Your coding agent cannot Read a .docx. This fixes that.
Local MCP server that converts PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and more to Markdown
on your machine - so Claude Code, Cursor, and other agents can work with office files in the repo.
mcp-server-anydoc is a local Model Context Protocol server that turns office documents on disk into GitHub-Flavored Markdown using anydoc. No API key. Conversion runs on your machine. Built for coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot) that need to read .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, and PDFs inside a project - not for replacing “drop one PDF into chat.”
Attaching a file in Claude chat is fine for a one-off human question. It fails for agent workflows:
| Situation | Chat attach | This MCP |
|---|---|---|
| One PDF you paste into Claude.ai | Usually enough | Overkill |
.docx / .pptx / .xlsx sitting in the repo |
Agent Read often fails on binaries |
Converts on demand |
“Convert every file under ./contracts/” |
Manual hell | Tool loop + output_path |
| Large deck / long report | Attach limits and context spam | Write .md, read sections |
| Avoid uploading to a third-party parse API | N/A | Local anydoc, no Firecrawl key |
Privacy note: conversion is local. The Markdown still enters the model context when the agent uses it. The win vs cloud parse APIs is “no third-party upload / no API key,” not “Claude never sees the text.”
Use mcp-server-anydoc when:
- A coding agent needs the contents of an office file already on disk
- You want batch convert → Markdown files in the repo
- You want structured tools (
convert_document) instead of fragile shell prompts - You do not want a hosted document-parse API key
Skip it when you only need to ask Claude about one attached PDF in the chat UI.
Opens Cursor and prompts to add the server (runs via npx from this GitHub repo).
claude mcp add anydoc -- npx -y mcp-server-anydocOptional skill (teaches when to convert):
npx skills add ofershap/mcp-server-anydocPlugin (MCP + skill together):
/plugin marketplace add ofershap/mcp-server-anydoc
/plugin install anydoc@ofershap-anydocPaste this into Claude Code or Cursor:
Add the local MCP server mcp-server-anydoc so you can convert PDF/Word/Excel/PowerPoint files on disk to Markdown.
Run:
claude mcp add anydoc -- npx -y mcp-server-anydoc
Or write this to MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"anydoc": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-server-anydoc"]
}
}
}
Then convert ./path/to/file.docx with the convert_document tool and summarize it.
Repo: https://github.com/ofershap/mcp-server-anydoc
{
"mcpServers": {
"anydoc": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-server-anydoc"]
}
}
}This repo ships as an Agent Plugins 1.0.0 package: root plugin.json, mcp.json, and skills/local-doc-to-markdown/ teach agents when to convert office files on disk.
Claude Code .claude-plugin/ manifests remain for marketplace installs. Agent Plugins is the cross-client layout (MCP + skills in one tree).
Cursor (local plugin): clone the repo, then copy or symlink it to ~/.cursor/plugins/local/mcp-server-anydoc and reload the window. One-click MCP buttons below still work if you only want the server without the skill bundle.
Spec and tooling: agent-plugins.org.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
convert_document |
Path on disk → Markdown (optional output_path for large files) |
convert_base64 |
Base64 bytes → Markdown when you have no path |
list_formats |
Supported extensions |
Supported inputs include .pdf, .doc/.docx, .ppt/.pptx, .xls/.xlsx, OpenDocument, RTF, EPUB, CSV.
Not OCR. Scanned image-only PDFs fail. Text-based documents are the target.
- “Convert
./docs/msa.docxand list the termination clauses.” - “Turn every
.pptxunder./decks/into.mdbeside the original.” - “
convert_documentonbudget.xlsxwithoutput_path./budget.md, then summarize sheet risks.”
| Chat attach | Firecrawl firecrawl_parse |
MarkItDown MCP | mcp-server-anydoc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One-off human Q&A | Hosted parse + OCR options | Broad local convert (Python) | Agent + office files on disk |
| API key | No | Usually yes | No | No |
| Runs locally | N/A | Often uploads | Yes | Yes |
| Claude Code skill | N/A | Separate / CLI | Limited | Ships in-repo |
| Install | Drag file | npx + key |
uvx / Python |
One-click / npx |
Engine: anydoc (Rust, MIT) via @firecrawl/anydoc.
For a one-off question about one PDF in the chat UI, attaching is enough. Use this MCP when a coding agent must read .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, or PDFs from the repo, batch-convert folders, or write Markdown to disk without manual uploads.
MCP-only (one-click Cursor/VS Code or mcp.json) gives you convert_document and friends. The Agent Plugins package adds plugin.json plus the local-doc-to-markdown skill so agents know when to convert instead of guessing. Same npx server either way.
No. Scanned or image-only PDFs fail. anydoc targets text-based office documents and PDFs. Use an OCR pipeline elsewhere, then convert the result if needed.
Conversion runs locally via anydoc. Nothing is sent to a document-parse SaaS and no API key is required. Converted Markdown still enters the model context when the agent reads it, same as any tool output.
Any MCP client over stdio: Cursor, VS Code Copilot MCP, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, and others. Claude Code can also use the marketplace plugin; Cursor can load the repo from ~/.cursor/plugins/local/mcp-server-anydoc.
| Runtime | Node 20+ |
| Language | TypeScript (strict) |
| Engine | anydoc (@firecrawl/anydoc) |
| Protocol | MCP stdio |
| Tests | Vitest |
git clone https://github.com/ofershap/mcp-server-anydoc.git
cd mcp-server-anydoc
npm install
npm test
npm run buildSee CONTRIBUTING.md. Run claude plugin validate . before changing plugin manifests.
If this helped, star the repo or open an issue.
Powered by anydoc (MIT) from Firecrawl.