pdf-spec-mcp — Tools Reference

INFO

Auto-generated from the tools/list handshake of v0.6.0 (8 tools, 2026-09-04). Do not edit by hand — regenerate with node scripts/generate-reference.mjs.

This page is the generated reference — every tool's parameters, types, defaults and returns, transcribed from the server's tools/list (the source of truth is the server itself). For the server's responsibilities, boundaries and how to use it, see the guide page.

Tools

Tool	Summary
`list_specs`	List all available PDF specification documents.
`get_structure`	Get the section hierarchy of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2).
`get_section`	Get the content of a specific section from the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2).
`search_spec`	Search the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2) for a keyword or phrase.
`get_requirements`	Reads the STANDARD, not your file.
`get_definitions`	Get term definitions from Section 3 of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2).
`get_tables`	Extract table structures from a specified section of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2).
`compare_versions`	Compare sections between PDF 1.7 (ISO 32000-1) and PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2).

list_specs

List available specifications

List all available PDF specification documents. Returns document IDs, titles, page counts, and categories, plus coverage.gaps — the normative areas this corpus does NOT contain (PDF/A, PAdES). Read the gaps before concluding that a requirement does not exist. Use the returned IDs as the spec parameter in other tools.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`category`	string	no		Filter by category (standard, ts, pdfua, guide, appnote).

Worked example — "Quote the PDF/A conformance requirements from the clauses"

Measured: v0.6.0
Default spec: iso32000-2
spec: omitted
Arrays: trimmed to the first items

ISO 19005 is not in the corpus, so read coverage.gaps before searching clauses. An empty object is enough.

Parameters

jsonc

{}

Returned JSON (specs — 17 entries — omitted; coverage.gaps is the point):

jsonc

{
  "totalSpecs": 17,
  "coverage": {
    "note": "These normative areas are outside this corpus. A search returning no hits for them means \"cannot answer\", not \"no such requirement\".",
    "gaps": [
      {
        "area": "PDF/A — archival conformance",
        "standards": ["ISO 19005-1", "ISO 19005-2", "ISO 19005-3", "ISO 19005-4"],
        "consequence": "Requirements specific to PDF/A cannot be quoted or verified here. … A search returning nothing is not evidence that no requirement exists."
      },
      {
        "area": "PAdES — signature profiles",
        "standards": ["ETSI EN 319 142-1", "ETSI EN 319 142-2"],
        "consequence": "Baseline signature levels (B-B / B-T / B-LT / B-LTA) are defined by ETSI, not by ISO 32000-2. … ISO 32000-2 §12.8 covers signatures in general and is available."
      }
    ]
  }
}

From here the job belongs to pdf-verify-mcp's validate_conformance (flavour "pdfa-*"). Calling search_spec with "PDF/A" on this server and getting zero hits does not mean "no such requirement".

get_structure

Get section hierarchy

Get the section hierarchy of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2). Returns the table of contents with section numbers, titles, and page numbers.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no		Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`max_depth`	integer (1–10)	no		Maximum heading depth to return (1-10).

get_section

Get section content

Get the content of a specific section from the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2). Returns structured content including headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, and notes. A parent section returns its entire subtree (all subsections, in document order); top-level clauses can therefore return very large responses — prefer the most specific section number you know.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no		Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`section`	string (minLength 1)	yes		Section number, e.g. "12.5.6.10" or "Annex A".

Worked example — "Which clause defines reading order in tagged PDF?" (§14.8.2.5.1)

Measured: v0.6.0
Default spec: iso32000-2
spec: omitted
section: "14.8.2.5.1"
Hard wraps: folded to spaces

The section number is the top hit from search_spec for content order. Pass the most specific number you have, 14.8.2.5.1, not the parent 14.8.2.5.

Parameters

jsonc

{
  "section": "14.8.2.5.1"
}

Returned JSON

jsonc

{
  "sectionNumber": "14.8.2.5.1",
  "title": "General",
  "pageRange": { "start": 764, "end": 764 },
  "content": [
    { "type": "heading", "level": 5, "text": "14.8.2.5.1 General" },
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "Page content order shall be defined by the sequencing of graphics objects within a page’s content stream."
    },
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "Logical content order – the ordering for semantic purposes – shall be defined by a depth-first traversal of the document’s logical structure hierarchy."
    },
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "The page content order in a tagged PDF should coincide with the logical content order."
    },
    {
      "type": "note",
      "label": "NOTE 1",
      "text": "Page content order is constrained by the need to render objects in an order that produces the desired visual appearance. …"
    }
  ]
}

shall in a paragraph is a requirement, should is a recommendation, and note is informative. Do not use a note element as grounds for a shall violation.

search_spec

Search the specification

Search the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2) for a keyword or phrase. Returns matching sections with context snippets. The first call may take a few seconds to build the search index; it is then cached on disk, so later processes start warm. No hits means "this corpus cannot answer", NOT "no such requirement exists" — ISO 19005 (PDF/A) and ETSI PAdES are outside it (see list_specs -> coverage.gaps).

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no	Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`query`	string (minLength 1)	yes	Search terms. Matched as an exact phrase first, then as AND over the words.
`max_results`	integer (1–50)	no	Maximum hits to return (1-50).

Worked example — "What does PDF 2.0 require of incremental updates?"

Measured: v0.6.0
Default spec: iso32000-2
spec: omitted
query: "incremental update"
max_results: 5
Arrays: trimmed; PDF hard wraps folded to spaces

Search with an English phrase. Pass the hitting section to get_requirements.

Parameters

jsonc

{
  "query": "incremental update",
  "max_results": 5
}

Returned JSON

jsonc

{
  "query": "incremental update",
  "totalResults": 5,
  "results": [
    {
      "section": "7.5.6",
      "title": "Incremental updates",
      "page": 75,
      "score": 12,
      "snippet": "7.5.6 Incremental updates The contents of a PDF file can be updated incrementally without rewriting…"
    },
    {
      "section": "12.7.8.3.1",
      "title": "General",
      "page": 576,
      "score": 12,
      "snippet": "…A stream containing all the bytes in all incremental updates made to the underlying PDF document…"
    }
    // … 3 more (7.5.4 / 12.8.1 / 7.5.1)
  ]
}

The top hit is §7.5.6. When you want requirements only, pass that section to get_requirements.

Worked example — "Which clause defines reading order in tagged PDF?"

Measured: v0.6.0
Default spec: iso32000-2
spec: omitted
query: "content order"
max_results: 5

Everyday English reading order surfaces other clauses first (how streams are read, vertex order in shadings, and so on). The specification's terms are logical content order / page content order.

Parameters

jsonc

{
  "query": "content order",
  "max_results": 5
}

Returned JSON

jsonc

{
  "query": "content order",
  "totalResults": 5,
  "results": [
    {
      "section": "14.8.2.5.1",
      "title": "General",
      "page": 764,
      "score": 39,
      "snippet": "14.8.2.5.1 General Page content order shall be defined by the sequencing of graphics objects within …"
    }
    // … 4 more
  ]
}

When you want the body, call get_section with the most specific section number you now have. That is 14.8.2.5.1, not the parent 14.8.2.5.

get_requirements

Extract normative requirements

Reads the STANDARD, not your file. Extract normative requirements (shall/must/may) from the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2). Returns structured requirements with the sentence context, section, and requirement level. It tells you what the specification requires, never whether a given PDF satisfies it — to check a file, use pdf-verify-mcp (validate_conformance / evaluate_policy).

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no	Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`section`	string (minLength 1)	no	Limit to this section and its subsections.
`level`	string	no	Filter by requirement level (shall, shall not, should, should not, may).

Worked example — "What does PDF 2.0 require of incremental updates?" (§7.5.6)

Measured: v0.6.0
Default spec: iso32000-2
spec: omitted
section: "7.5.6"
Arrays: trimmed; PDF hard wraps folded to spaces

The section number is the top hit from search_spec (§7.5.6). Omitting level returns shall / may mixed together.

Parameters

jsonc

{
  "section": "7.5.6"
}

Returned JSON

jsonc

{
  "filter": { "section": "7.5.6", "level": "all" },
  "totalRequirements": 10,
  "statistics": { "shall": 8, "may": 2 },
  "requirements": [
    {
      "id": "R-7.5.6-1",
      "level": "shall",
      "section": "7.5.6",
      "sectionTitle": "Incremental updates",
      "text": "When updating a PDF file incrementally, changes shall be appended to the end of the file, leaving its original contents intact."
    },
    {
      "id": "R-7.5.6-2",
      "level": "shall",
      "section": "7.5.6",
      "sectionTitle": "Incremental updates",
      "text": "A cross-reference section for an incremental update shall contain entries only for objects that have been changed, replaced, or deleted."
    }
    // … 8 more. Only shall is a condition of conformance
  ]
}

text is verbatim, so it can be quoted. This is a requirement of the standard. Whether the PDF under examination satisfies it is pdf-verify-mcp's validate_conformance / evaluate_policy.

get_definitions

Get term definitions

Get term definitions from Section 3 of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2). Returns structured definitions with term, definition text, notes, and sources.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no		Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`term`	string (minLength 1)	no		Filter to definitions matching this term.

get_tables

Extract tables

Extract table structures from a specified section of the PDF specification (ISO 32000-2). Returns tables with headers, rows, and optional captions. A parent section returns the tables of its entire subtree (all subsections).

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`spec`	string (minLength 1)	no	Spec ID (e.g. "iso32000-2", "pdf17"). Omit for the default spec.
`section`	string (minLength 1)	yes	Section number containing the table(s).
`table_index`	integer (0–9007199254740991)	no	Return only this table (0-based). Omit for all tables in the section.

compare_versions

Compare PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0

Compare sections between PDF 1.7 (ISO 32000-1) and PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2). Returns matched sections (same or moved), added sections (new in 2.0), and removed sections (absent in 2.0). Uses title-based automatic matching.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`section`	string (minLength 1)	no		Limit the comparison to this section subtree.

Worked example — "How did the incremental-update clause change between PDF 1.7 and 2.0?"

Measured: v0.6.0
section: "7.5.6"
Requires: both PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0 in PDF_SPEC_DIR

Parameters

jsonc

{
  "section": "7.5.6"
}

Returned JSON

jsonc

{
  "totalMatched": 1,
  "totalAdded": 0,
  "totalRemoved": 0,
  "matched": [
    {
      "section17": "7.5.6",
      "section20": "7.5.6",
      "title": "Incremental updates",
      "status": "same"
    }
  ],
  "added": [],
  "removed": []
}

Section number and title are the same in 1.7 and 2.0. The tool does not return a body diff. To see the requirements themselves, call get_requirements on that section for both specs (spec: "pdf17" and the default iso32000-2).

pdf-spec-mcp — Tools Reference ​

Tools ​

list_specs ​

Parameters ​

get_structure ​

Parameters ​

get_section ​

Parameters ​

search_spec ​

Parameters ​

get_requirements ​

Parameters ​

get_definitions ​

Parameters ​

get_tables ​

Parameters ​

compare_versions ​

Parameters ​

pdf-spec-mcp — Tools Reference

Tools

list_specs

Parameters

get_structure

Parameters

get_section

Parameters

search_spec

Parameters

get_requirements

Parameters

get_definitions

Parameters

get_tables

Parameters

compare_versions

Parameters