@bigapi/mcp

MCP server for bigapi.dev – deterministic file operations for AI agents.

Gives Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Windsurf and any MCP-capable agent the file operations an LLM cannot do itself – over plain HTTPS, with one key, nothing to install server-side:

Tool	What it does
`render`	HTML / Markdown / URL → PDF or PNG via server-side Chromium (reports, invoices, offers, documentation)
`screenshot`	Any public URL, real device presets (desktop / laptop / tablet / mobile), full page
`ocr`	Scanned PDF or photo → searchable PDF, plain text, or per-page JSON (`deu`, `eng`, `deu+eng`, …)
`office_to_pdf`	DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT, RTF, CSV, TXT → PDF via server-side LibreOffice
`pdf_to_pdfa`	PDF → archival PDF/A-2b with embedded fonts (long-term storage, compliance)
`pdf_merge` · `pdf_split` · `pdf_rotate` · `pdf_compress`	The PDF basics
`pdf_to_images`	PDF pages → JPEG/PNG, e.g. to look at a document with a vision model
`image_process`	Resize, crop, rotate, convert (webp/avif/…), compress, strip EXIF, watermark – one call
`image_info`	Format, dimensions, color space, EXIF/ICC presence
`get_access`	Free API key, instantly, no signup – 100 free operations that never expire
`get_balance` · `get_usage` · `set_monthly_cap` · `get_pricing`	Account

$0.01 per operation. 100 free. Free operations and balance never expire. Failed calls are free. Servers in Germany, GDPR, files deleted after delivery.

Also listed in the official MCP Registry as dev.bigapi/mcp.

Install

Requires Node 18+. No API key needed up front – the agent can call get_access itself.

Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bigapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@bigapi/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Then: "Get bigapi access and render this text as a PDF on my Desktop."

Cursor / Windsurf / Cline

Same block in the respective MCP settings (.cursor/mcp.json, ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json, Cline → MCP Servers → Configure).

With an existing key

json

"bigapi": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@bigapi/mcp"], "env": { "BIGAPI_KEY": "bigapi_..." } }

How files work

Inputs are local paths (/Users/me/report.pdf, C:\Users\me\scan.pdf). Outputs are written to output_path if given, otherwise to a temp folder (BIGAPI_OUTPUT_DIR to change). Every result includes the cost, what it was charged from, and the remaining balance.

Pricing

Flat $0.01 per operation (per page for ocr and office_to_pdf, $0.05 for pdf_to_pdfa). Prepaid from $5 – no subscription, no signup, balance never expires, failed calls are free. Machine-readable: get_pricing or GET /v1/pricing.

Environment

Variable	Default	Purpose
`BIGAPI_KEY`	–	Use this key instead of the stored one
`BIGAPI_CONFIG_DIR`	`~/.bigapi`	Where `get_access` stores the key (`config.json`, mode 600)
`BIGAPI_OUTPUT_DIR`	OS temp dir	Default output folder
`BIGAPI_URL`	`https://api.bigapi.dev`	API base (for self-hosting / testing)

Without MCP

Plain HTTP works everywhere (n8n, Make, Zapier, LangChain, your code):

Terminal

curl -X POST https://api.bigapi.dev/v1/keys                       # → key
curl -o out.pdf https://api.bigapi.dev/v1/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"markdown":"# Hello from an agent"}'

OpenAPI: https://api.bigapi.dev/openapi.json · Docs: https://api.bigapi.dev/docs · Guides: https://bigapi.dev/guides/ · llms.txt: https://api.bigapi.dev/llms.txt

License

MIT