PDF SPEC MCP Server
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An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides structured access to ISO 32000 (PDF) specification documents. It enables LLMs to navigate, search, and analyze PDF specifications through well-defined tools. Users must obtain the PDF specification files separately from…
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- shuji-bonji
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- Multi-spec support for up to 17 PDF-related documents
- Structured content extraction (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, notes)
- Full-text search with section-aware context snippets
- Normative requirements extraction (shall/must/may)
- Definitions lookup from Section 3
- Multi-page table extraction with header merging
- Version comparison between PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
PDF SPEC MCP ServerCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
Install the npm package, set the PDF_SPEC_DIR environment variable to the directory containing your PDF specification files, then run with npx or configure in an MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop, Cursor). All tools accept an optional spec parameter (default: iso32000-2).
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf spec mcp server": {
"pdf-spec": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp"
],
"env": {
"PDF_SPEC_DIR": "/path/to/pdf-specs"
}
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"pdf-spec": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp"
],
"env": {
"PDF_SPEC_DIR": "/path/to/pdf-specs"
}
}
}PDF SPEC MCP Server
日本語版 README はこちら
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides structured access to ISO 32000 (PDF) specification documents. Enables LLMs to navigate, search, and analyze PDF specifications through well-defined tools.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> PDF specification files are NOT included in this package.
> You must obtain the PDF specification documents separately and place them in a local directory.
>
> Download from: PDF Association — Sponsored Standards
>
> See "Setup" for details.
Features
- Multi-spec support — Auto-discovers and manages up to 17 PDF-related documents (ISO 32000-2, PDF/UA, Tagged PDF guides, etc.) - Structured content extraction — Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, and notes from any section - Full-text search — Keyword search with section-aware context snippets - Requirements extraction — Extracts normative language (shall / must / may) per ISO conventions - Definitions lookup — Term definitions from Section 3 (Definitions) - Table extraction — Multi-page table detection with header merging - Version comparison — Diff PDF 1.7 vs PDF 2.0 section structures - Bounded-concurrency processing — Parallel page processing for large documentsArchitecture
``mermaid
graph LR
subgraph Client["MCP Client"]
LLM["LLM<br/>(Claude, etc.)"]
end
subgraph Server["PDF Spec MCP Server"]
direction TB
MCP["MCP Server<br/>index.ts"]
subgraph Tools["Tools Layer"]
direction LR
T1["list_specs"]
T2["get_structure"]
T3["get_section"]
T4["search_spec"]
T5["get_requirements"]
T6["get_definitions"]
T7["get_tables"]
T8["compare_versions"]
end
subgraph Services["Services Layer"]
direction LR
REG["Registry<br/>Auto-discovery"]
LOADER["Loader<br/>LRU Cache"]
SVC["PDFService<br/>Orchestration"]
CMP["CompareService<br/>Version Diff"]
end
subgraph Extractors["Extractors"]
direction LR
OUTLINE["OutlineResolver<br/>TOC & Section Index"]
CONTENT["ContentExtractor<br/>Structured Extraction"]
SEARCH["SearchIndex<br/>Full-text Search"]
REQ["RequirementExtractor"]
DEF["DefinitionExtractor"]
end
subgraph Utils["Utils"]
direction LR
CACHE["LRU Cache"]
CONC["Concurrency"]
VALID["Validation"]
end
end
subgraph PDFs["PDF Spec Files (obtained separately)"]
direction LR
PDF1["ISO 32000-2<br/>(PDF 2.0)"]
PDF2["ISO 32000-1<br/>(PDF 1.7)"]
PDF3["TS 32001–32005<br/>PDF/UA, etc."]
end
LLM <-->|"stdio / JSON-RPC"| MCP
MCP --> Tools
Tools --> Services
Services --> Extractors
Services --> Utils
LOADER --> PDFs
REG -->|"Filename pattern<br/>auto-discovery"| PDFs
style Client fill:#e8f4f8,stroke:#2196F3
style PDFs fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#FF9800
style Tools fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#4CAF50
style Services fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#9C27B0
style Extractors fill:#fce4ec,stroke:#E91E63
style Utils fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#9E9E9E
`
Layer Overview
| Layer | Responsibility |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tools | MCP tool schema definitions & handlers (input validation) |
| Services | Business logic (PDF registry, loader, orchestration) |
| Extractors | Information extraction from PDFs (TOC, content, search, requirements, definitions) |
| Utils | Shared utilities (cache, concurrency, validation) |
Setup
1. Obtain PDF Specification Files
> [!WARNING]
> PDF specifications are copyrighted documents and are not included in this package.
> Download them from the sources below and place them in a local directory.
| Document | Source |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0) | PDF Association |
| ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7) | Adobe (free) |
| TS 32001–32005, PDF/UA, etc. | PDF Association — Sponsored Standards |
All 17 files below are supported. You do not need all of them — place only the specs you need (at minimum, ISO 32000-2 is recommended).
`
pdf-specs/
│
│ ── Standards ─────────────────────────────
├── ISO_32000-2_sponsored-ec2.pdf # iso32000-2 : PDF 2.0 EC2 (recommended)
├── ISO_32000-2-2020_sponsored.pdf # iso32000-2-2020 : PDF 2.0 original
├── PDF32000_2008.pdf # pdf17 : PDF 1.7 (for version comparison)
├── pdfreference1.7old.pdf # pdf17old : Adobe PDF Reference 1.7
│
│ ── Technical Specifications (TS) ─────────
├── ISO_TS_32001-2022_sponsored.pdf # ts32001 : Hash extensions (SHA-3)
├── ISO_TS_32002-2022_sponsored.pdf # ts32002 : Digital signature extensions (ECC/PAdES)
├── ISO_TS_32003-2023_sponsored.pdf # ts32003 : AES-GCM encryption
├── ISO-TS-32004-2024_sponsored.pdf # ts32004 : Integrity protection
├── ISO-TS-32005-2023-sponsored.pdf # ts32005 : Namespace mapping
│
│ ── PDF/UA (Accessibility) ────────────────
├── ISO-14289-1-2014-sponsored.pdf # pdfua1 : PDF/UA-1
├── ISO-14289-2-2024-sponsored.pdf # pdfua2 : PDF/UA-2
│
│ ── Guides ────────────────────────────────
├── Tagged-PDF-Best-Practice-Guide.pdf # tagged-bpg : Tagged PDF Best Practice
├── Well-Tagged-PDF-WTPDF-1.0.pdf # wtpdf : Well-Tagged PDF
├── PDF-Declarations.pdf # declarations: PDF Declarations
│
│ ── Application Notes ─────────────────────
├── PDF20_AN001-BPC.pdf # an001 : Black Point Compensation
├── PDF20_AN002-AF.pdf # an002 : Associated Files
└── PDF20_AN003-ObjectMetadataLocations.pdf # an003 : Object Metadata
`
2. Install
`bash
npm install @shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp
`
Or run directly with npx:
`bash
PDF_SPEC_DIR=/path/to/pdf-specs npx @shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp
`
3. Configure MCP Client
Environment Variable
| Variable | Description | Default |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| PDF_SPEC_DIR | Directory containing PDF specification files | (required) |
Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
`json
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf-spec": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp"],
"env": {
"PDF_SPEC_DIR": "/path/to/pdf-specs"
}
}
}
}
`
Cursor / VS Code
Add to .cursor/mcp.json or VS Code MCP settings:
`json
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf-spec": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp"],
"env": {
"PDF_SPEC_DIR": "/path/to/pdf-specs"
}
}
}
}
`
Available Tools
All tools accept an optional spec parameter to target a specific specification (default: iso32000-2).
| Tool | Description |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| list_specs | List all discovered PDF specifications with metadata |
| get_structure | Get section hierarchy (table of contents) with configurable depth |
| get_section | Get structured content of a specific section |
| search_spec | Full-text keyword search across a specification |
| get_requirements | Extract normative requirements (shall/must/may) |
| get_definitions | Lookup term definitions |
| get_tables | Extract table structures from a section |
| compare_versions | Compare PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0 section structures |
list_specs — Discover Specifications
List all available specification documents. Use the returned IDs as the spec parameter in other tools.
`jsonc
// List all specs
{ }
// Filter by category
{ "category": "ts" } // Technical specs only
{ "category": "pdfua" } // PDF/UA only
{ "category": "guide" } // Guide documents only
`
get_structure — Table of Contents
Get the section hierarchy (TOC tree) of a specification.
`jsonc
// PDF 2.0 top-level sections only
{ "max_depth": 1 }
// Expand to 2 levels
{ "max_depth": 2 }
// TS 32002 (Digital Signatures) full structure
{ "spec": "ts32002" }
// PDF/UA-2 structure
{ "spec": "pdfua2", "max_depth": 2 }
`
get_section — Section Content
Get structured content (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, notes) of a specific section.
`jsonc
// PDF 2.0 Section 7.3.4 (String Objects)
{ "section": "7.3.4" }
// PDF 2.0 Annex A
{ "section": "Annex A" }
// TS 32002 Section 5
{ "spec": "ts32002", "section": "5" }
// PDF/UA-2 Section 8 (Tagged PDF)
{ "spec": "pdfua2", "section": "8" }
`
search_spec — Full-text Search
Search across a specification with section-aware context snippets.
`jsonc
// Search PDF 2.0 for "digital signature"
{ "query": "digital signature" }
// Limit results
{ "query": "font", "max_results": 5 }
// Search within TS 32002
{ "spec": "ts32002", "query": "CMS" }
`
get_requirements — Normative Requirements
Extract normative requirements (shall / must / may) per ISO conventions.
`jsonc
// All requirements in section 12.8
{ "section": "12.8" }
// Only "shall" requirements
{ "section": "12.8", "level": "shall" }
// Only "shall not" requirements
{ "section": "7.3", "level": "shall not" }
// PDF/UA-2 requirements
{ "spec": "pdfua2", "section": "8", "level": "shall" }
`
get_definitions — Term Definitions
Look up term definitions from Section 3 (Definitions).
`jsonc
// Search for "font" definitions
{ "term": "font" }
// List all definitions
{ }
// PDF/UA definitions
{ "spec": "pdfua2", "term": "artifact" }
`
get_tables — Table Extraction
Extract table structures (headers, rows, captions) from a section. Multi-page tables are automatically merged.
`jsonc
// All tables in section 7.3.4
{ "section": "7.3.4" }
// Specific table only (0-based index)
{ "section": "7.3.4", "table_index": 0 }
// TS spec tables
{ "spec": "ts32002", "section": "5" }
`
compare_versions — Version Comparison
Compare section structures between PDF 1.7 (ISO 32000-1) and PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2). Uses title-based automatic matching to detect matched, added, and removed sections.
> [!NOTE]
> This tool requires both PDF 1.7 (PDF32000_2008.pdf) and PDF 2.0 files in PDF_SPEC_DIR.
`jsonc
// Diff section 12.8 (Digital Signatures)
{ "section": "12.8" }
// Compare all top-level sections
{ }
`
Supported Specifications
The server auto-discovers PDF files in PDF_SPEC_DIR by filename pattern matching:
| Category | Spec IDs | Documents |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Standard | iso32000-2, iso32000-2-2020, pdf17, pdf17old | ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0), ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7) |
| Technical Spec | ts32001 – ts32005 | Hash, Digital Signatures, AES-GCM, Integrity, Namespace |
| PDF/UA | pdfua1, pdfua2 | Accessibility (ISO 14289-1, 14289-2) |
| Guide | tagged-bpg, wtpdf, declarations | Tagged PDF, Well-Tagged PDF, Declarations |
| App Note | an001 – an003 | BPC, Associated Files, Object Metadata |
Directory Structure
`
src/
├── index.ts # MCP server entry point
├── config.ts # Configuration & spec patterns
├── errors.ts # Error hierarchy (PDFSpecError → sub-classes)
├── container.ts # Service container (DI wiring)
├── services/
│ ├── pdf-registry.ts # Auto-discovery of PDF files
│ ├── pdf-loader.ts # PDF loading with LRU cache
│ ├── pdf-service.ts # Orchestration layer
│ ├── compare-service.ts # Version comparison
│ ├── outline-resolver.ts # Section index builder
│ ├── content-extractor.ts # Structured content extraction
│ ├── search-index.ts # Full-text search index
│ ├── requirement-extractor.ts
│ └── definition-extractor.ts
├── tools/
│ ├── definitions.ts # MCP tool schemas
│ └── handlers.ts # Tool implementations
└── utils/
├── concurrency.ts # mapConcurrent (bounded Promise.all)
├── text.ts # Text normalization
├── cache.ts # LRU cache
├── validation.ts # Input validation
└── logger.ts # Structured logger
`
Development
``bash
git clone https://github.com/shuji-bonji/pdf-spec-mcp.git
cd pdf-spec-mcp
npm install
npm run buildSign in to leave a review
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