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PDF.co MCP connects your AI assistant to PDF.co through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Once connected, your assistant can call tools to convert PDFs, extract text, merge documents, fill forms, and more. You can add PDF.co MCP to any AI assistant, AI client, or application that supports local MCP servers over STDIO. The guides below provide setup instructions for popular clients; other compatible MCP clients can use the same server command, package argument, and API key. These guides cover local setup on Windows. The client starts pdfco-mcp as a local process and communicates with it over STDIO. The server sends document-processing requests to the PDF.co API, so you need an internet connection and a PDF.co API key.

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Before you start

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Get your PDF.co API key

Sign in to the PDF.co dashboard and copy your API key. If you do not have an account, create one first. Enter the key in your client’s configuration or key prompt. The environment variable name is X_API_KEY, including the underscores. Replace YOUR_PDFCO_API_KEY in the examples locally; keep your actual key out of shared configuration files, screenshots, and chat messages.

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Install uv

uvx, included with uv, runs the published pdfco-mcp Python package in an isolated environment. Run the official Windows installer in PowerShell:
Close and reopen PowerShell, then check the installation and find the executable:
Copy the full path printed by the last command. Use that path as the command in the client configuration. Desktop apps may have a different PATH from your terminal, particularly after installing uv while an app is running.
The examples use C:\Users\YOUR_WINDOWS_USER\.local\bin\uvx.exe. Replace it with the path returned on your computer; uv can be installed elsewhere. JSON strings require doubled backslashes.
The package requires Python 3.10 or later. uv can download a compatible Python version if one is not available, so the first connection may take longer while Python and package dependencies are downloaded. See the uv installation guide and Python version management for details.

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Choose your client

Claude Desktop

Configure a local server through Developer settings.

ChatGPT desktop and Codex

Add PDF.co in settings, then use local Work or Codex chats.

Codex CLI

Add the server to your user configuration.

Claude Code

Register PDF.co from PowerShell.

Cursor

Use the installation link, or edit your personal MCP configuration.

VS Code

Use the installation link, or edit your user configuration for Copilot chat.

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Verify your connection

First check that pdfco is connected and exposes tools such as pdf_to_text, upload_file, and wait_job_completion. The current tool definitions contain 38 tools; compare the count with the package version you are using if it differs. Then send this prompt in your client:
Review the tool calls and open the resulting file. A successful connection test means that the PDF.co request completes and the output contains text from the sample PDF. A server appearing in settings, a tool list loading, or an initial response containing a job ID does not prove that document processing succeeded. Processing uses your PDF.co account’s credits.

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Troubleshooting

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Web and mobile clients

These local STDIO configurations do not connect directly to Claude.ai web/mobile or ChatGPT web. Those clients need a remotely reachable MCP connection. A PDF.co-hosted connection is not included in these guides; hosted-server setup is a separate project. See Claude’s remote connector guidance and ChatGPT’s custom MCP connection guidance for the client requirements.