MCP PDF Server

A secure Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built with Node.js/TypeScript that allows AI agents to safely read PDF files and extract text, metadata, or page counts. Uses pdf-parse for reliable PDF processing.

Features

• 🔒 Secure by Design: Built-in security measures to prevent directory traversal, SSRF attacks, and resource exhaustion
• 📄 PDF Processing: Extract text, metadata, and page counts from PDF files
• 🌐 Dual Source Support: Process both local files and remote URLs
• 🛡️ Input Validation: Comprehensive validation of file paths, URLs, and file types
• ⚡ Fast & Reliable: Uses the proven pdf-parse library for consistent results
• 🔧 Configurable: Customizable security settings and working directories
• 📊 MCP Compliant: Full Model Context Protocol implementation

Installation

Using npm (Recommended)

Global Installation:

npm install -g mcp-pdf-server

Local Installation:

npm install mcp-pdf-server

Run without installing (using npx):

npx mcp-pdf-server --help
npx mcp-pdf-server --working-directory ./pdfs

NPM Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-pdf-server

From Source

git clone https://github.com/paredezadrian/mcp-pdf-server.git
cd mcp-pdf-server
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Usage

As MCP Server

Configure your MCP client to use the server:

If installed globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-server": {
      "command": "mcp-pdf-server",
      "args": ["--working-directory", "/path/to/pdfs"],
      "name": "PDF Processing Server"
    }
  }
}

Using npx (no installation required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-pdf-server", "--working-directory", "/path/to/pdfs"],
      "name": "PDF Processing Server"
    }
  }
}

Command Line Options

mcp-pdf-server [OPTIONS]

OPTIONS:
  --working-directory, --cwd <path>    Set working directory for local files
  --max-file-size <bytes>              Maximum file size in bytes (default: 52428800)
  --timeout <ms>                       Download timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)
  --help, -h                           Show help message
  --version, -v                        Show version number

Available Tools

1. extract-text

Extract text content from a PDF file.

Parameters:

• source (string): PDF file path or URL
• startPage (number, optional): Start page number (1-based)
• endPage (number, optional): End page number (1-based)
• maxFileSize (number, optional): Maximum file size in bytes
• timeout (number, optional): Timeout for URL downloads in milliseconds

Example:

{
  "tool": "extract-text",
  "arguments": {
    "source": "./documents/report.pdf",
    "startPage": 1,
    "endPage": 5
  }
}

2. extract-metadata

Extract metadata information from a PDF file.

Parameters:

• source (string): PDF file path or URL
• maxFileSize (number, optional): Maximum file size in bytes
• timeout (number, optional): Timeout for URL downloads in milliseconds

Example:

{
  "tool": "extract-metadata",
  "arguments": {
    "source": "https://example.com/document.pdf"
  }
}

3. get-page-count

Get the total number of pages in a PDF file.

Parameters:

• source (string): PDF file path or URL
• maxFileSize (number, optional): Maximum file size in bytes
• timeout (number, optional): Timeout for URL downloads in milliseconds

4. extract-all

Extract text, metadata, and page count in one operation.

Parameters:

• source (string): PDF file path or URL
• startPage (number, optional): Start page number (1-based)
• endPage (number, optional): End page number (1-based)
• maxFileSize (number, optional): Maximum file size in bytes
• timeout (number, optional): Timeout for URL downloads in milliseconds

Security Features

File System Security

• Directory Traversal Protection: Prevents access to files outside the working directory
• Path Normalization: Safely handles relative paths and symbolic links
• File Type Validation: Only processes .pdf files
• Size Limits: Configurable maximum file size (default: 50MB)

Network Security

• URL Validation: Validates URL format and protocol (HTTP/HTTPS only)
• SSRF Protection: Blocks private IP addresses and localhost
• Domain Filtering: Configurable blocked domains list
• Timeout Protection: Prevents hanging downloads
• Content-Type Validation: Ensures downloaded content is actually a PDF

Resource Protection

• Memory Limits: Prevents processing of excessively large files
• Timeout Controls: Configurable timeouts for all operations
• Error Handling: Graceful error handling without information leakage

Configuration

Default Security Settings

{
  maxFileSize: 50 * 1024 * 1024, // 50MB
  allowedExtensions: ['.pdf'],
  allowedMimeTypes: ['application/pdf'],
  downloadTimeout: 30000, // 30 seconds
  allowedProtocols: ['http:', 'https:'],
  blockedDomains: [
    'localhost', '127.0.0.1', '0.0.0.0', '::1',
    '10.', '172.16.', '192.168.'
  ],
  maxUrlLength: 2048
}

Environment Variables

• MCP_PDF_WORKING_DIR: Default working directory
• MCP_PDF_MAX_FILE_SIZE: Maximum file size in bytes
• MCP_PDF_TIMEOUT: Default timeout in milliseconds

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/paredezadrian/mcp-pdf-server.git
cd mcp-pdf-server
npm install

Scripts

npm run dev          # Run in development mode
npm run build        # Build TypeScript
npm run start        # Run built version
npm run test         # Run tests
npm run lint         # Run ESLint
npm run lint:fix     # Fix ESLint issues

Testing

npm test             # Run all tests
npm run test:watch   # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage # Run tests with coverage

Contributing

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

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Model Context Protocol for the MCP specification
• pdf-parse for PDF processing capabilities
• TypeScript MCP SDK for the MCP implementation