Unfold MCP server

Give your AI agent the content of PDF, Word (DOCX), PowerPoint (PPTX) and Excel (XLSX) documents as Markdown, from a URL or a local file.

The server is open source (MIT). It calls the Unfold API, which is paid, with a free plan.

• You use your own key, from RapidAPI or api.market.
• Every tool call is one request on your plan.
• The free Basic plan has 15 requests a month, with a hard limit, so it never runs up a bill.

1. Get a key

marketplace
RapidAPI	plans
api.market	store

2. Add the server to your MCP client

The server runs locally over stdio with uv. Put your key in its environment.

JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code and most clients):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unfold": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "bytestay-unfold-mcp", "unfold-mcp"],
      "env": { "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your-rapidapi-key" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add unfold --env RAPIDAPI_KEY=your-rapidapi-key -- uvx --from bytestay-unfold-mcp unfold-mcp

Environment

variable	meaning
RAPIDAPI_KEY	your RapidAPI key
API_MARKET_KEY	your api.market key, used when RAPIDAPI_KEY is not set
BYTESTAY_MARKETPLACE	rapidapi or apimarket, when both keys are set

Up to 0.2.7 the setting was HFL_MARKETPLACE. The old name still works, with a one-line notice on stderr.

Without a key the server still starts. The first tool call then explains where to get one.

Also listed on Glama:

3. Tools

tool	what it does
convert_document(url=… | path=…, max_chars=20000)	converts one document to Markdown; give a public URL, or a local file to upload

The format is detected from the content.

Every tool returns the API's JSON response.

• When the marketplace reports it, quota_remaining is added: the requests left on your plan this month.
• Errors are explained in plain words, with what to do next:
  • key refused, with the link to subscribe;
  • quota reached, with the plans;
  • input the API couldn't process, with the API's reason.

Privacy

• Local files are read only when a tool is given their path. They are sent to the API for that one request.
• The API processes inputs in memory and doesn't store them. See the privacy policy.
• Your key is only sent to the marketplace you chose.

Limits

• Local files up to 10 MB.
• Markdown up to 500,000 characters.
• The server needs Python 3.10+ (uv installs it for you).

Development

uv venv && uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
.venv/bin/pytest            # unit tests, no network; 100% coverage required
.venv/bin/ruff check src tests scripts

scripts/e2e_stdio.py unfold runs the server over stdio, as a client would, and calls its tools against the real API. It needs RAPIDAPI_KEY or API_MARKET_KEY.

History

Formerly Hybrid Forge Lab. This repository continues hybridforgelab/unfold-mcp under the ByteStay name since November 2026, so the older commits come from there.

Licence

MIT. Unfold itself is a paid API with a free plan, run by ByteStay.