Extracts PDF text locally, with macOS PDFKit and Vision OCR fallbacks and optional AI retry.
To add PDF To Text to Claude, run the install command below or copy the ready-made config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code further down. Restart your client after adding it and its tools show up in your next conversation. It needs 8 environment variables, listed below.
Install
npx -y @jim-panse/pdf-to-text-mcp@0.7.0Environment variables
PDF_TO_TEXT_MCP_ROOTSet in your MCP configOPENAI_API_KEYSet in your MCP configOPENAI_MODELSet in your MCP configAI_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENSSet in your MCP configMAX_PARALLEL_EXTRACTIONSSet in your MCP configEXTRACTION_QUEUE_CAPACITYSet in your MCP configEXTRACTION_QUEUE_WAIT_MSSet in your MCP configWRITE_TEXTSet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add pdf-to-text --env PDF_TO_TEXT_MCP_ROOT=<YOUR_PDF_TO_TEXT_MCP_ROOT> --env OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY> --env OPENAI_MODEL=<YOUR_OPENAI_MODEL> --env AI_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS=<YOUR_AI_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS> --env MAX_PARALLEL_EXTRACTIONS=<YOUR_MAX_PARALLEL_EXTRACTIONS> --env EXTRACTION_QUEUE_CAPACITY=<YOUR_EXTRACTION_QUEUE_CAPACITY> --env EXTRACTION_QUEUE_WAIT_MS=<YOUR_EXTRACTION_QUEUE_WAIT_MS> --env WRITE_TEXT=<YOUR_WRITE_TEXT> -- npx -y @jim-panse/pdf-to-text-mcp@0.7.0
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
PDF To Text exposes a set of tools to Claude over the Model Context Protocol. After you add it to claude_desktop_config.json (snippet above) and restart Claude Desktop, those tools become callable inside any conversation.
Requirements
This server needs the following environment variables to be set before it can run:
PDF_TO_TEXT_MCP_ROOT OPENAI_API_KEY OPENAI_MODEL AI_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS MAX_PARALLEL_EXTRACTIONS EXTRACTION_QUEUE_CAPACITY EXTRACTION_QUEUE_WAIT_MS WRITE_TEXT
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install PDF To Text?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add PDF To Text to Claude Code, or copy the ready-made config for your client from the install section on this page. Restart your client afterwards and the tools appear in your next conversation.
Which clients work with PDF To Text?
This page carries setup and config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code. Any other MCP client that accepts a standard server config can connect to PDF To Text as well.
Does PDF To Text need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: PDF_TO_TEXT_MCP_ROOT, OPENAI_API_KEY, OPENAI_MODEL, AI_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS, MAX_PARALLEL_EXTRACTIONS, EXTRACTION_QUEUE_CAPACITY, EXTRACTION_QUEUE_WAIT_MS, WRITE_TEXT. They go in the env block of your MCP config.
Imported from the Official MCP Registry. The details above come from the registry entry; the maker can claim this listing to correct them, add docs, and see its traffic.
Is this your MCP server?
Claim this listing to see its traffic, fix details yourself, and skip the review queue on future updates.
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