Fetch vs PDF Reader MCP
A side-by-side look at the Fetch and PDF Reader MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Fetch for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose PDF Reader MCP for search & data extraction. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Fetch when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
create_entities, create_relations, add_observations.
Choose PDF Reader MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
inspect, outline, read.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 90/100 · Excellent | 65/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Verified | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 91,333 | 1,042 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 9 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Fetch | View PDF Reader MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Fetch tools 9
create_entitiesCreate multiple new entities in the knowledge graphcreate_relationsCreate multiple new relations between entities in the knowledge graph. Relations should be in active voiceadd_observationsAdd new observations to existing entities in the knowledge graphdelete_entitiesDelete multiple entities and their associated relations from the knowledge graphdelete_observationsDelete specific observations from entities in the knowledge graphdelete_relationsDelete multiple relations from the knowledge graphread_graphRead the entire knowledge graphsearch_nodesSearch for nodes in the knowledge graph based on a queryopen_nodesOpen specific nodes in the knowledge graph by their names
PDF Reader MCP tools 4
inspectDocument and media evidence when Markdown is not enough. video_timeline (bounded scene/cue timeline) and render_frame (actual decoded frames), and cite_check (quote/location support, not semantic truth), are anymd Pro; PDF operations: inspect (page facts, metadata), render_page (PNG images), extract_regions (crop bounding boxes), ocr_pages / analyze_regions (configured OCR or vision provider), structure (JSON with document map, elements, geometry; profile quality|research adds trust and accessibility reports), compare (page-level diff of sources[0] vs sources[1]).outlineReturn a document heading tree with stable node ids, title paths, page/slide/chapter ranges and Markdown byte ranges. PDF bookmarks or detected headings, Word headings, PowerPoint slides, EPUB chapters and headings, HTML and Markdown. format json (default) or tree. Pass a node id to read to fetch that section.readRead any document as clean Markdown: PDF, Word (DOCX), PowerPoint (PPTX), Excel (XLSX/XLS/ODS), CSV, EPUB, HTML or a web URL, Markdown/text, images (metadata + OCR), audio/video (metadata, chapters, subtitles). Pages/slides/sheets carry <!-- page N --> style markers for citation. Long documents stop at max_tokens (default 20000) and end with a cursor to continue; choose pages with pages: "1-5,8". A directory returns its readable files.searchSearch documents for text: one file, many files, whole directories (recursive, .gitignore aware), or URLs, across every format read supports. Returns each hit as file + page/slide/sheet + a snippet with the match in bold. mode auto (default) finds the exact phrase and falls back to BM25-ranked passages when there is none; literal or ranked force one. Narrow directories with glob, e.g. "*.pdf".
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Fetch
{
"mcpServers": {
"fetch": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"
]
}
}
}
PDF Reader MCP
No confirmed install command for PDF Reader MCP yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
Fetch is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. PDF Reader MCP belongs to Search & Data Extraction and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick Fetch for search & data extraction work and PDF Reader MCP for search & data extraction.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client. PDF Reader MCP has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
Fetch is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. PDF Reader MCP is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add fetch and pdf-reader-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Fetch has a quality signal of 90/100 (Excellent) with 4 views, 0 installs and 91,333 GitHub stars. PDF Reader MCP has 65/100 (Great) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1,042 GitHub stars.