Official PDF MCP server · npx -y @exactpdf/mcp

ExactPDF MCP Server: Private PDF Tools for AI Agents

Give Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Cline, Windsurf, Codex, and custom agents working PDF tools: merge, split, rotate, compress to upload limits, convert to Markdown or JSON, and build PDFs from images.

Get 20 free credits Copy setup Open npm

30-second demo

Install the MCP server, paste one config block, ask an agent to compress a PDF under 500KB, and save a portal-ready output file.

Open lightweight video demo

Install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exactpdf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@exactpdf/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "EXACTPDF_API_KEY": "sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

ExactPDF MCP is free to install. Hosted ExactPDF API workflows include 20 free test credits, then pay-as-you-go credits.

Paste a first prompt

Compress /Users/me/Desktop/application.pdf under 500KB for a government upload.
Use ExactPDF MCP and save the output next to the original.

Best first run: account check, PDF info, then one successful output. Buy credits only after the workflow works.

Supported agent tools

Compress PDF Target 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, 1MB Merge PDFs Split PDFs Rotate PDF Images to PDF PDF to JSON PDF to Markdown Extract text PDF info Voice preview Backend-required OCR/PDF images

Private by default

Browser tools stay local. MCP/API jobs use ExactPDF hosted workflows only when the agent needs repeatable automation.

Outcome-based credits

Credits are the meter, not the promise. The job is portal-ready PDFs, batch relief, and agent automation.

Honest capability map

PDF-to-images and OCR remain backend-required. English audio jobs are bounded to 1 MB, 20 pages, 18,000 characters, 20 minutes, and one active job.

ExactPDF MCP vs cloud PDF APIs

Need	ExactPDF MCP	Typical cloud PDF API
Agent install	`npx -y @exactpdf/mcp`	Custom SDK wiring
First proof	20 free credits, account and pdf-info probes first	Often starts at billing setup
Upload-limit compression	Target checks for 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, and 1MB	Often generic compression only
RAG export	Plain text, PDF JSON, structured Markdown	Usually one extraction format
Trust	Free browser tools remain no-upload; hosted API is explicit	Cloud upload is usually the default

Five agent recipes

Merge these 3 PDFs into one file.

Compress this PDF under 500KB.

Convert this PDF to Markdown.

Extract metadata from this PDF.

Turn these images into a PDF.

Export this PDF as JSON for my agent.

Developer quickstart API docs OpenAPI spec