MCP Server: Use PDFMonkey from Claude, Cursor and Other AI Assistants

Last updated October 26, 2026

The PDFMonkey MCP server connects your PDFMonkey account to AI assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor. Once it’s set up, you can ask your assistant to list your templates, generate a document from one of them, or check how many documents you have left this month.

The server runs on your machine and talks to the PDFMonkey API with your API key. Nothing is hosted in between.

Building templates with an agent?

The MCP server works with existing templates: it can read them but not create or edit them. To let an agent such as Claude Code build and preview templates, use the CLI.

Setup #

The server needs Node.js 18 or later. It reads your API key from the PDFMONKEY_API_KEY environment variable. You’ll find your key on your account page.

Claude Code #

$ claude mcp add pdfmonkey -e PDFMONKEY_API_KEY=your-api-key -- npx -y pdfmonkey-mcp-server

Claude Desktop, Cursor and other clients #

Add the server to your client’s MCP configuration: claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop, .cursor/mcp.json for Cursor.

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

Restart the client, and the PDFMonkey tools show up in its list of tools.

Available tools #

ToolWhat it does
list_workspacesList the workspaces your API key can access
list_templatesList the templates of a workspace
get_templateGet a template’s HTML, CSS and sample data
generate_documentGenerate a document and wait for it (polls every 1.5 s, up to 3 minutes)
get_document_statusCheck a document’s status and get its download URL
list_documentsList documents, filtered by status, template or update time
delete_documentDelete a document permanently
list_snippetsList the Liquid snippets of a workspace
get_snippetGet a snippet’s code
get_quotaGet your quota and plan
get_user_infoGet your account details

What you can ask #

  • “Which templates do I have in my main workspace?”
  • “Generate an invoice for ACME with my invoice template, for 3 hours of consulting at €90.”
  • “Show me the documents that failed this week.”
  • “How many documents do I have left this month?”

When you ask for a document, the assistant usually looks up the template first to see which data it expects, then calls generate_document with matching data.

Good to know #

  • Download URLs expire after one hour. Download the file right away, or use a share link on the Pro+ and Premium plans.
  • Long generations: generate_document waits up to 3 minutes. If your document takes longer, ask the assistant to check it later with get_document_status.
  • Deleting is permanent. Most clients ask you to confirm before running delete_document.
  • Your API key gives full access to your account. Keep it out of shared configuration files.

Frequently asked questions

Does PDFMonkey have an MCP server?
Yes. The official PDFMonkey MCP server is published on npm as pdfmonkey-mcp-server and listed in the MCP Registry as io.github.pdfmonkey/pdfmonkey-mcp. It runs locally over stdio and uses your PDFMonkey API key.
Which AI assistants work with the PDFMonkey MCP server?
Any MCP client that supports local stdio servers, including Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor.
Can the PDFMonkey MCP server create or edit templates?
No. It can read templates and snippets, generate and manage documents, and check your quota. To let an AI agent create, edit and preview templates, use the PDFMonkey CLI.
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