mcp-server-pdfnoodle

An MCP server that enables AI assistants to generate PDF documents through pdf noodle - create PDFs from templates or raw HTML using natural language.

What is pdf noodle?

pdf noodle is a PDF generation API that lets you:

• Create reusable PDF templates using AI
• Generate PDFs by filling templates with data
• Convert HTML directly to PDF

Installation

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdfnoodle": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-pdfnoodle"],
      "env": {
        "PDFNOODLE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdfnoodle": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-pdfnoodle"],
      "env": {
        "PDFNOODLE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Manual Execution

PDFNOODLE_API_KEY=your-key npx mcp-server-pdfnoodle

Remote Usage

This MCP server can also be used remotely via HTTP, making it compatible with ChatGPT and workflow automation tools like n8n.

Remote Server URL

The remote MCP server endpoint is:

https://mcp.pdfnoodle.com/mcp?api_key={your-api-key}

Authentication: None (API key is passed via URL query parameter only, no authentication headers required)

Using with ChatGPT

To use this MCP server with ChatGPT, configure it as a custom GPT or via the MCP settings:

1. Get your API key from pdf noodle
2. Configure the MCP server with the remote URL:

   https://mcp.pdfnoodle.com/mcp?api_key=your-api-key
   

3. ChatGPT will be able to use all available pdf noodle tools through the remote server

Note: Replace your-api-key with your actual pdf noodle API key in the URL.

Using with n8n

You can integrate pdf noodle MCP server into your n8n workflows using HTTP Request nodes:

1. Create an HTTP Request node in your n8n workflow

2. Configure the node:

   • Method: POST
   • URL: https://mcp.pdfnoodle.com/mcp?api_key=your-api-key
   • Authentication: None (API key is in the URL query parameter)
   • Headers:

     Content-Type: application/json
     

   • Body: JSON-RPC 2.0 format for MCP protocol calls

3. Example request body for generating a PDF:

   {
     "jsonrpc": "2.0",
     "id": 1,
     "method": "tools/call",
     "params": {
       "name": "generate_pdf",
       "arguments": {
         "templateId": "template-id",
         "data": "{\"field\": \"value\"}"
       }
     }
   }
   

4. Example request body for converting HTML to PDF:

   {
     "jsonrpc": "2.0",
     "id": 1,
     "method": "tools/call",
     "params": {
       "name": "html_to_pdf",
       "arguments": {
         "html": "<h1>Hello World</h1>",
         "pdfParams": "{\"format\": \"A4\"}"
       }
     }
   }
   

Security Note: Store your API key securely in n8n credentials or environment variables rather than hardcoding it in the URL.

Getting an API Key

1. Go to pdf noodle
2. Create an account or sign in
3. Navigate to API settings to get your key

Available Tools

Template Operations

Tool	Description
list_templates	List all templates in your account
get_template	Get details of a specific template
get_template_schema	Get the variables required by a template
create_template_with_ai	Create a new template using AI from a description

PDF Generation

Tool	Description
generate_pdf	Generate a PDF from a template with data
html_to_pdf	Convert HTML content to PDF
check_pdf_status	Check status of async PDF generation

PDF Utilities

Tool	Description
merge_pdfs	Merge multiple PDF documents into a single file
split_pdf	Split a PDF into parts by ranges or intervals
compress_pdf	Compress a PDF to reduce file size
update_pdf_metadata	Update PDF metadata (title, author, subject, etc.)
convert_markdown_to_pdf	Convert Markdown content to a PDF document
get_upload_url	Generate a pre-signed URL for uploading a PDF
check_tool_status	Check status of an async tool operation

PDF Best Practices

IMPORTANT: Before using the html_to_pdf tool, AI agents should follow the PDF Best Practices guidelines.

Install the skill:

npx skills add pdfnoodle/pdf-best-practices

Or via npm:

npm install pdf-best-practices

The skill covers:

• Paper setup: A4 size, 40px margins
• Page break control: Prevent content from breaking awkwardly
• Content density: Avoid sparse pages
• Tables: Proper formatting with thead/tbody
• Images: Fixed dimensions, proper sizing
• Colors: -webkit-print-color-adjust: exact
• Document types: Invoice, report, certificate, letter templates

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can interact with pdf noodle using natural language:

Create a template:

"Create a professional invoice template with company logo, billing details, line items table, and payment terms"

Generate a PDF:

"Generate an invoice PDF using template abc123 with the following data: company name 'Acme Inc', invoice number 1001, items: Widget ($50), Service ($100)"

Convert HTML to PDF (recommended workflow):

"Convert this report to a well-formatted PDF"

The AI will automatically:

1. Reference the PDF Best Practices guidelines
2. Create properly structured HTML with page break controls, proper margins, and optimized layout
3. Call html_to_pdf with the correct pdfParams for A4 paper and 40px margins

Quick HTML conversion:

"Convert this HTML to PDF: <h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a test document</p>"

Tool Parameters

generate_pdf

{
  "templateId": "template-id",
  "data": "{\"field\": \"value\"}",
  "convertToImage": false,
  "hasCover": false
}

html_to_pdf

{
  "html": "<html>...</html>",
  "pdfParams": "{\"format\": \"A4\", \"margin\": {\"top\": \"1cm\"}}",
  "convertToImage": false
}

create_template_with_ai

{
  "displayName": "My Template",
  "prompt": "A detailed description of the template design...",
  "fileUrl": "https://example.com/reference.pdf"
}

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/pdfnoodle/mcp-server-pdfnoodle.git
cd mcp-server-pdfnoodle

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run in development mode
PDFNOODLE_API_KEY=your-key npm run dev

License

MIT - see LICENSE

Changelog

Version	Date	Changes
1.2.0	2026-02-19	Feature: Added async mode to all utility tools (async: true parameter) for large file processing without MCP client timeouts. Added check_tool_status tool to poll for async results.
1.1.0	2026-02-19	Feature: Added 6 new PDF utility tools — merge_pdfs, split_pdf, compress_pdf, update_pdf_metadata, convert_markdown_to_pdf, and get_upload_url for comprehensive PDF manipulation capabilities.
1.0.3	2026-02-18	Feature: Async mode for PDF generation — when async: true is set, tools call the /async endpoint and return a requestId immediately to avoid MCP client timeouts on large PDFs. When the sync endpoint returns 202, tools return the requestId for LLM polling. Updated check_pdf_status to instruct re-polling in 5–10 seconds.
1.0.2	2026-02-10	Bug Fix: Fixed get_template to correctly handle API response format and return all template fields (id, displayName, createdAt, updatedAt, type, style, html).
1.0.1	2026-02-10	Bug Fix: Fixed list_templates to handle wrapped API responses ({ templates: [...] } or { data: [...] }).
1.0.0	2026-02-10	Initial release with support for template operations and PDF generation.

Links

• pdf noodle - PDF generation platform
• pdf noodle API Docs - API documentation
• PDF Best Practices - Guidelines for HTML-to-PDF conversion
• MCP Protocol - Model Context Protocol specification