ChangeThisFile MCP Server
Use ChangeThisFile's seven file tools from any MCP client: conversion across 1,000+ supported routes, document translation, table extraction, exact-size compression, natural-language routing, and job status checks.
Powered by ChangeThisFile.com. Discovery and paid-preview jobs are public. General convert_file accepts a verified developer key now and shares its quota with REST API usage. Anonymous conversion remains available during the connector compatibility window; authentication will not be enforced before August 27, 2026, and only after connector support is verified.
| Tool | Description |
|---|
convert_file | Convert a file. Pass a publicly accessible source_url or base64_content (max ~5MB), plus a target_format (e.g. pdf, mp3, json). Source format is auto-detected from the URL/filename, or pass source_format explicitly. Returns a download URL valid for 1 hour. |
list_conversions | List all supported conversion routes, optionally filtered by source_format (e.g. docx → see every format you can convert DOCX into). |
translate_file | Translate a document with its layout preserved. Returns a free preview and a one-time checkout link for the full output. |
extract_tables | Extract tables from PDFs or images into Excel. Returns a free preview and a one-time checkout link for the full output. |
compress_file | Compress a PDF, image, or video to an exact maximum size. Free with a daily limit. |
do_file_job | Route a plain-language file instruction to conversion, translation, extraction, or compression. |
check_job | Check a submitted job and retrieve its preview, checkout link, or download URL. |
Option 1 — Remote endpoint (recommended, no install)
The server is hosted at https://changethisfile.com/mcp using streamable HTTP transport (MCP spec 2025-03-26). If your client supports remote MCP servers, point it straight at the endpoint. Clients that support custom headers can send Authorization: Bearer ctf_sk_... to use authenticated developer metering.
{
"mcpServers": {
"changethisfile": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://changethisfile.com/mcp"
}
}
}
Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http changethisfile https://changethisfile.com/mcp
Option 2 — Local stdio server (this package)
For clients that only speak stdio, this package bridges stdio ↔ the hosted endpoint:
{
"mcpServers": {
"changethisfile": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "github:aadilr/changethisfile-mcp"],
"env": {
"CTF_API_KEY": "ctf_sk_your_key_here"
}
}
}
}
CTF_API_KEY is optional: without it you get 25 free conversions per month per network; after that convert_file asks for a key. Get a verified free key from the ChangeThisFile dashboard (or POST https://changethisfile.com/v1/keys/free with {"email":"you@example.com"} and click the verification email); its 25 monthly conversions are shared across MCP and REST. Paid plans start at $29/month.
Or clone and run directly:
git clone https://github.com/aadilr/changethisfile-mcp.git
cd changethisfile-mcp
npm install
node index.js
Option 3 — Agent Skill / Claude Code plugin
This repo doubles as an Agent Skill and Claude Code plugin.
Any skills-capable agent (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, and more):
npx skills add aadilr/changethisfile-mcp
Claude Code plugin (bundles the MCP server + the skill):
/plugin marketplace add aadilr/changethisfile-mcp
/plugin install changethisfile@changethisfile
The file-conversion skill prefers the MCP tools when connected and otherwise falls back to a bundled script (skills/file-conversion/scripts/convert.sh) that talks to the hosted endpoint over plain HTTPS — no MCP client required.
Option 4 — Docker
docker build -t changethisfile-mcp .
docker run -i --rm -e CTF_API_KEY changethisfile-mcp
Quick test
curl -X POST https://changethisfile.com/mcp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'
| Category | Examples |
|---|
| Image | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF, ICO, SVG, TIFF, HEIC, PSD, RAW |
| Video | MP4, WebM, MKV, AVI, MOV, 3GP, FLV, WMV |
| Audio | MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, M4A, OPUS |
| Document | PDF, DOCX, DOC, ODT, RTF, TXT, HTML, MD, PPT, PPTX |
| Data | JSON, CSV, TSV, YAML, XML, TOML, XLSX, XLS |
| Font | TTF, OTF, WOFF, WOFF2 |
| Ebook | EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBR, CBZ |
| Archive | ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2, TAR.XZ |
Use list_conversions for the full route table.
Environment variables
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|
CTF_API_KEY | unset | Optional verified developer key forwarded as a bearer token; the value is never logged |
CTF_MCP_URL | https://changethisfile.com/mcp | Override the upstream endpoint |
CHANGETHISFILE_MCP_URL | unset | Legacy alias for CTF_MCP_URL |
Privacy & limits
- Discovery and paid-preview jobs require no account. General conversion is temporarily anonymous in compatibility mode; a verified key enables shared developer metering now.
- Files are processed server-side and auto-deleted within 24 hours; download URLs expire after 1 hour.
- MCP inputs are capped at 25 MB. Authenticated
convert_file uses the developer account's shared API/MCP rate and monthly quota; other expensive tools retain per-account or per-IP abuse limits.
License
MIT