FrameThrower vs PDF Reader MCP
A side-by-side look at the FrameThrower 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 FrameThrower for developer tools work over a hosted endpoint; choose PDF Reader MCP for developer tools as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose FrameThrower when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
search_frames, find_by_craft, find_similar.
Choose PDF Reader MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
inspect, outline, read.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Quality signal | 55/100 · Good | 69/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner |
Tools & capabilities
FrameThrower tools 4
search_framesSearch the FrameThrower cinematography reference library by concept, mood, color, composition, or scene. Returns reference frames with film/credits metadata, a preview thumbnail, the full-resolution image URL (use this one for slide decks and documents), a precomputed DEPTH MAP url (greyscale, same dimensions as the frame — pass it straight to a depth ControlNet or any image-to-image pipeline that wants geometry), and a link to view on FrameThrower.find_by_craftFind frames by specific cinematography craft attributes — lens character, shot size, visual style, setting, time of day, director, or year range. All optional; combine to narrow. Use this to refine a search precisely.find_similarFind frames visually/semantically similar to a given frame id (from a prior result). Use this to pull more references like one the user shortlisted.get_frame_detailsGet the full metadata + preview thumbnail + full-resolution image URL + depth map URL + link for a single frame id. The depth map is precomputed and free — use it when the user is generating images and needs the composition or camera geometry of this frame.
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.
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.
FrameThrower
{
"mcpServers": {
"framethrower": {
"url": "https://framethrower.ai/api/mcp"
}
}
}
PDF Reader MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"pdf-reader-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@sylphx/anymd"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
FrameThrower is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. PDF Reader MCP belongs to Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick FrameThrower for developer tools work and PDF Reader MCP for developer tools.
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.
FrameThrower has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. PDF Reader MCP has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. 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 framethrower and pdf-reader-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, FrameThrower has a quality signal of 55/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. PDF Reader MCP has 69/100 (Great) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1,040 GitHub stars.