convert_pdf_urlLABSCO SUMMARY
PDF to Markdown that survives two columns and equations.
The value is in what it drops and what it keeps: page furniture goes, LaTeX and table structure stay, and the text comes back in reading order rather than column order. The trade is where the work happens — documents are sent to MinerU under your key, which decides whether this suits the papers you are converting.
What it is
A server that sends PDFs to the MinerU API and returns Markdown. Two tools: one for files on disk, one for URLs, both able to take several documents at a time.
What you get
- convert_pdf_file for local PDFs, convert_pdf_url for links
- Batch conversion, so a folder of documents is one call rather than twenty
- Headings, paragraphs and lists preserved as Markdown structure
- Formulas recognised and converted to LaTeX
- Tables extracted into structured form
- Reading order reconstructed for single-column, multi-column and complex layouts
- Headers, footers, footnotes and page numbers removed so the text stays coherent
Requirements
A recent Python, installed from a clone with uv. A .env file carries your MinerU API key and the addresses of the MinerU endpoints it calls. Conversion happens at MinerU, so the documents leave your machine.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/FutureUnreal/mcp-pdf2md.git
USE CASES
01
Getting a research paper into a form the model can actually read
Convert the local file and the equations arrive as LaTeX rather than as broken glyphs.
02
Reading a document that is only available as a link
Convert straight from the URL, with no download step in between.
03
Processing a backlog of reports in one go
Both tools take multiple documents per call, so a folder becomes a single batch.
04
Pulling the tables out of a report
Tables are recognised and returned as structure rather than as a run of loose text.
2 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
convert_pdf_fileBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
2 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
MINERU_API_KEY in your environment
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/FutureUnreal/mcp-pdf2md.git
cd mcp-pdf2md
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv pip install -e .MCP Clients
Claude Desktop — macOS / Linux
CLAUDE DESKTOP — MACOS / LINUX · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf2md": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_PDF2MD>",
"run",
"pdf2md",
"--output-dir",
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_OUTPUT>"
],
"env": {
"MINERU_API_KEY": "<YOUR_MINERU_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}
