MCP research · GUIDE 05
Find screenshot and OG references with Snaps MCP
A useful reference search starts with a decision, not “show me the best.” Tell your assistant the app or category, device, design question and evidence you need. Snaps MCP retrieves references; your criteria determine which ones are useful.
Editorial diagram · illustrative, not a store screenshot.
Start with the design question
Weak prompt: “Get the best app screenshots.” Better prompt: “Find references for explaining collaboration in a phone store listing. Search app names or categories first; list candidate apps and source URLs. Do not claim the images show collaboration until you inspect them. Select references using headline clarity, readable UI and relevance to my audience—not presumed conversion performance.”
Connect using the Snaps MCP installation guide. Keep your own API key private. Use the Snaps library alongside the assistant to check the results.
Retrieve, inspect, then compare
Prompt: “Use search_apps to find Figma and confirm its slug and developer. Call get_app for available devices and captures. Use list_screens separately for each returned device. Preserve screen IDs, store order, dimensions, source URLs and capture identifiers. Compare returned counts with total; report any truncation rather than saying all images were fetched.”
Prompt: “Use get_screen_image to inspect the chosen references. For each, separate visible headline, composition and UI evidence from your interpretation. If text is unreadable, say so. Return a shortlist with one reason per image and a link back to Snaps.” The tool reference documents these inputs.
Keep Open Graph research separate
Prompt: “Call get_og_timeline with exactly one argument: app set to the verified slug, or host set to an independently verified website host. Call get_og_image with id set to an actual returned version ID. It returns metadata and imageUrl, not an image attachment. Open that imageUrl with an image-capable client before describing the visuals; if you cannot, report that visual inspection was not performed. Keep archive observation dates distinct from exact design launch dates. Compare headline, brand mark, layout and crop; label animated images inspected only at one frame.”
An OG card previews a website link; it is not a desktop app screenshot. If history is absent or still being collected, report that status instead of inventing a timeline.
Improve the next prompt with a constraint
After a broad result, narrow one variable at a time: device, app shortlist, capture, layout question or output format. Example: “Restrict this pass to iPhone. Pick references where a short benefit headline is visibly paired with product UI. Explain exclusions, keep source IDs, and write an original storyboard for my app without copying the reference wording.”
Screenshot search currently matches app names and categories, not visual patterns. A prompt asking search_screens to find “paywall layout” cannot turn its ignored pattern argument into visual search. Retrieve plausible candidates first, then inspect images.
Use a search engine for discovery, not private MCP access
Example search queries: “site:snaps.design/apps/ Figma” and “site:docs.snaps.design/mcp/ list_screens”. Search results depend on the engine’s index and may be incomplete. Open the Figma reference page directly when you know it. An indexed page is not an authenticated MCP session.
Prompt: “Find the official Snaps page and MCP documentation for this app. Verify the destination domain, cite the exact pages you opened, and distinguish search snippets from retrieved page evidence. If no result exists, do not infer the library has no matching app.”
Review before turning references into a brief
Checklist: confirm app identity; retain device labels and source links; distinguish OG cards from screenshots; state missing data; inspect before describing; separate observations from recommendations; and use original copy and assets. “Best” means best for the stated brief, not objectively highest-performing.
Try the workflow with the iOS or Android library. Snaps does not generate your final screenshots, establish reuse rights or validate store compliance.
Bound the research run
The documented list_screens limit is up to 200, with no documented pagination cursor: compare total with returned records and disclose truncation. Prefer thumbnails first and request full images selectively; get_screen_image refuses images over 5 MB. Keep within the documented 60 requests per minute per key, pause on rate-limit responses, and report refused or unavailable images. Retain OG approximate and seenOnce flags and collection status rather than treating every interval as certain.
Sources & further reading
Checked against public Snaps documentation and pages on 21 October 2026. Prompts are reproducible examples, not a claim of authenticated MCP execution. Visual observations, where stated, are limited to the explicitly inspected public reference images. Requirements can change; confirm the current source before upload.