PDF Reader MCP vs Tideways

In-depth architectural comparison of the PDF Reader MCP and Tideways 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 PDF Reader MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: inspect, outline, read.

Explore PDF Reader MCP Details

T

Choose Tideways when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• You have access to required keys: TIDEWAYS_TOKEN.
• Primary tools included: tideways_list_projects, tideways_list_services, tideways_get_performance.

Explore Tideways Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	PDF Reader MCP Developer Tools	T Tideways Developer Tools
Summary	Evidence-first PDF MCP. Agent Document Twin with citeable page+bbox evidence.	Read-only access to Tideways PHP performance monitoring: performance, issues, traces, history.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

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": {
    "pdf-reader-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@sylphx/anymd"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tideways": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tideways-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TIDEWAYS_TOKEN": "YOUR_TIDEWAYS_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

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