PDF Math Translate
[EMNLP 2025 Demo] PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 AI 完整保留排版的 PDF 文档全文双语翻译，支持 Google/DeepL/Ollama/OpenAI 等服务，提供 CLI/GUI/MCP/Docker/Zotero
What is PDF Math Translate?
PDF Math Translate is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to [emnlp 2025 demo] pdf scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 ai 完整保留排版的 pdf 文档全文双语翻译，支持 google/deepl/ollama/openai 等服务，提供 cli/gui/mcp/docker/zotero
[EMNLP 2025 Demo] PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 AI 完整保留排版的 PDF 文档全文双语翻译，支持 Google/DeepL/Ollama/OpenAI 等服务，提供 CLI/GUI/MCP/Docker/Zotero
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- MCP protocol support
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx pdfmathtranslateConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use PDF Math Translate
PDF Math Translate (pdf2zh) is a scientific document translation tool that preserves the original layout, formulas, charts, and tables of PDF papers during translation. It supports Google Translate, DeepL, Ollama, OpenAI, and other translation backends, and can output side-by-side bilingual PDFs. Crucially for AI workflows, it exposes an MCP server mode (both STDIO and SSE) so AI assistants can invoke document translation as a tool call, enabling automated multilingual research workflows without losing mathematical formatting.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.12 recommended (3.10+ required), with pip or uv available
- For MCP STDIO mode: an MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor
- For cloud translation backends: API keys for your chosen service (e.g. DeepL API key, OpenAI API key)
- For Ollama backend: Ollama installed and running locally with a translation-capable model pulled
Install pdf2zh
Install the package using uv (recommended for Python 3.12) or pip. The uv method pins the exact Python version.
# Recommended:
uv tool install --python 3.12 pdf2zh
# Alternative:
pip install pdf2zhVerify the installation
Run a quick test to confirm pdf2zh is accessible and shows the help output.
pdf2zh --helpTranslate a PDF from the command line
Run a basic translation to make sure the tool works before integrating it via MCP.
# Translate using Google Translate (default, no API key needed)
pdf2zh document.pdf
# Translate with DeepL
pdf2zh document.pdf --service deepl --apikey YOUR_DEEPL_API_KEYStart the MCP server in STDIO mode
Launch pdf2zh as an MCP STDIO server. Your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) will manage this process automatically using the config below.
pdf2zh --mcpAdd to your MCP client configuration
Configure your MCP client to start pdf2zh as an MCP server so AI assistants can call the translation tool directly.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdfmathtranslate": {
"command": "pdf2zh",
"args": ["--mcp"]
}
}
}Optional: Start the MCP server in SSE mode
For network-accessible deployments, start the server in SSE mode. The client then connects over HTTP rather than stdio.
pdf2zh --mcp --ssePDF Math Translate Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop config entry for PDF Math Translate in MCP STDIO mode.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdfmathtranslate": {
"command": "pdf2zh",
"args": ["--mcp"],
"env": {
"HF_ENDPOINT": "https://hf-mirror.com"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Prompts for using PDF Math Translate through an MCP client to automate scientific paper translation.
- "Translate the PDF at /home/user/papers/attention_is_all_you_need.pdf from English to Chinese, preserving the equations"
- "Translate this paper to Japanese using DeepL and produce a bilingual side-by-side PDF output"
- "Batch translate all PDF files in the /papers folder from English to Korean"
- "Translate this arxiv paper to French, keeping all LaTeX math formatting intact"Troubleshooting PDF Math Translate
AI model download fails or is very slow during first run
pdf2zh downloads layout detection models from HuggingFace on first use. If you are in a region with restricted HuggingFace access, set HF_ENDPOINT=https://hf-mirror.com in your environment before running pdf2zh.
Translated PDF has garbled characters or missing math formulas
Ensure you are using Python 3.12 as recommended. Some font rendering issues occur with older Python versions. Also verify your PDF is not a scanned image — pdf2zh requires text-based (searchable) PDFs to preserve formula structure.
MCP server fails to start because 'pdf2zh' command is not found
When installed via 'uv tool install', the binary is placed in the uv tools bin directory. Run 'uv tool list' to confirm the install, then add the uv tools bin directory to your PATH, or use the full absolute path in the MCP client args field.
Frequently Asked Questions about PDF Math Translate
What is PDF Math Translate?
PDF Math Translate is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that [emnlp 2025 demo] pdf scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 ai 完整保留排版的 pdf 文档全文双语翻译，支持 google/deepl/ollama/openai 等服务，提供 cli/gui/mcp/docker/zotero It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install PDF Math Translate?
Follow the installation instructions on the PDF Math Translate GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with PDF Math Translate?
PDF Math Translate works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is PDF Math Translate free to use?
Yes, PDF Math Translate is open source and available under the AGPL-3.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
PDF Math Translate Alternatives — Similar Search & Data Extraction Servers
Looking for alternatives to PDF Math Translate? Here are other popular search & data extraction servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
TrendRadar
★ 58.0kA real-time hotspot monitoring and news aggregation assistant that provides AI-powered analysis of trending topics across multiple platforms via the Model Context Protocol. It enables users to track news and receive automated notifications through va
Scrapling
★ 52.7k🕷️ An adaptive Web Scraping framework that handles everything from a single request to a full-scale crawl!
GPT Researcher
★ 27.2kAn autonomous agent that conducts deep research on any data using any LLM providers
Agent Reach
★ 20.1kGive your AI agent eyes to see the entire internet. Read & search Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, GitHub, Bilibili, XiaoHongShu — one CLI, zero API fees.
Xiaohongshu
★ 13.7kMCP for xiaohongshu.com
XHS Downloader
★ 11.2k小红书（XiaoHongShu、RedNote）链接提取/作品采集工具：提取账号发布、收藏、点赞、专辑作品链接；提取搜索结果作品、用户链接；采集小红书作品信息；提取小红书作品下载地址；下载小红书作品文件
Browse More Search & Data Extraction MCP Servers
Explore all search & data extraction servers available in the MCPgee directory. Each server includes setup guides for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
Set Up PDF Math Translate in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
Ready to use PDF Math Translate?
Browse our complete directory of 33,000+ MCP servers, read setup guides for your editor, and start building with the Model Context Protocol.