Pandoc
Convert a document between formats from inside the conversation, using Pandoc and its own styling machinery.Read full description
vivekVellsLABSCO SUMMARY
It exists because reading a whole PDF is the wrong move.
Two limits drove this: the filesystem server cannot open PDF or DOCX at all, and pulling an entire document into context blows the budget. Converting to Markdown solves the first directly. The second is the reason to reach for it deliberately — convert once, then work from the Markdown rather than re-reading the source each turn.
What it is
A document conversion server built for the case the standard filesystem server cannot cover: PDF and DOCX files, which it turns into Markdown so a model can read them. Conversion runs both ways, so a Markdown draft can come back as a DOCX or a PDF.
What you get
- PDF to Markdown, using marker-pdf
- DOCX to Markdown, using pandoc
- Markdown back out to DOCX
- Markdown back out to PDF
Requirements
Python 3.13 or later (what the published package declares; the README still says 3.10), pandoc installed on the machine, and uv for package management. Install with uv add doc-reading-mcp or straight from the repository; the published package is doc-reading-mcp, version 0.1.1. Clients launch it as uvx doc-reading-mcp, or point uv --directory at a local checkout and run the doc_reading_mcp module.
Setup effort
One command — uvx doc-reading-mcp
USE CASES
01
Reading a PDF that the filesystem tools cannot open
Convert it to Markdown first, then work from the text like any other file.
02
Turning a drafted document into a deliverable
Write in Markdown during the conversation and export a DOCX or PDF at the end.
03
Moving a Word document into a text workflow
Convert DOCX to Markdown so the content can be diffed, searched and version-controlled.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Requires
- uvx on PATH
- Python 3.13 or later
- pandoc installed on your system
Where it runs
All 3 documented clients run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
uvx doc-reading-mcpMCP Clients
Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"doc-reading-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"doc-reading-mcp"
]
}
}
}
