files directly inside it, not its sub-folders. Requests that work well:
- “Remove the location from the videos in my Downloads folder.”
- “Strip the author and dates from report.pdf before I send it.”
- “Clean all the RAW files in ~/Photos/shoot and tell me what was in them.”
- “Clean the PNGs in my ComfyUI output folder and save the copies in a folder called clean.”
The assistant calls the server’s clean_files tool with the paths. For each file, the server sends it to MetadataRemover.tools over HTTPS, receives the clean copy and saves it next to the original as name-clean.ext. If that name already exists, a number is added instead of overwriting it. Your originals are never changed.
What comes back
The server reports every file, and the assistant relays it in its own words. The underlying result looks like this:
Cleaned 3 of 3 files.
✓ /Users/sam/Downloads/trip.mov → /Users/sam/Downloads/trip-clean.mov: removed 6 fields (com.apple.quicktime.location.iso6709, com.apple.quicktime.make, com.apple.quicktime.model, ...). Verified clean.
✓ /Users/sam/Downloads/report.pdf → /Users/sam/Downloads/report-clean.pdf: removed 5 fields (Author, Creator, Producer, CreationDate, ModDate). Verified clean.
✓ /Users/sam/Downloads/IMG_0042.jpg → /Users/sam/Downloads/IMG_0042-clean.jpg: removed 14 fields (Make, Model, GPSLatitude, ...). Verified clean.
497 left of that allowance today.The server tells the assistant to call a file clean only when the result says verified clean, which means a second scan of the output found nothing identifying left. If anything could not be removed, the result says how many fields remain.
What the assistant can and cannot see
- With the local server, each file goes straight from your computer to our server and the clean copy is saved on your computer. The assistant sees file names, paths and the report, not the contents.
- On our side, photos and PDFs are cleaned in memory and not saved. Video and RAW files sit in temporary space while they are cleaned, and the original is deleted as soon as cleaning finishes.
- To limit where it can look, set
MRT_ALLOWED_DIRSto the folders the assistant may use. The server refuses any path outside them. - To cut access, revoke the key under Dashboard, API keys.
ChatGPT and claude.ai
The chat apps connect differently. Add the hosted server https://metadataremover.tools/api/mcp as a custom connector and sign in with your MetadataRemover.tools account, so no key is needed. These apps cannot hand a file you drop into the chat on to a connector, so there the assistant cleans a file at a public link, or gives you a one-time upload link where you can drop the file yourself. For files that live on your computer, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code is the better route.
Limits to know
- Allowances. The assistant draws from the same allowances as the website and the API. An image or PDF uses one of today’s 500 on a free account (Starter, Pro and Business have no daily limit); a video or RAW photo uses one of the month’s: 10 and 10 on Free, 100 and 100 on Starter, 1,000 and 1,000 on Pro, 10,000 and 10,000 on Business.
- File size. A file over your plan’s limit, 25 MB on Free, 100 MB on Starter, 500 MB on Pro and 1,000 MB on Business, is skipped and the result says so. Skipped files do not use a call.
- Batch size. One request takes up to 200 files, cleans two at a time and reports each one. Files that are already clean copies are skipped, so repeating a request is safe.
- Formats. JPEG, PNG and WebP photos, PDFs, MP4, M4V, MOV, MKV and WebM video, and RAW files such as CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF and RW2.
If it does not work
- “The API key was not accepted.” Check that
MRT_API_KEYholds the whole key, or create a new one. - “You have used all … for today.” Today’s images-and-PDFs allowance is used up. It starts again at midnight UTC, and Starter, Pro and Business have no daily limit.
- The server does not start on Windows. Use
cmdwith/c npx -y metadataremover-mcpas shown above, and check thatnode --versionprints 18 or newer. - Nothing changes after you edit the config. Restart the app. Claude Desktop reads its configuration at launch.
For a single file, the home page is quicker. For a script that runs without you, read cleaning many files at once, which compares the browser, the API and the assistant.