Working with PDFs is one of the most common document tasks, but Claude Code doesn't have native PDF support. MCP servers bridge this gap by converting PDFs to formats Claude can understand, or by enabling direct document conversions. Here are the best options for reading, extracting, and converting PDF content.
Recommended MCP Servers
MarkItDown
microsoft/markitdown
Official Microsoft library that converts PDFs and many other file formats to Markdown for LLM consumption.
Key Features
- Converts PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint to Markdown
- Preserves document structure (headings, lists, tables)
- Supports local and remote files
- Official Microsoft AutoGen team maintenance
Installation
pip install 'markitdown[all]'MarkItDown is the go-to choice for reading PDFs with Claude. It's officially maintained by Microsoft, has excellent format support, and converts documents into clean Markdown that Claude can easily understand and work with.
Markdownify MCP
zcaceres/markdownify-mcp
MCP server that converts various file types including PDFs, images, audio, and web content to Markdown.
Key Features
- Converts PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX to Markdown
- Image OCR and audio transcription support
- YouTube video transcript extraction
- Web page to Markdown conversion
Installation
pnpm install && pnpm run buildMarkdownify is a versatile MCP server that handles not just PDFs but images, audio, and web content. It's perfect if you work with diverse document types and want a single solution. The audio transcription and YouTube support make it particularly useful for multimedia workflows.
MCP Pandoc
vivekVells/mcp-pandoc
Document format conversion using Pandoc, supporting bidirectional conversion between Markdown, HTML, PDF, DOCX, and more.
Key Features
- Bidirectional format conversion (read and write)
- Supports Markdown, HTML, PDF, DOCX, EPUB, LaTeX
- Reference document styling for DOCX output
- Pandoc filters and defaults file support
Installation
pip install mcp-pandocMCP Pandoc leverages the powerful Pandoc converter to handle bidirectional document conversions. Unlike read-only solutions, it can also generate PDFs and DOCX files from Markdown. Ideal for workflows that need both reading and writing document formats.
Quick Comparison
| MCP | Stars | Best For | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MarkItDown | 84k+ | PDF reading | Official Microsoft support | Read-only |
| Markdownify MCP | 2k+ | Multi-format | Images, audio, web support | More complex setup |
| MCP Pandoc | 468 | Format conversion | Bidirectional conversion | Requires Pandoc installed |
Getting Started
To get started with PDF editing in Claude Code:
For reading PDFs, install MarkItDown:
pip install 'markitdown[all]'For converting PDFs to other formats, install MCP Pandoc:
pip install mcp-pandocAdd to your Claude Code config and start working with PDFs.
Example prompt: "Convert this PDF to Markdown and summarize the key points."