An MCP server built with Node.js/TypeScript that allows AI agents to securely read PDF files (local or URL) and extract text, metadata, or page counts.
Documentation
Why this exists
Most PDF tools dump text. Agents then invent page numbers, miss tables, and cite the wrong cell.
PDF Reader MCP returns an Agent Document Twin: markdown + structure + geometry + provenance your agent can actually trust.
| Without evidence | With PDF Reader MCP |
|---|---|
| “The revenue was about $12M” | “Page 14, Table 3, cell (row 4, col 2) = $12.4M” |
| Lost table structure | Rows, columns, cells, bounding boxes |
| Scanned PDF becomes noise | OCR path with page-linked evidence |
| Hidden text / prompt injection ignored | Trust signals when requested |
Install (30 seconds)
npm install -g @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcpOr pin the current release:
npm install -g @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp@4.1.1One native binary is installed for your platform only (not all five).
| Platform | Native package (auto optionalDependency) |
|---|---|
| macOS arm64 | @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp-darwin-arm64 |
| macOS x64 | @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp-darwin-x64 |
| Linux x64 | @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp-linux-x64-gnu |
| Linux arm64 | @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp-linux-arm64-gnu |
| Windows x64 | @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp-win32-x64-msvc |
Missing native package → fail closed (no silent engine switch).
Quick start
Claude Code
claude mcp add pdf-reader -- npx @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcpClaude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code / any MCP client
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf-reader": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp"]
}
}
}Dual-era hosts that send server/discover before initialize (e.g. Gemini Antigravity CLI) are supported on stdio — the server answers discovery and keeps the session open for the legacy handshake.
Stdio / HTTP
pdf-reader-mcp
MCP_TRANSPORT=http pdf-reader-mcpWhat you get
Three tools. One product surface.
| Tool | What agents use it for |
|---|---|
read_pdf | Smart default: markdown, tables, structure, OCR, citations |
search_pdf | Find page + snippet matches before deep reading |
pdf_evidence | Crops, renders, inspect, focused evidence ops |
Minimal call:
{
"sources": [{ "path": "/absolute/path/to/report.pdf" }]
}Flagship use cases
1. Financial reports — extract table cells agents can cite by page and geometry
2. Research papers — headings, reading order, page-level quotes
3. Scanned documents — OCR path with evidence, not a text soup
Install footprint (honest product comparison)
Compare full clean installs, not “JS wrapper tarball vs native executable”:
| Metric (measured clean install, linux-x64) | Historical TS 3.0.14 | Sole-Rust 4.1.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Main package on disk | ~403 KB | ~77 KB |
Full node_modules | ~82.3 MiB | ~24.4 MiB (~3.4× smaller) |
| Installed files | 4,101 | 20 (~205× fewer) |
| Production npm dependency graph | PDF.js + MCP TS SDK + more | {} + one platform native |
The native binary is multi-megabyte because it is the PDF intelligence engine (parser, server, rendering/table/OCR routing). That is expected and still yields a cleaner, smaller install than shipping PDF.js + a JS dependency tree.
Details: installed footprint comparison
Performance
Controlled same-host linux-x64 dual-mode A/B vs @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp@3.0.14, using registry-installed 4.1.x natives:
| Mode | What it measures | Result |
|---|---|---|
persistent_warm | long-lived server, repeated identical local read_pdf after warm-up | ≥ ~10× median latency improvement on all 8 required fixture classes |
startup_inclusive | spawn + initialize + one task | large advantage on the same fixtures |
persistent_warm includes a process-local cache for identical local path+options. First request in a process still pays full parse cost.
Also: install footprint is much smaller than TS 3.0.14 on measured linux-x64 (~3.4× less disk, ~205× fewer files), and the 4.1.0 native binary is smaller than 4.0.2 (strip/LTO).
Not a multi-host guarantee. Details: 4.1.0 report · claims policy
Engine note
Version 4 runs a native Rust engine on supported platforms via a thin Node launcher.
Local-first. Five platforms. One clean install.
Engineering history, recovery pins, and ADRs live under docs/migration.md — not the product pitch.
Product proof
Docs
License
MIT
---
If this saves your agents from PDF hallucinations, star the repo and share a demo with your team.
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