GroupDocs.Annotation MCP Server

MCP server that exposes GroupDocs.Annotation as AI-callable tools for Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and other MCP agents.

Installation

One-click installs pre-fill every supported setting: edit the placeholder documents folder after install (output defaults to the same folder); an empty GROUPDOCS_LICENSE_PATH runs in evaluation mode - point it at your license to lift limits.

More clients - ready-made configs for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Visual Studio 2022, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and JetBrains Rider live in install/generated/.

Requires .NET 10 SDK.

Run directly with dnx (recommended — no install step):

dnx GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp --yes

Pulls the latest stable release on every invocation. To pin to a specific version (recommended for shared configs and CI), append @<version>:

dnx GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp@26.7.4 --yes

Or install as a global dotnet tool:

dotnet tool install -g GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp
groupdocs-annotation-mcp

Or run via Docker:

docker run --rm -i \
  -v $(pwd)/documents:/data \
  ghcr.io/groupdocs-annotation/annotation-net-mcp:latest

Related MCP server: OpenAI-Compatible MCP Gateway

Native prerequisites

The underlying GroupDocs engine rasterises annotated pages and previews via System.Drawing (GDI+). When you run the server natively (via dnx or the global dotnet tool) on Linux or macOS, install the native libgdiplus library and a fonts package first:

Skipping this on Linux/macOS surfaces as DllNotFoundException: libgdiplus in the tool response. The simplest zero-setup option on Linux/macOS is the Docker image.

Available MCP Tools

Example prompts

• "Annotate contract.pdf — add a highlight on page 2 around the indemnity clause and an arrow with the comment 'Needs legal review'"

• "List every annotation in design-review.docx and group them by author"

• "Reply to annotation 7 in spec.pdf with 'Implemented in PR #42' under the user 'alice'"

• "Export the annotations from old.pdf to XML, then re-import them into new.pdf"

• "Preview page 1 and page 5 of report.pdf with annotations baked in"

Licensing

The MCP server itself is MIT; the underlying GroupDocs.Annotation engine requires a license for production use. Without one the server runs in evaluation mode:

• Annotated output may carry evaluation watermarks.

• A single server process can open at most 15 documents; further calls fail with an evaluation-cap error until the server restarts.

To lift the limits, point GROUPDOCS_LICENSE_PATH at your GroupDocs.Total.lic:

• Get a free 30-day temporary license

• Purchase a license | Product page

Configuration

Usage with Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "groupdocs-annotation": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "dnx",
      "args": ["GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp", "--yes"],
      "env": {
        "GROUPDOCS_MCP_STORAGE_PATH": "/path/to/documents"
      }
    }
  }
}

To pin to a specific version, replace "GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp" with "GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp@26.7.4" in args. Pinning is recommended for shared / committed configs to avoid surprise upgrades.

Usage with VS Code / GitHub Copilot

NuGet.org generates a ready-to-use mcp.json snippet on the package page. Copy it directly into your .vscode/mcp.json.

Alternatively, add manually to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "storage_path",
      "description": "Base folder for input and output files.",
      "password": false
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "groupdocs-annotation": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "dnx",
      "args": ["GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp", "--yes"],
      "env": {
        "GROUPDOCS_MCP_STORAGE_PATH": "${input:storage_path}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Same pinning rule as above — swap "GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp" for "GroupDocs.Annotation.Mcp@26.7.4" to lock to a specific release.

Usage with Docker Compose

cd docker
docker compose up

Edit docker/docker-compose.yml to point volumes at your local documents folder.

License

MIT — see LICENSE