PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)

What is PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)?

PDF Reader MCP Server is an MCP server that provides an Agent Document Twin for PDFs – a linked, source-backed representation that AI agents can inspect, search, verify, crop, OCR, enrich, cite, and read with confidence. It is designed for agents that need evidence, not just extracted text, and handles digital, scanned, and mixed PDFs with tables, hidden text, annotations, and complex layouts.

How to use PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)?

Install the npm package @sylphx/pdf-reader-mcp (Node.js ≥22.13 required) via npx, or use the Docker image from GitHub Container Registry. Add it to Claude Desktop config, Claude Code, or any MCP client. The default package works without OCR models, vision models, or cloud credentials. Use the read_pdf tool first with only sources to auto-profile and read the PDF, or use explicit include_* options for precise control. Also supports search_pdf and pdf_evidence tools.

Key features of PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)

• Agent Document Twin with lossless, visual, semantic, evidence, and agent layers.
• One smart read_pdf tool that auto-profiles and extracts with evidence.
• OCR adapter for scanned pages via configured providers (e.g. Tesseract).
• Visual crops, region analysis, and provider‑normalized evidence.
• Trust reports for hidden text, unsafe links, spoofing, and prompt injection.
• Accessibility reports for tagged‑PDF coverage, headings, links, and forms.
• Deterministic quality benchmarks and release gates for shipped proof.

Use cases of PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)

• Read a PDF with markdown, tables, chunks, and page numbers for summarization or RAG.
• Search within a PDF and then visually verify the source region before citing.
• Extract tables from scanned or selectable-text PDFs with cell geometry and confidence.
• Protect agents from misleading PDF content using trust and accessibility reports.
• Ship a PDF intelligence pipeline with reproducible quality benchmarks and release artifacts.

FAQ from PDF Reader MCP Server (@sylphlab/pdf-reader-mcp)

What is the Agent Document Twin?

It is a multi‑layer output (lossless, visual, semantic, evidence, agent) that keeps the PDF readable by agents while preserving the provenance needed to verify answers – page numbers, bounding boxes, crop IDs, and extraction methods.

Does it work without any external AI models?

Yes. The default package works out of the box for selectable‑text PDFs, rendering, crops, trust reports, and accessibility reports. OCR for scanned pages and visual enrichment are optional provider‑enabled features configured by the deployment environment.

What are the runtime requirements?

Node.js ≥22.13 is required. No OCR models, vision models, Ollama, LM Studio, or cloud credentials are needed by default.

How is OCR configured?

Set environment variables such as MCP_PDF_OCR_COMMAND and MCP_PDF_OCR_ARGS_JSON to point to a local OCR command (e.g. Tesseract). Provider URLs and executables are controlled by the environment, not by request payloads.