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Use the Windows desktop app’s MCP settings to start PDF.co locally. Complete the shared prerequisites first. These steps apply to desktop chats that run on your local computer. ChatGPT web does not read this local server configuration.

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Choose Work or Codex

ChatGPT and Codex are available in the same desktop app. To use the local PDF.co MCP server, choose either of these routes:
  • Select ChatGPT, then switch from Chat to the Work tab.
  • Select Codex in the app’s product selector and open a local task.
If the app offers a choice of where to run the task, choose your local computer. The regular Chat view may ask you to continue in Work when you request PDF.co MCP tools. Switch to Work and resend the prompt.

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Add the server

  1. Open Settings > Plugins.
  2. Open the Add dropdown and select Add MCP server.
Desktop app Settings showing Plugins and the Add dropdown with Add MCP server highlighted

Add an MCP server from the Plugins settings page.

  1. In Connect to a custom MCP, enter the following values:
Paste the executable path into the command field without JSON escaping or extra quotes. Keep pdfco-mcp in the arguments field. This connection uses an environment variable for authentication, so it does not require a server URL or OAuth sign-in.
Desktop Add MCP server form showing STDIO, uvx.exe, the pdfco-mcp argument, and X_API_KEY with a placeholder value

The STDIO form with the executable path, package argument, and an API-key placeholder. Use pdfco as the Name to match this guide's examples.

If environment variables are entered as text instead of separate name/value fields, enter X_API_KEY=YOUR_PDFCO_API_KEY, replacing the placeholder locally. The form saves the configuration; you do not need to edit a configuration file as well.
  1. Save the server, then select Restart if offered.
  2. Open a local Work or Codex chat and use /mcp to inspect the connected servers.
ChatGPT Work and Codex in the desktop app use the same local MCP setup, and Codex CLI shares the configuration on the same host. Reuse an existing pdfco entry when switching between them.

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Check that processing works

Confirm that pdfco exposes tools such as pdf_to_text, then send:
Inspect the tool calls, wait for successful completion, and open the resulting file. Seeing the server in Settings alone does not verify that the API key or conversion works. See Verify your connection.
Desktop conversation showing the PDF.co MCP conversion prompt and a completed text-file download link

The sample prompt and a completed conversion in the desktop app.

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Troubleshooting

  • If the regular Chat view says to continue in Work or cannot access the local PDF.co tools, switch to Work or Codex and run the task on your local computer.
  • If the command works in PowerShell but the app cannot start it, use the full executable path and restart the server.
  • If the server is configured but tools are unavailable, check /mcp, the server’s enabled state, and that the chat is running on the same local host.
  • If tools load but processing fails, check the X_API_KEY environment entry and the tool’s error response.
For client configuration details, see OpenAI’s MCP documentation and choosing ChatGPT Work or Codex.