Docling MCP server

This server leverages Docling software from IBM to parse and convert documents according to the Model Context Protocol (MCP) specification. Currently, it supports conversion to Markdown format, making it useful for document processing tasks within compatible applications.

Installation

To install the docling-mcp server, use the following steps:

1. Ensure you have the necessary prerequisites installed (Node.js, npm, etc.)
2. Install the package using npm:

npm install -g docling-mcp

Or alternatively, you can install it using uvx:

npm install -g uvx
uvx docling-mcp

Configuration

To configure the MCP server with Claude, you need to add the server information to the Claude configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docling-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["docling-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

This configuration tells Claude to use the docling-mcp server for document processing operations.

Using the Server

Basic Usage

Once configured, the docling-mcp server will automatically handle document conversions when invoked by Claude. The server processes documents and converts them to Markdown format.

Document Conversion

The server accepts various document formats as input and produces Markdown output. When you upload a document to Claude with the server configured, it will:

1. Receive the document from Claude
2. Process it using the Docling software
3. Convert it to Markdown
4. Return the processed result to Claude

No additional commands are needed - the conversion process is handled automatically through the MCP protocol once properly configured.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "docling-mcp" '{"command":"uvx","args":["docling-mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "docling-mcp": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "docling-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "docling-mcp": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "docling-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect