pdfops/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 Desktop** (claude_desktop_config.json) / **Cursor** (.cursor/mcp.json)
**VS Code** (.vscode/mcp.json, note the servers key and type)
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.
Tools
| 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 :
Sources must be https:// URLs or data: URIs, and results come back inline. Setup for Cursor and VS Code: .
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