@tplvane/mcp
An MCP server for tplvane: tools to inspect Word, PowerPoint and Excel templates, validate data, render and read the result as text. It is read-only by default and limited to the directories given at start.
Status: 1.0.0, released together with tplvane in the same version.
npx @tplvane/mcp --root ./templates # read-only
npx @tplvane/mcp --root ./templates --allow-write # also the render toolThe tplvane-mcp command serves the tools over stdio with the official MCP SDK. Options: --root <dir> (required, repeatable; an empty value is refused), --allow-write, --max-file-size <bytes> (default 50 MiB), --max-response-chars <n> (default 100 000; it limits the text of a result and its structured content, which is replaced by a note when it is longer). One message may be as large as a file of --max-file-size written as a base64 data URL; a larger one is reported on stderr and the server ends with exit code 1. Exit codes: 0 when the client closes the connection, 1 for a message that is too large, 2 for wrong arguments, 3 for a root that cannot be used. A client configuration usually runs npx with the arguments ["@tplvane/mcp", "--root", "/path/to/templates"].
Tools
| Tool | Writes | What it does |
|---|---|---|
inspect_template | no | The JSON Schema of the data a template needs, its tags with their places, warnings |
validate_data | no | Checks data (inline, or a JSON file) against a template: every problem with the path of the field in the data, the place in the template and a hint |
preview_text | no | The text of a document, presentation or workbook, part by part |
render | yes, only with --allow-write | Fills a template and writes the result; replaces a file only with overwrite: true |
Files are read and written only inside the root directories (--root, repeatable); relative paths start at the first one. Links that point out of the roots, files with more than one name (hard links), folders, devices and pipes are refused; on Linux the opened file is checked again, so a folder swapped for a link between the check and the opening is refused too. render writes only files with the extension of the template (.docx, .docm, .dotx, .dotm, .pptx or .xlsx, after . and .. are resolved), and replaces a file by renaming a new one over it, never by changing it in place, keeping its permissions. Whether a folder outside the roots exists is never told. The roots should not be writable by programs you do not trust. Images in the data must be data URLs: the server downloads nothing and reads no file on behalf of the data.
In code, createServer(options) returns an McpServer of the SDK to connect to any transport, and createTools(sandbox) the tools without the SDK:
import { createTools, Sandbox } from '@tplvane/mcp';
const tools = createTools(new Sandbox({ roots: ['./templates'] }));
const inspectTool = tools.find((tool) => tool.name === 'inspect_template');
console.log(inspectTool?.handler({ path: 'offer.docx' }).content[0]?.text);License
Source: packages/mcp/README.md (version 1.0.0)