MCPgee
MCPgee
MCPgeeMCPgee

PDF Tools

v1.0.0•File Systems•stable

An MCP server that enables users to read, search, and analyze PDF documents. It provides tools for extracting text, viewing metadata, searching content with context, and generating word statistics.

mcp-pdf-toolsmcpai-integration
Share:
74
Stars
0
Downloads
0
Weekly
0/5
View on GitHub

What is PDF Tools?

PDF Tools is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server that enables users to read, search, and analyze pdf documents. it provides tools for extracting text, viewing metadata, searching content with context, and generating word statistics.

An MCP server that enables users to read, search, and analyze PDF documents. It provides tools for extracting text, viewing metadata, searching content with context, and generating word statistics.

This server falls under the File Systems category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.

Features

  • An MCP server that enables users to read, search, and analyz

Use Cases

Extract text, view metadata, and search PDF document content.
Generate word statistics and analyze PDF structure.
hanweg

Maintainer

LicenseThe Unlicense
Languagepython
Versionv1.0.0
UpdatedApr 1, 2026
Statushealthy
Maintenanceactive

Works with

ClaudeOpenAIwindowsmacoslinux
View SourceBrowse All Servers

Installation

Manual Installation

npx mcp-pdf-tools

Configuration

Configuration Details

Config File

claude_desktop_config.json

Performance

Response Metrics

Response Time< 200ms
ThroughputMedium

Resource Usage

Memory UsageLow
CPU UsageLow

How to Set Up and Use PDF Tools

The mcp-pdf-tools server enables AI assistants to work directly with PDF files on your local filesystem — merging multiple PDFs, extracting specific page ranges, searching for text patterns across documents, and finding related PDFs by content similarity using regex matching. It is a Python-based MCP server primarily targeting Windows users via Claude Desktop, giving Claude the ability to manipulate PDF files without requiring a separate PDF utility or manual file handling.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or later installed
  • uv package manager installed (pip install uv or https://astral.sh/uv)
  • Git for cloning the repository
  • An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
  • Windows OS recommended (the project notes Windows as the primary target)
1

Clone the repository

Clone the mcp-pdf-tools repository to a local directory you will reference in your MCP config.

git clone https://github.com/hanweg/mcp-pdf-tools.git
cd mcp-pdf-tools
2

Create a virtual environment and install dependencies

Use uv to create a virtual environment and install the package in editable mode.

uv venv
# Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux
source .venv/bin/activate

uv pip install -e .
3

Note the absolute path to the repository

The Claude Desktop config requires the absolute path to the cloned directory. Note this path for the next step.

# Windows PowerShell
Get-Location

# macOS/Linux
pwd
4

Add to Claude Desktop configuration

Edit your claude_desktop_config.json to add the pdf-tools entry, replacing PATH_TO with the absolute path to your cloned mcp-pdf-tools directory.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-tools": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\Users\\yourname\\mcp-pdf-tools",
        "run",
        "pdf-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}
5

Restart Claude Desktop and test

Restart Claude Desktop. You can now ask Claude to merge, extract, or search PDF files on your system by providing the full file paths.

PDF Tools Examples

Client configuration

Claude Desktop configuration for mcp-pdf-tools on Windows, using uv to run the server from the cloned directory.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-tools": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\Users\\yourname\\mcp-pdf-tools",
        "run",
        "pdf-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Prompts to try

Example prompts to manipulate PDF files through the mcp-pdf-tools MCP server.

- "Merge C:\\Documents\\report1.pdf and C:\\Documents\\report2.pdf into a single file."
- "Extract pages 3 to 7 from C:\\Documents\\contract.pdf and save them as a new file."
- "Search all PDFs in C:\\Documents\\invoices\\ for the text 'invoice total'."
- "Find all PDF files in C:\\Projects\\ that contain the word 'architecture' and merge them."
- "Search C:\\Reports\\annual.pdf for any mention of a dollar amount using a regex pattern."

Troubleshooting PDF Tools

uv command not found when Claude Desktop tries to start the server

Install uv globally with pip install uv or by following the instructions at https://astral.sh/uv. Ensure uv is on your system PATH and restart Claude Desktop after installing.

Server starts but PDF operations fail with file not found errors

Always provide the full absolute path to PDF files in your prompts, not relative paths. The MCP server process may have a different working directory than your current terminal session.

The server is marked as WORK IN PROGRESS and behaves unexpectedly

This project is under active development and primarily targets Windows. Check the GitHub repository for the latest commits and open issues before reporting bugs. macOS and Linux support may be incomplete.

Frequently Asked Questions about PDF Tools

What is PDF Tools?

PDF Tools is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server that enables users to read, search, and analyze pdf documents. it provides tools for extracting text, viewing metadata, searching content with context, and generating word statistics. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.

How do I install PDF Tools?

Follow the installation instructions on the PDF Tools GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.

Which AI clients work with PDF Tools?

PDF Tools works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.

Is PDF Tools free to use?

Yes, PDF Tools is open source and available under the The Unlicense license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.

Learn More About MCP Servers

Getting Started with MCP

Set up your first MCP server in minutes

MCP Setup Guide

Configure MCP in Claude, Cursor & VS Code

All MCP Tutorials

18+ hands-on guides for developers

MCP FAQ

40+ answers about Model Context Protocol

PDF Tools Alternatives — Similar File Systems Servers

Looking for alternatives to PDF Tools? Here are other popular file systems servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.

Electerm

★ 14.1k

📻Terminal/ssh/sftp/ftp/telnet/serialport/RDP/VNC/Spice client(linux, mac, win)

Plik

★ 1.8k

Plik is a temporary file upload system (Wetransfer like) in Go.

Kordoc

★ 957

An MCP server that parses South Korean document formats like HWP, HWPX, and PDF into Markdown. It features specialized table reconstruction and security-hardened extraction optimized for administrative and public institution files.

macOS Automator

★ 801

A Model Context Protocol server that enables execution of AppleScript and JavaScript for Automation scripts on macOS, allowing programmatic control of applications and system functions through a rich knowledge base of pre-defined scripts.

PDF Reader

★ 723

Enables reading, searching, and metadata extraction from PDF files without loading the entire content into the context window. It provides efficient tools for text cleaning, page-specific extraction, and context-aware search results.

Filesystem MCP Server

★ 643

Provides comprehensive filesystem operations (read, write, list, create, delete, move files and directories) through the Model Context Protocol with Streamable HTTP transport and built-in security through configurable root directory restrictions.

Browse More File Systems MCP Servers

Explore all file systems servers available in the MCPgee directory. Each server includes setup guides for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.

File SystemsBrowse All Servers

Quick Config Preview

{ "mcpServers": { "mcp-pdf-tools": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mcp-pdf-tools"] } } }

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json

Read the full setup guide →

Ready to use PDF Tools?

Browse our complete directory of 33,000+ MCP servers, read setup guides for your editor, and start building with the Model Context Protocol.

33,000+ ServersFree & Open SourceStep-by-Step Guides
Explore All ServersRead Our Guides