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MCP PDF Tools in Claude Desktop

Merge, split, stamp and read PDFs, pure JavaScript, no upload. It merges and splits PDFs, extracts and reorders pages, rotates a sideways scan, stamps PAID or DRAFT or any text, watermarks the business name and VAT id from the shared profile, and reads text back best effort with no OCR.

Claude Desktop has no filesystem sandbox of its own restricting where pdf_stamp or pdf_merge can write, so the out_path you give is exactly where the file lands, absolute path required like every other entry in this config.

What you get in Claude Desktop

You say	Tool
Stamp PAID on this invoice and save a copy.	`pdf_stamp`
Join these three PDFs into one file.	`pdf_merge`
Split the scan: pages 1-3 are the invoice, 4 onwards is the receipt.	`pdf_split`

The worked run stamped PAID on a 1-page invoice and wrote a new 0.9 MB file; the original file was byte-for-byte unchanged, which every writing tool here guarantees on purpose.

Install it in Claude Desktop

The file is claude_desktop_config.json, and the key inside it is mcpServers.

Scope	Path
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-pdf"]
    }
  }
}

If node came from nvm, asdf or homebrew, replace "npx" with the absolute path that which npx prints:

"command": "/Users/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.14.0/bin/npx"

Save, then completely quit Claude Desktop and start it again. A window reload is not enough.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-pdf is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

There is no hosted endpoint for this one yet. MCP PDF Tools runs locally over stdio with the config above, which is also the only form in which it reads and writes files on your own disk. Three of the servers in this collection are served at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/<name> over MCP streamable HTTP: time-tracker, price-tracker and invoice.

Claude Desktop notes worth knowing first

Two documented facts decide whether the entry works: every path in claude_desktop_config.json must be absolute, and a stdio server started here inherits only a limited, platform-dependent subset of environment variables. If node came from nvm or homebrew, paste what `which npx` prints instead of the bare word. The .mcpb route avoids both: Claude Desktop ships a built-in Node.js environment.

Free: info, count and text unlimited; merge up to 5 files; edits on files up to 30 pages; the PAID and DRAFT stamp presets. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Where is claude_desktop_config.json?

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. There is no published Linux path. Settings, Developer, Edit Config opens the right copy and creates it if it does not exist.

I added it and MCP PDF Tools does not appear.

In order: did you fully quit and restart, not just close the window? Is every path absolute? And is the command resolvable, given the limited environment a stdio server inherits here? If node came from nvm, paste what which npx prints.

Can I install it without editing JSON?

Yes. An .mcpb bundle, the format renamed from .dxt, opens with Claude and shows an installation dialog. One you built yourself goes in through Settings, Extensions, Advanced settings, Install Extension.

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