Installation

There are three ways to use AI Playground from outside the web app: the gen-ai CLI, drop-in Skills for AI agents, and the MCP server. All three share the same account, model catalog, and credit balance.

This page covers installation for each surface. If you want a quickstart instead, go to CLI Quickstart or MCP Quickstart.

gen-ai CLI

The CLI is the foundation. Skills and MCP both drive it under the hood, so install it first regardless of which surface you plan to use.

macOS and Linux

curl -fsSL https://picsart.com/gen-ai-cli/install.sh | bash

This installs the gen-ai binary to ~/.local/bin (override with GEN_AI_INSTALL_DIR), verifies SHA-256 checksums, and adds the install directory to your PATH via your shell rc file (.bashrc, .zshrc, .profile, or fish config). Supports macOS and Linux on x64 and arm64.

Windows (PowerShell)

iwr https://picsart.com/gen-ai-cli/install.ps1 | iex

npm (all platforms)

npm install -g @picsart/gen-ai

Requires Node.js 22 or later. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Verify the install

gen-ai --version

Then sign in once:

gen-ai login

gen-ai login opens your browser for a one-time OAuth confirmation and stores a secure token at ~/.gen-ai/credentials.json. This single sign-in covers the CLI, Skills, and MCP — you do not need to log in again per surface. See Authentication for details.

Official product page: picsart.com/gen-ai-cli

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Skills — drop-in agent bundles

Skills are .zip bundles that teach an AI agent how to generate media with Picsart. Drop a skill into Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or ChatGPT, and the agent knows which model to pick and which command to run — you ask in plain English.

The flagship skill, gen-ai-use, gives an agent access to all 201 models across image, video, and audio.

Skills call the CLI internally, so install the CLI and run gen-ai login before adding a skill.

Install — Claude Code (recommended)

claude plugin marketplace add PicsArt/gen-ai-skills

Then activate it inside Claude Code:

/plugin install picsart@picsart

Or via npx:

npx skills add PicsArt/gen-ai-skills

Install — Cursor and Windsurf

1. Download the skill ZIP from picsart.com/gen-ai-skills.
2. Place it in your Cursor or Windsurf skills/rules directory as instructed by that agent.
3. Ask in plain English: "Generate a 16:9 hero image for a spring campaign."

Install — ChatGPT

Attach the skill ZIP to a conversation or a custom GPT. Once attached, the agent can call gen-ai commands directly.

Official product page: picsart.com/gen-ai-skills

Full walkthrough in the Skills guide.

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MCP and agent integrations

The Picsart MCP server exposes the full model catalog as Model Context Protocol tools, so any MCP-compatible agent can generate image, video, and audio without leaving the agent. See What is MCP? if you are new to the protocol.

Each host has a dedicated setup guide:

Agent	Guide
Claude Code	Claude Code integration
Cursor	Cursor integration
Windsurf	Windsurf integration
ChatGPT	ChatGPT integration
Codex (OpenAI)	Codex integration
VS Code Copilot	VS Code integration

In all cases, install the CLI and run gen-ai login first. Authentication is the same across every host — one credential, one balance.

Quick reference — add the MCP server

Claude Code:

claude mcp add picsart-gen-ai -- gen-ai-mcp

Codex:

codex mcp add picsart-gen-ai -- gen-ai-mcp

Cursor / Windsurf / VS Code — add gen-ai-mcp as the MCP server command in the agent's MCP config file. See the individual integration guides for the exact config block.

Official page: picsart.com/gen-ai-mcp — the canonical, always-current connection details live here. The MCP Quickstart documents the agent-facing tools (picsart_generate, picsart_preflight, …) and example calls. The picsart_media_* tools for building video and images from existing material are documented separately under Picsart Media Studio, which is its own remote connector rather than part of the CLI.

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FAQ

Do I need to install the CLI to use Skills or MCP?

Yes. Skills and MCP both drive the gen-ai binary internally. Install the CLI and run gen-ai login once; after that, every agent surface works without additional setup.

Which install method should I use — curl, PowerShell, or npm?

Use the curl script on macOS/Linux and the PowerShell script on Windows unless you are already managing a Node.js project. The curl/PowerShell paths install a self-contained binary and do not require Node.js. The npm path installs the pure-JavaScript distribution and requires Node.js 22+.

What does GEN_AI_INSTALL_DIR do?

It overrides where the binary is placed. By default the script installs to ~/.local/bin. Set GEN_AI_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin if you want a system-wide install (requires write access to that directory).

The CLI installed but gen-ai is not found.

Your shell's PATH may not have updated. Run source ~/.zshrc (or .bashrc, .profile) in the same terminal window, or open a new terminal.

Can I use the npm package and the curl binary on the same machine?

Yes, but only one should be on your PATH. Having both is not harmful, but it can cause version mismatches. Prefer one install method per machine.

Is the CLI free?

The CLI itself costs nothing to install or run. Generations consume Picsart credits drawn from your account balance. Run gen-ai pricing <model> to see the cost of a specific model before generating.