PDFs for AI agents: one install line, a file on disk.

Install

Claude Code

claude mcp add papertype -e PAPERTYPE_API_KEY=dp_... -- npx -y papertype-mcp

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) and Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papertype": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "papertype-mcp"],
      "env": { "PAPERTYPE_API_KEY": "dp_...", "PAPERTYPE_OUTPUT_DIR": "/Users/you/Documents/papertype" }
    }
  }
}

Python agents and scripts

pip install papertype
export PAPERTYPE_API_KEY=dp_...
papertype render notes.md -o notes.pdf

Needs Node.js 20+ for the MCP server. Listed in the official MCP registry as dev.papertype/papertype-mcp. Any stdio MCP client works; see the README.

What the agent can do

• render_pdf Markdown or HTML, or a hosted template with data, to a PDF file. Options: theme, page size, cover page, table of contents, page numbers, header and footer text, custom CSS. Returns the file path, page count and remaining quota.
• list_templates The hosted templates (invoice, certificate, report) with their fields, so the model can fill them without guessing.
• account Plan, monthly quota and usage behind the configured key. Uses no quota.

Try it once installed: "Turn the meeting notes in notes.md into a PDF with a cover page and contents, report theme, and save it in ~/Documents."

Why an API instead of a local converter

• Nothing to install on the machine beyond Node. No LaTeX, no headless Chrome, no WeasyPrint and its system libraries. The same config works on a laptop and in CI.
• Paged output. Real page breaks, a contents table with leader dots and page numbers, running headers and footers, widow and orphan control. A browser's print-to-PDF does not do this.
• Safe for untrusted content. The renderer has no network access and runs no JavaScript, so a document the agent assembled from the web cannot make the renderer fetch anything or reach your network.
• The model never sees the PDF bytes. Files go to disk; the context window gets a path and a page count.

Limits and price

A free key renders 50 documents a month with a small "papertype.dev" footer mark. Paid plans remove the mark: Starter $9 for 500 documents, Pro $29 for 3,000, Scale $79 for 15,000, all per month with a hard cap and no overage charges. Each render_pdf call is one document. Inputs up to 2 MB and 300 pages. Pricing details.