Gen-PDF MCP Server 📄
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Claude to generate professional PDF documents from markdown content using the Gen-PDF API. This setup allows AI models to create high-quality PDF documents with advanced typography and styling in real-time.
Remote Gen-PDF MCP 🌐
Connect directly to Gen-PDF's hosted MCP server (instead of running it locally).
Remote Gen-PDF MCP URL
https://mcp.gen-pdf.com/mcp?genPdfApiKey=your-gen-pdf-api-key
Replace your-gen-pdf-api-key with your actual Gen-PDF API key from dashboard.gen-pdf.com/api-keys.
Claude Desktop Configuration for Remote MCP
Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"gen-pdf": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.gen-pdf.com/mcp?genPdfApiKey=your-gen-pdf-api-key"
]
}
}
}
NPM Installation
npm install -g gen-pdf-mcp-server
Using Smithery
To install the Gen-PDF MCP server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install gen-pdf --client claude
Configuration ⚙️
1. Configure Claude Desktop to recognize the Gen-PDF MCP server
You can find claude_desktop_config.json inside the settings of Claude Desktop app:
Open the Claude Desktop app and enable Developer Mode from the top-left menu bar.
Once enabled, open Settings (also from the top-left menu bar) and navigate to the Developer Option, where you'll find the Edit Config button. Clicking it will open the claude_desktop_config.json file, allowing you to make the necessary edits.
OR (if you want to open claude_desktop_config.json from terminal)
For macOS:
Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
For Windows:
Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add the Gen-PDF server configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"gen-pdf": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "gen-pdf-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"GEN_PDF_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}
Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Gen-PDF API key from dashboard.gen-pdf.com/api-keys.
3. Available Tool
The Gen-PDF MCP server includes one powerful tool:
Tool Usage
generate_pdf
Convert markdown content to a professional PDF document:
Please generate a PDF from this markdown content:
# My Report
This is a **bold** statement with some `inline code`.
## Features
- Professional typography
- Code syntax highlighting
- Math equation support: $E = mc^2$
- Tables and lists
- Dark mode support
## Code Example
```javascript
function hello() {
console.log("Hello, world!");
}
```
Options: Enable dark mode and set title to "Technical Report"
The tool will return a direct link to the generated PDF file hosted on Gen-PDF's CDN.
### Features Supported:
- **Headers (H1-H6)**: Custom spacing and typography
- **Text Formatting**: Bold, italic, strikethrough
- **Code Blocks**: Syntax highlighting for 50+ languages
- **Inline Code**: Highlighted code snippets
- **Mathematical Expressions**: LaTeX math support
- **Tables**: Auto-formatted tables with proper sizing
- **Lists**: Ordered and unordered lists with nesting
- **Links**: Clickable PDF links
- **Images**: Automatic image sizing and embedding
- **Dark Mode**: Professional dark theme option
- **Custom Typography**: IBM Plex Sans font family
## Using via NPX
If you prefer to run the server directly, you can use npx:
```bash
# Run the Gen-PDF MCP server
npx gen-pdf-mcp-server
# Set your API key via environment variable
GEN_PDF_API_KEY=your-api-key npx gen-pdf-mcp-server
```
## Troubleshooting 🔧
### Common Issues
1. **Server Not Found**
- Verify the npm link is correctly set up
- Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax (json file)
2. **API Key Issues**
- Confirm your GEN_PDF_API_KEY is valid
- Check the GEN_PDF_API_KEY is correctly set in the Claude Desktop config
- Verify no spaces or quotes around the API key
- Get your API key from [dashboard.gen-pdf.com/api-keys](https://dashboard.gen-pdf.com/api-keys)
3. **Connection Issues**
- Restart Claude Desktop completely
- Check Claude Desktop logs for error messages
- Verify the Gen-PDF API service is accessible
4. **PDF Generation Issues**
- Ensure your markdown syntax is valid
- Check for unsupported markdown features
- Verify the API endpoint is responding
### Debug Mode
Enable debug logging by setting the environment variable:
```bash
DEBUG=1 npx gen-pdf-mcp-server
```
### Example Configuration
Complete Claude Desktop configuration example:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"gen-pdf": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "gen-pdf-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"GEN_PDF_API_KEY": "your-actual-api-key-here",
"DEBUG": "1"
}
}
}
}
```
---
Built with ❤️ by the Gen-PDF team