Carbone MCP

Carbone MCP Server

Automate production-ready PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from templates and JSON data, and convert files with 100+ conversions, from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client. The official server for the Carbone document generation API.

• Convert files: DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, HTML, SVG, Markdown or PDF to PDF, images, CSV, ODT and the other output formats.
• Fill templates with JSON: design them in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, LibreOffice, HTML or Markdown with {d.field} tags, or fill an existing PDF form.
• Finish your PDFs: passwords, watermarks, PDF/A, page ranges, and a choice of converter (LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, Chromium or Carbone ICE).
• Batch and localize: up to 100 documents per request, collected by the assistant on the hosted server or delivered to your own webhook; translations, time zones, and currency conversion at the rates you give.
• Keep a template library: upload, version, categorize, deploy and download templates, and ask which data a template expects.

What you can ask

Carbone turns data into finished documents, including data another MCP server fetches (Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Notion, Google Sheets…) in the same conversation:

• *"Get the Acme Corp opportunity and its products from Salesforce, fill my 'Sales quote' template, and give me a PDF with a DRAFT watermark."*
• *"Which data does my 'Service agreement' template expect? Map its fields to the HubSpot deal 'Acme renewal' and show me the JSON before you render it."*
• *"Create one certificate per attendee in the 'Workshop' Google Sheet with my 'Certificate' template, as a ZIP of PDFs named certificate-{d.lastName}."*
• *"Generate this invoice in French, German and Spanish, with prices converted from EUR to USD at 1.08 and dates in New York time."*
• *"Build a monthly report from last month's paid Stripe invoices with the 'Statement' template. Render it as a PNG first so you can check the layout, then give me the PDF."*
• *"Turn this Word quote into a Carbone template: add tags for the customer, a loop on the line items and the total, then upload it as 'Quote v2' in the 'sales' category."*
• *"Make a PDF/A copy of pages 1 to 5 of this contract for archiving, and a password-protected PDF with a CONFIDENTIAL watermark to send to the client."*
• *"Deploy the newest version of my 'Invoice' template, and schedule the old one for deletion in 30 days."*

Account and pricing

You sign in with a Carbone account, free to create. Without a plan, you get unlimited watermarked PDFs. The Free plan adds every output format without a watermark, with 100 documents per month (pricing).

Quick start

Hosted server (mcp.carbone.io)

The Carbone agent plugin installs this server and the Carbone Skill together, in Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI and more. To add the server alone:

Claude (claude.ai and Claude Desktop)

1. Open Carbone in the Claude directory and click Connect.
2. Sign in with your Carbone account and approve.

If your organization does not offer directory connectors, add a custom connector with the URL https://mcp.carbone.io instead, leaving the OAuth client ID and secret empty. In an organization, each member connects with their own Carbone account, and their documents count against it.

ChatGPT

Open the Carbone plugin in ChatGPT, click Add, then sign in with your Carbone account. The plugin also includes the Carbone Skill.

Without the plugin: open Plugins, click Add, then Add custom MCP server. Enter the name Carbone and the URL https://mcp.carbone.io, choose OAuth, tick I understand and want to continue, click Create as a plugin, and sign in.

Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor

Claude Code: add the server, then run /mcp, select carbone and choose Authenticate.

claude mcp add --transport http carbone https://mcp.carbone.io

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json), which asks you to sign in when it starts the server:

{

"servers": { "carbone": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.carbone.io" } } }

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json), then sign in from Cursor's MCP settings:

{

"mcpServers": { "carbone": { "url": "https://mcp.carbone.io" } } }

Local package (stdio)

Use it to read and save files on your computer. It needs Node.js 20.3 or later (node --version) and a Carbone API key from account.carbone.io: the test key makes unlimited watermarked PDFs (templates stored with it are kept 30 days), the production key every format (details).

Most clients use this config:

{

"mcpServers": { "carbone": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "carbone-mcp"], "env": { "CARBONE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" } } } }

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --env CARBONE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here --transport stdio carbone -- npx -y carbone-mcp

VS Code: .vscode/mcp.json uses servers, not mcpServers. With an input variable, VS Code asks for the key once and stores it securely:

{

"inputs": [ { "type": "promptString", "id": "carbone-api-key", "description": "Carbone API key", "password": true } ], "servers": { "carbone": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "carbone-mcp"], "env": { "CARBONE_API_KEY": "${input:carbone-api-key}" } } } }

Then try: *"What can Carbone do?"*

Client docs: Claude Desktop · Claude Code · VS Code · Cursor

Files in and out

• Hosted server: give files as HTTPS URLs or base64, or attach them in ChatGPT. A large template goes through an upload URL, for assistants that can run commands, such as Claude Code.
• Local package: absolute paths too (/Users/me/invoice.docx, ~/invoice.docx). A bare name such as invoice.docx is read as base64 and fails.
• Results: text and images come back in the conversation. PDF and Office files come back as a one-time download link (hosted, valid 1 hour) or a saved file (local).

Details: file inputs and output delivery.

Tools

Every parameter, with examples: docs/API.md.

Writing templates

Design a template in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, LibreOffice, HTML or Markdown, and put tags where the data goes:

Dear {d.customer.name},

Your invoice total is {d.total:formatC()}. Items: {d.items[i].description} {d.items[i].quantity}x {d.items[i].price:formatC()} {d.items[i+1]}

{d.items[i]} … {d.items[i+1]} repeats a line for each item. Start with the basics, or give your AI assistant the Carbone Skill, a template syntax reference for AI tools (download .skill · GitHub).

This server also serves the Carbone Skill itself, as skill://carbone/SKILL.md: MCP clients that support skills get it with the server, in the version matching its tools (Carbone Skill).

Troubleshooting

| Watermark on every PDF, or only PDF works | Your account has no plan (test key): it produces watermarked PDFs only. On mcp.carbone.io, start a plan at [accou