pdfops-mcp
MCP server that gives AI agents deterministic PDF tools, backed by the PDFops API: inspect AcroForm fields, fill forms, merge PDFs, and generate invoices — no Chromium, no native deps, nothing to host.
Beside a local agent, tools operate on file paths, so PDF bytes never transit the model context: your agent says "fill /tmp/form.pdf and save to /tmp/out.pdf" and gets a one-line confirmation back. Every PDF input also accepts an https:// URL or a data:application/pdf;base64,… URI, and every output can be returned inline instead of written — which is what makes the server work on hosted runtimes (see below).
Install
Claude Code
claude mcp add pdfops -- npx -y pdfops-mcp
claude mcp add pdfops -e PDFOPS_API_KEY=pdfops_live_… -- npx -y pdfops-mcp
Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) / Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdfops": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "pdfops-mcp"],
"env": { "PDFOPS_API_KEY": "pdfops_live_…" }
}
}
}
VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json, note the servers key and type)
{
"servers": {
"pdfops": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "pdfops-mcp"],
"env": { "PDFOPS_API_KEY": "pdfops_live_…" }
}
}
}
Any other stdio client (Windsurf, Cline, Zed, your own agent): command npx, args -y pdfops-mcp. Per-client walkthrough and a real tool-call transcript: pdfops.dev/mcp.
PDFOPS_API_KEY is optional — without it you get the keyless trial (100 requests/IP/month). A free key (250/month, no card) takes one field at pdfops.dev/pricing.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|
pdf_inspect | List a PDF's form fields (names, types, options, values) + a paste-ready fill template. Call first on unfamiliar PDFs. |
pdf_fill | Fill AcroForm fields → write the filled PDF. Optional flatten bakes values in and drops the form. |
pdf_merge | Merge ≥2 PDFs in order → write the result. |
pdf_invoice | Structured data → complete invoice PDF. Deterministic: same input, byte-identical output. |
pdfops_usage | Quota check for the configured key. |
Hosted endpoint (no install)
PDFops also runs this server for you at https://pdfops.dev/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP). It needs an API key, which is free at https://pdfops.dev/pricing#free-key:
claude mcp add --transport http pdfops https://pdfops.dev/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer $PDFOPS_API_KEY"
Sources must be https:// URLs or data: URIs, and results come back inline. Setup for Cursor and VS Code: https://pdfops.dev/mcp#remote.
Running remotely (Smithery, Glama hosted, cloud IDE gateways)
A hosted MCP runtime executes this server on a machine where your agent's file paths do not exist. Nothing changes in the config — pass sources the server can reach and skip output_path:
- Inputs (
pdf_path, pdf_paths): an https:// URL the server can fetch (≤4 MB per PDF, ≤4.5 MB per request — the API's limits), or a data:application/pdf;base64,… URI for small files.
- Outputs: omit
output_path and pdf_fill / pdf_merge / pdf_invoice return the PDF inline as an embedded application/pdf resource (pdfops://filled.pdf, …) that the client saves. With output_path set, the file is written where the server runs.
Locally, absolute paths keep working exactly as before and remain the recommended form — bytes stay off the model context.
Example prompts
- "What fields does ~/forms/fw9.pdf have?" →
pdf_inspect
- "Fill ~/forms/fw9.pdf for Ada Lovelace, 12 Analytical Way, London; save it flattened as ~/out/w9-ada.pdf" →
pdf_inspect, then pdf_fill with flatten: true
- "Fill the onboarding form once per row of contractors.csv into ~/out/" → one
pdf_inspect, then pdf_fill per row
- "Merge ~/out/w9-ada.pdf, ~/docs/nda.pdf and ~/docs/cover.pdf into one packet, cover first" →
pdf_merge
- "Invoice Globex for 3 days of consulting at $650, 8.5% tax, due in 30 days" →
pdf_invoice
- "How many PDFops requests do I have left this month?" →
pdfops_usage
Example agent flow
"Fill the W-9 template at ~/docs/w9.pdf for Ada Lovelace and merge it with ~/docs/cover.pdf"
pdf_inspect → discovers field names + fill templatepdf_fill → writes the filled W-9pdf_merge → writes the combined packet
Links
API docs: pdfops.dev/docs · OpenAPI: pdfops.dev/openapi.json · Typed client: pdfops-sdk · Questions: hello@pdfops.dev
Privacy Policy
This server runs on your machine and sends only what a tool call needs to the PDFops API (https://pdfops.dev): the PDF bytes you point it at, the field values you supply, and your API key if you set one. PDFops processes the request in memory and returns the result; it does not store your documents. API requests are logged with usage metadata to run quotas and the service. The full policy is at https://pdfops.dev/privacy. Questions: hello@pdfops.dev.
MIT © PDFops