jacksenechal/scan-mcp

scan-mcp

Minimal MCP server for scanner capture (ADF/duplex/page-size), batching, and multipage assembly.

Features

• Small, typed MCP server exposing tools for device discovery and scan jobs
• zod-validated inputs; the JSON Schemas in schemas/ document the contract and are contract-tested
• Smart device selection (prefers ADF/duplex, avoids camera backends), robust defaults
• Local-first transports: stdio by default to keep everything on-device, optional HTTP for your own network deployments

Note: This package targets Node 22 and Linux SANE backends (scanimage).

Quick Start (local stdio, default)

Add a server entry to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scan": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "scan-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "INBOX_DIR": "~/Documents/scanned_documents/inbox"
      }
    }
  }
}

• This invocation runs over stdio for a privacy-first, single-machine setup.
• Call start_scan_job without a device_id to auto-select a scanner and begin scanning.
• Artifacts are written under INBOX_DIR per job: job-*/page_*.tiff, doc_*.tiff, manifest.json, events.jsonl. When crop_carrier_sheets is set and a carrier sheet is detected, a page_*.cropped.tiff derivative is also written per affected page.

Streamable HTTP transport

Prefer to attach the scanner to another machine on your network? scan-mcp also supports the streamable HTTP transport:

scan-mcp --http

• Default port is 3001; set MCP_HTTP_PORT to override (for example MCP_HTTP_PORT=3333 scan-mcp --http).
• Binds 127.0.0.1 by default. Set MCP_HTTP_HOST to expose it on other interfaces (for example MCP_HTTP_HOST=:: for all, or a LAN address); the server has no authentication, so only do that on a trusted network.
• HTTP responses use server-sent events (SSE) for streaming tool output; clients such as Claude Desktop and Windsurf support this transport.
• There is currently no authentication; widen the bind address only on a trusted internal network.

Install

• Run with npx: npx scan-mcp (recommended)
  • The CLI runs a quick preflight check for Node 22+ and required scanner/image tools and prints installation hints if anything is missing.
  • See recommended server config above
• Use npx scan-mcp --http to launch the streamable HTTP transport when running on another machine.
• CLI help: scan-mcp --help
• From source (for development):