Add MCPB packaging and Claude Code plugin for pdf-server

[bryan-anthropic]

Summary

Adds two distribution paths for the pdf-server:

• MCPB bundle — for the Claude Desktop MCP Directory (manifest.json, .mcpbignore, icon.png)
• Claude Code plugin — for direct installation via claude plugin install (plugin/ directory)

MCPB packaging files

File	Purpose
manifest.json	v0.3 manifest — display name, tools, compatibility, privacy policy
.mcpbignore	Excludes source/tests/screenshots from the bundle
icon.png	64x64 PDF document icon

These enable building a .mcpb bundle via mcpb pack for distribution through the MCP Directory.

Claude Code plugin (plugin/)

plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json
├── .mcp.json                    # Local stdio server
├── CONNECTORS.md
├── README.md
├── commands/
│   ├── read.md                  # /pdf-research:read
│   └── summarize.md             # /pdf-research:summarize
└── skills/
    └── pdf-reading/
        └── SKILL.md

The key innovation: .mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pdf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-pdf", "--stdio"]
    }
  }
}

This declares a local stdio MCP server that starts automatically when the plugin loads. No remote deployment, no API keys — npx fetches and runs the pdf-server package locally.

Test results

Tested end-to-end in Claude Code:

Component	Status
Plugin validation	PASS
MCP server connection	PASS
list_pdfs	PASS
display_pdf	PASS (opened "Attention Is All You Need" from arXiv)
Commands	PASS (/pdf-research:read, /pdf-research:summarize)
Skills	PASS (pdf-research:pdf-reading)

Install and test

# Temporary (single session)
claude --plugin-dir examples/pdf-server/plugin

# Permanent
claude plugin install examples/pdf-server/plugin

Context

This was developed as part of an investigation into how the pdf-server could support knowledge-work workflows in Cowork. The plugin follows the anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins conventions but uses a local server instead of a remote connector — the first known instance of this pattern.

A corresponding PR has been opened at anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins to add this plugin to the marketplace.

Test plan

• Run claude plugin validate examples/pdf-server/plugin
• Test with claude --plugin-dir examples/pdf-server/plugin
• Verify /pdf-research:read opens a PDF
• Verify list_pdfs and display_pdf tools are available

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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commit: fe07a7c

[ochafik]

Thanks @bryan-anthropic !

Can you please run npm run prettier:fix + commit to get the CI green?