What's Spire.PDF MCP Server ?

Spire.PDF MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows you to create, read, edit, and convert PDF documents directly through your AI agent — without relying on Adobe Acrobat or other PDF software.

It provides a wide range of PDF manipulation capabilities, including merging, splitting, text replacement, form operations, watermarking, and format conversion.

Key Features

• Create PDF documents from scratch
• Modify existing PDF files (replace text, add watermark, compress, etc.)
• Convert PDF to Word, PDF to Excel, PDF to HTML, and more)
• Merge and split PDF files
• Encrypt and decrypt PDF documents
• Flatten form fields and extract form values
• Delete or expand PDF bookmarks
• Remove attachments from PDF files

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/eiceblue/spire-pdf-mcp-server.git
cd spire-pdf-mcp-server

2. Install using uv:

uv pip install -e .

Running the Server

Start the server (default port 8000):

uv run spire-pdf-mcp-server

Custom port (e.g., 8080):

# Bash/Linux/macOS
export FASTMCP_PORT=8080 && uv run spire-pdf-mcp-server

# Windows PowerShell
$env:FASTMCP_PORT = "8080"; uv run spire-pdf-mcp-server

Integration with AI Tools

Cursor IDE

1. Add this configuration to Cursor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/sse",
      "env": {
        "PDF_FILES_PATH": "/path/to/pdf/files"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. The PDF tools will be available through your AI assistant.

Remote Hosting & Protocols

This server uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) transport protocol. For other environments:

• Claude Desktop (requires stdio): Use Supergateway to convert SSE to stdio.
• Remote hosting: Follow the Remote MCP Server Guide.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
FASTMCP_PORT	Server port	8000
PDF_FILES_PATH	Directory for PDF files	./pdf_files

Available Tools

The server provides 15+ tools organized into 5 categories:

Document Operations (10 tools)

• create_pdfducoment: Create new PDF documents
• convert_pdfdocument: Convert PDF to other formats (Word, Excel, HTML, images, PDF/A, etc.)
• extract_text: Extract text from PDF pages
• merge_pdfs: Merge multiple PDFs into one
• add_text_watermark: Insert text watermarks into PDF
• compress_document: Reduce PDF file size
• split_document: Split a PDF into multiple files
• encrypt_document: Apply password protection to PDFs
• decrypt_document: Remove password protection
• replace_all_text: Replace all matching text in a PDF

Bookmarks Operations (2 tools)

• delete_all_bookmarks: Remove all bookmarks from a PDF
• expand_bookmarks: Expand bookmark tree

Forms Operations (2 tools)

• flatten_formfield: Flatten form fields in PDF
• get_forms_values: Extract values form PDF forms

Attachments Operations (1 tool)

• delete_all_attachments: Remove all attachments from a PDF

Supported Conversion Formats

• DOC/DOCX: Microsoft Word
• XLS/XLSX: Microsoft Excel
• PPTX: Microsoft PowerPoint
• HTML: HyperText Markup Language
• SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics
• Image formats: PNG, JPG, BMP, etc.
• **PDF/A (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b)**: Archival PDF
• PDF/X-1a:2001: Printing industry standard
• XPS, PCL, Markdown, Gray PDF, Linearized PDF

Development

Project Structure

spire-pdf-mcp-server/
├── src/spire_pdf_mcp/
│   ├── api/                 # API layer (tools)
│   │   ├── document_tools.py
│   │   ├── bookmarks_tools.py
│   │   ├── forms_tools.py
│   │   ├── attachments_tools.py
│   ├── core/                # Core business logic
│   │   ├── document.py
│   │   ├── bookmarks.py
│   │   ├── forms.py
│   │   ├── attachments.py
│   │   └── base.py
│   ├── utils/               # Utilities and constants
│   │   ├── exceptions.py
│   │   └── constants.py
│   ├── server.py            # MCP server implementation
│   └── __main__.py          # Entry point
├── pyproject.toml           # Project configuration
├── README.md                # This file
└── TOOLS.md                 # Detailed tool documentation

Running Tests

uv run pytest

Code Quality

• Fully typed with Python type hints
• Comprehensive error handling
• Modular architecture
• Consistent code formatting
• Detailed inline documentation

Documentation

• TOOLS.md: Complete tool documentation with usage examples
• Error Handling: Common errors and troubleshooting

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Add tests where applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

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

Version History

• v1.0.0: Initial stable release with tools
• Complete pdf document manipulation capabilities
• Comprehensive error handling
• Full format conversion support