Continue + pdfmcp: setup guide

Add pdfmcp to Continue as an MCP block (YAML config).

What you need: a free pdfmcp API key — sign in with your email (no password) and copy the key shown at first login. Then replace pdfmcp_live_YOUR_KEY in the config below.

Where it goes: ~/.continue/config.yaml or a hub block file (Continue 1.0+ block format)

name: pdfmcp
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: pdfmcp
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.pdfmcp.org/mcp
    requestOptions:
      headers:
        X-API-Key: pdfmcp_live_YOUR_KEY

Steps

Get a free API key from the pdfmcp dashboard and replace pdfmcp_live_YOUR_KEY in the block.
Save the block as an MCP server block in Continue (local blocks folder, or add it to your config).
Reload Continue; pdfmcp's tools appear in the MCP tools list for agent mode.
Try: “Use pdfmcp to convert this PDF to Markdown”.

Troubleshooting

401 / unauthorized: the key header is missing or mistyped. The header name is exactly X-API-Key (Claude Code uses Authorization: Bearer … — both work).
Tools don't appear: fully restart the client after editing its config; most clients only load MCP servers at startup.
Server unreachable: check the public status page — and your network's outbound HTTPS to mcp.pdfmcp.org.

Try it with

On-deviceMerge PDFsCombine multiple PDF files into one, in upload order.On-devicePDF to textExtract plain text, one form-feed separated section per page.On-deviceCompress PDFReduce file size with Ghostscript. Presets: light (printer quality), medium (ebook), heavy (screen, smallest).

More clients: Claude Desktop MCP setup · Claude Code MCP setup · ChatGPT MCP setup · All MCP setup guides · REST API quickstart