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Paper is a design tool built for AI agents. Its MCP server lets agents read your canvas, including layout, styles, copy, and screenshots. Combined with the Resend MCP server, your agent can take a design straight from Paper and turn it into a ready-to-send Template or Broadcast in your Resend account. The flow looks like this:
  1. You design an email in Paper.
  2. Your agent reads the design through the Paper MCP server.
  3. Your agent converts the design into email-safe HTML using the Resend MCP server and agent skills.
  4. Your agent creates a Template or Broadcast in Resend

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Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:
  • The Paper Desktop app installed with a file open (opening a file starts the Paper MCP server automatically)
  • A Resend API key
  • A verified domain
  • An MCP client like Claude Code, Cursor, or Claude Desktop
See a full example for a complete end-to-end prompt.

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1. Connect the Paper MCP server

Paper Desktop runs a local MCP server at http://127.0.0.1:29979/mcp whenever a file is open.
Install the official Paper plugin (recommended):
/plugin marketplace add paper-design/agent-plugins
/plugin install paper-desktop@paper
Or add the MCP server directly:
claude mcp add paper --transport http http://127.0.0.1:29979/mcp --scope user
See the Paper MCP docs for other clients.

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2. Connect the Resend MCP server

claude mcp add resend -e RESEND_API_KEY=re_xxxxxxxxx -- npx -y resend-mcp
For more clients and configuration options, see the MCP Server overview.

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3. Design your email in Paper

Design your email as an artboard in Paper. A few tips for designs that translate well to email:
  • Use a single-column layout around 600px wide.
  • Use real copy instead of placeholder text.
  • Use web-safe fonts like System Sans-Serif or System Serif.
  • Use PNG or JPG images instead of SVGs (not supported in email).
Where you want personalization, write the variable directly into the design copy, like Hi {{{NAME|there}}}. Your agent will preserve it when creating the template or broadcast.

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4. Ask your agent to create an email

You can create either a Template or a Broadcast.

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Create a Template

Select an artboard in Paper and with both servers connected, prompt your agent with the following: 
Look at the selected artboard in Paper and recreate it as an email template
in Resend. Convert the design to email-safe HTML (inline styles, table-based
layout) using the Resend agent skills. Provide a name, subject, and preview text for the template that fits the content. Publish the template.
Behind the scenes, the agent will:
  1. Call Paper’s get_selection and get_screenshot to see the design.
  2. Call Paper’s get_jsx or get_computed_styles to read the exact layout, colors, and copy.
  3. Convert the output into email-safe HTML.
  4. Call Resend’s create-template with the HTML, name, and subject.
  5. Call Resend’s publish-template to make it available for sending.
Templates support variables using triple-brace syntax, like {{{USERNAME}}}. Once published, you can send the template via the Emails API or the dashboard.

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Create a Broadcast

To go from design to a campaign instead: 
Look at the selected artboard in Paper and create a Resend broadcast from it.
Convert the design to email-safe HTML using the Resend agent skills. Provide a name, subject, and preview text for the template that fits the content. Create it as a
draft, don't send it yet.
The agent reads the design the same way, then calls Resend’s create-broadcast with the HTML, sender, subject, and segment. You can review the draft in the Resend dashboard before sending it yourself.
Before you can send a Broadcast, you must define which Segment should receive it. If you don’t have one yet, your agent can create one.

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5. Refine in the visual editor

Templates and Broadcasts created by your agent are editable in the Resend dashboard. If you want your agent’s content to be fully editable in the visual editor, ask it to use compose-template or compose-broadcast instead of raw HTML. You’ll see the agent appear as a named avatar in the editor while it works, and you can hand-tune the result afterwards. Hold to confirm Alternatively, you can edit the Template or Broadcast in the Resend dashboard. Select the Editor icon in the top lefthand corner and Hold to confirm and convert the HTML to a visual template or broadcast.

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Example: end-to-end prompt

1. Read the "Launch Announcement" artboard from Paper.
2. Convert it to an email-safe HTML email. Preserve the colors, spacing, and
   copy as closely as email clients allow. Use the Resend agent skills.
3. Create it as a broadcast in Resend from announcements@example.com to the
   "Customers" segment, subject "We just launched".
4. Show me a summary and the dashboard link, but do not send it.

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Troubleshooting

  • Agent can’t reach Paper: make sure Paper Desktop is running with a file open, then restart your agent session.
  • Design looks different in the email: email clients don’t support modern CSS. Ensure you’ve installed the Resend’s agent skills. Then ask the agent to use table-based layout and inline styles, and to flag anything (like custom fonts or complex gradients) that won’t survive the conversion.
  • create-broadcast fails: check that the from address uses a verified domain and that the segment exists.