PDF MCP Server

Transform PDF manipulation with AI-powered natural language commands through Claude integration

Comprehensive PDF toolkit that integrates seamlessly with Claude AI via MCP (Model Context Protocol). Perform complex PDF operations using simple conversational commands - merge, split, encrypt, optimize, and analyze PDFs effortlessly.

🚀 Quick Start

Clone & Setup

git clone https://github.com/Sohaib-2/pdf-mcp-server.git
cd pdf-mcp-server

Option 1: With Virtual Environment (Recommended)

python -m venv .venv
# Windows
.venv\\Scripts\\activate
# macOS/Linux  
source .venv/bin/activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

Option 2: Without Virtual Environment

pip install fastmcp requests pathlib

Install PDF Tools

PDFtk:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install pdftk
# macOS
brew install pdftk-java
# Windows: Download from https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/

QPDF:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install qpdf
# macOS
brew install qpdf
# Windows: Download from https://qpdf.sourceforge.io/

🔧 Claude Desktop Integration

1. Locate Claude config file:

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\\Claude\\claude_desktop_config.json
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add PDF MCP Server:

With Virtual Environment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-tools": {
      "command": "C:\\\\path\\\\to\\\\pdf-mcp-server\\\\.venv\\\\Scripts\\\\python.exe",
      "args": ["C:\\\\path\\\\to\\\\pdf-mcp-server\\\\server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Without Virtual Environment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-tools": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:\\\\path\\\\to\\\\pdf-mcp-server\\\\server.py"]
    }
  }
}

macOS/Linux with venv:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-tools": {
      "command": "/path/to/pdf-mcp-server/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/pdf-mcp-server/server.py"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

4. Start using natural language:

   • "Merge these 3 PDFs into one document"
   • "Encrypt my report with password protection"
   • "Extract pages 1-10 from this manual"

📚 Complete Tool Reference

Core Operations

Tool	Description	Example
merge_pdfs	Combine multiple PDFs	merge_pdfs(['doc1.pdf', 'doc2.pdf'], 'combined.pdf')
split_pdf	Split into individual pages	split_pdf('document.pdf', './pages/')
extract_pages	Extract specific page ranges	extract_pages('book.pdf', '1-5,10,15-20', 'excerpt.pdf')
rotate_pages	Rotate pages by degrees	rotate_pages('scan.pdf', '90', 'rotated.pdf', '1-3')

Security & Encryption

Tool	Description	Example
encrypt_pdf	AES-256 encryption	encrypt_pdf('file.pdf', 'secure.pdf', 'password123')
encrypt_pdf_basic	Basic password protection	encrypt_pdf_basic('doc.pdf', 'protected.pdf', 'pass', 'admin')
decrypt_pdf	Remove password protection	decrypt_pdf('locked.pdf', 'unlocked.pdf', 'password')

Optimization & Repair

Tool	Description	Example
optimize_pdf	Compress for web/email	optimize_pdf('large.pdf', 'small.pdf', 'high')
repair_pdf	Fix corrupted PDFs	repair_pdf('broken.pdf', 'fixed.pdf')
check_pdf_integrity	Validate PDF structure	check_pdf_integrity('suspicious.pdf')

Information & Analysis

Tool	Description	Example
get_pdf_info	Detailed metadata (JSON)	get_pdf_info('document.pdf')
update_pdf_metadata	Modify title/author/etc	update_pdf_metadata('file.pdf', 'updated.pdf', title='New Title')
inspect_pdf_structure	Internal structure analysis	inspect_pdf_structure('complex.pdf', detailed=True)
extract_pdf_attachments	Extract embedded files	extract_pdf_attachments('portfolio.pdf', './attachments/')

File Management

Tool	Description	Example
download_pdf	Download from URL	download_pdf('https://example.com/file.pdf', 'local.pdf')
open_pdf_preview	Open with system viewer	open_pdf_preview('report.pdf', browser=False)
get_file_info	File size/path details	get_file_info('document.pdf')
configure_pdf_workspace	Set working directory	configure_pdf_workspace('/path/to/workspace')
count_pdfs_in_directory	List PDFs in folder	count_pdfs_in_directory('./pdf_folder/')

System Management

Tool	Description	Purpose
get_server_status	Check tool availability	Verify PDFtk/QPDF installation
list_default_directories	Show search paths	Debug file resolution issues
get_pdf_tools_help	Complete documentation	In-app help reference

💬 Natural Language Examples

Document Management:

• "Combine all my research papers into one bibliography"
• "Split this 100-page manual into chapters"
• "Extract the executive summary from pages 2-4"

Security Operations:

• "Encrypt this contract with military-grade protection"
• "Remove password from this locked document"
• "Add owner permissions to prevent editing"

File Optimization:

• "Optimize all PDFs in my downloads folder"
• "Fix this corrupted presentation file"

Advanced Analysis:

• "Show me detailed metadata about this academic paper"
• "Analyze the internal structure for security audit"

🗂️ File Path Handling

Flexible path resolution:

• Absolute: C:\\Documents\\file.pdf
• Relative: ../pdfs/document.pdf
• Filename only: report.pdf (searches default directories)

Default search order:

1. PDF_WORKSPACE environment variable
2. ~/Documents/PDFs
3. ~/Downloads
4. ~/Desktop
5. Current working directory

⚙️ Configuration

Custom workspace:

configure_pdf_workspace('/path/to/your/pdfs')

Check installation:

get_server_status()  # Verify PDFtk and QPDF availability

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common issues:

Problem	Solution
PDFtk not found	Install PDFtk and add to PATH
QPDF error	Install QPDF via package manager
File not found	Use list_default_directories() to check search paths
Permission denied	Run with appropriate file permissions
Invalid PDF	Use check_pdf_integrity() to validate file

Debug commands:

get_server_status()           # Check tool installation
list_default_directories()    # Verify search paths  
get_pdf_info('file.pdf')      # Validate PDF structure

🏗️ Architecture

pdf-mcp-server/
├── server.py              # FastMCP server with 16 tools
├── pdftk_tools.py         # PDFtk CLI wrapper
├── qpdf_tools.py          # QPDF CLI wrapper  
├── utils.py               # File utilities & path resolution
└── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies

Built with:

• FastMCP - MCP server framework
• PDFtk - PDF manipulation
• QPDF - Advanced PDF processing

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Commit changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
4. Push to branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License

👨‍💻 Author

Sohaib-2 - GitHub

🌟 Acknowledgments

• Anthropic for MCP Protocol
• PDFtk and QPDF teams
• Open source community for inspiration

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