PDFGate MCP Server vs CourtAPI — Federal Court Data

In-depth architectural comparison of the PDFGate MCP Server and CourtAPI — Federal Court Data MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose PDFGate MCP Server when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
• You have access to required keys: PDFGATE_API_KEY.
• Primary tools included: generate_pdf, upload_file, get_document.

Explore PDFGate MCP Server Details

Choose CourtAPI — Federal Court Data when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: find_cases, get_case, get_dockets.

Explore CourtAPI — Federal Court Data Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	PDFGate MCP Server Legal	CourtAPI — Federal Court Data Legal
Summary	MCP server for the PDFGate API. Generate PDFs, manage documents and handle e-signatures.	Search and retrieve US federal court cases, dockets, claims, and documents via PACER
Category & Scope	Legal	Legal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-37": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pdfgate/mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PDFGATE_API_KEY": "YOUR_PDFGATE_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courtapi-federal-court-data": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@courtio/courtapi-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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