slides-reader

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that extracts text and images from PDF and PowerPoint files, making them accessible to Claude and other MCP-compatible AI clients.

Tools

• read_pdf — Extracts text, tables (as Markdown), and images from a PDF file, page by page.
• read_pptx — Extracts text, images, and speaker notes from a PowerPoint file, slide by slide.
• read_docx — Extracts text, tables (as Markdown), and images from a Word document.
• read_xlsx — Extracts data from an Excel file as Markdown tables, one section per sheet.

Requirements

• Python 3.12+
• uv (recommended)

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Ron5474/slides-reader
cd slides-reader
uv sync

Running the server

uv run python main.py

MCP Configuration

Claude Code (via CLI)

The quickest way to add this MCP server to Claude Code is with the claude mcp add command:

claude mcp add slides-reader -- uv --directory /absolute/path/to/slides-reader run python main.py

Replace /absolute/path/to/slides-reader with the actual absolute path to this repository.

To verify it was added:

claude mcp list

Claude Code (via JSON config)

Alternatively, edit ~/.claude/claude_code_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slides-reader": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/slides-reader",
        "run",
        "python",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (via JSON config)

• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slides-reader": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/slides-reader",
        "run",
        "python",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

After editing the config, restart Claude for the changes to take effect.

Usage

Once configured, you can ask Claude to read any supported file by providing its absolute path:

"Read the PDF at /home/user/documents/report.pdf"

"Summarize the slides at /home/user/presentations/lecture.pptx"

"Extract the text from /home/user/documents/report.docx"

"Show me the data in /home/user/spreadsheets/budget.xlsx"