PDF Tools MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides tools for PDF document processing, analysis, and manipulation.

Features

• PDF Document Processing: Securely processes PDF documents with various manipulation capabilities.
• Content Extraction: Extracts text, tables, images, and metadata from PDF documents.
• PDF Transformation: Provides tools for splitting, merging, and transforming PDF documents.
• Document Analysis Tools: Pre-built tools for common document analysis tasks like text extraction, table detection, etc.
• Analysis Prompts: Includes prompt templates for guiding AI assistants in performing common PDF analysis tasks.

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• VS Code (latest version recommended)
• Node.js 18.0 or higher
• npm 8.0 or higher
• PDF documents for processing and analysis

Local Development Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-repo/pdf-tools-mcp-server.git
   cd pdf-tools-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Build the project:

   npm run build

4. Run the server:

   npm start

5. For development with auto-reload:

   npm run watch

6. To run tests:

   npm run test:pdf

Using with GitHub Copilot in VS Code

Installation with GitHub Copilot UI

1. Ensure you have the GitHub Copilot extension installed in VS Code

• If not, open VS Code Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X)
• Search for "GitHub Copilot"
• Click "Install"

2. Open VS Code and the GitHub Copilot Chat panel

• Use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+I) or
• Click on the Copilot Chat icon in the activity bar

3. Select "Agent Mode" in the Copilot Chat panel.

4. Click on the "Tools" icon and select Add More Tools.

5. Click Add MCP Server tool.

6. Choose Command (stdio) as the tool type.

7. Type the following command to install and run the PDF Tools MCP server:

npx @mcp-apps/pdf-tools-mcp-server

8. Follow the prompts to select PDF files for processing.

9. Once set up, Copilot will be able to assist with PDF document analysis and processing tasks.

Available Tools

PDF Extraction and Analysis

• extractText - Extracts text content from PDF documents

  • Parameters:
    • filePath: Path to the PDF file
    • pageNumbers (optional): Specific pages to extract text from

• extractTables - Extracts tables from PDF documents

  • Parameters:
    • filePath: Path to the PDF file
    • pageNumbers (optional): Specific pages to extract tables from

• getMetadata - Gets detailed metadata for a specified PDF document

  • Parameters:
    • filePath: Path to the PDF file

• analyzeDocument - Performs various document analyses

  • Parameters:
    • filePath: Path to the PDF file
    • analysisType: Type of analysis (structure, content, images, or classification)

PDF Editing

• edit_pdf - Edits a PDF document using various operations

  • Common Parameters:

    • sourceFilePath: Path to the source PDF file
    • outputFilePath: Path where the edited PDF should be saved
    • operation: The editing operation to perform
    • params: Operation-specific parameters

  • Available Operations:

    1. addText: Add text to a PDF page

       • Parameters:
         • text: Text to add
         • pageNumber: Page to add text to (1-based)
         • x, y: Coordinates for text placement
         • fontSize (optional): Font size, default is 12
         • color (optional): RGB color values between 0-1, default is black

    2. addPage: Add a new blank page

       • Parameters:
         • size (optional): Page size (A4, Letter, or Legal), default is A4
         • afterPageIndex (optional): Index after which to insert the page, default is at the end

    3. removePage: Remove pages from the document

       • Parameters:
         • pageIndices: Array of page indices to remove (0-based)

    4. rotatePage: Rotate pages in the document

       • Parameters:
         • pageIndices: Array of page indices to rotate (0-based)
         • rotation: Rotation angle (90, 180, or 270 degrees)

    5. mergeDocuments: Merge multiple PDFs into one

       • Parameters:
         • filePaths: Array of paths to PDF files to merge

    6. splitDocument: Extract pages into a new document

       • Parameters:
         • pageIndices: Array of page indices to extract (0-based)
         • outputFilePath: Path where the new document should be saved

Example Usage

Here are examples of using the PDF Tools MCP Server tools with GitHub Copilot:

Extract Text from a PDF

Extract text from sample.pdf

Get PDF Metadata

What's the metadata of my report.pdf file?

Add Text to a PDF

Add the text "CONFIDENTIAL" to the top of each page in document.pdf

Merge Multiple PDFs

Merge chapter1.pdf, chapter2.pdf, and chapter3.pdf into a single document

Split a PDF

Extract pages 5-10 from my-document.pdf into a new file

Security Considerations

• This server processes PDF documents safely with appropriate checks
• Contains basic security measures to prevent destructive operations
• Restricts access to system resources when processing documents
• Consider additional security measures depending on your specific requirements

License

ISC