Unredactor

PyPI version License: MIT

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants detect and replace black redaction boxes in PDF documents.

What it does

This tool helps you write over redaction boxes in PDFs - like white-out for digital documents.

• Detect black redaction boxes on any PDF page
• Replace boxes of specific dimensions with custom text
• Process entire documents or specific pages

Note: This tool does NOT "recover" redacted data. It simply replaces black boxes with white boxes containing your text.

Installation

Option 1: Install via pip (Recommended)

pip install unredactor-mcp

Then add to your config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unredactor": {
      "command": "unredactor-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Docker

docker pull justinandjohnson/unredactor-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unredactor": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "justinandjohnson/unredactor-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: HTTP (Remote)

Use the publicly hosted version via HTTP transport:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unredactor": {
      "url": "https://unredactor-mcp-production.up.railway.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Option 4: From Source

git clone https://github.com/Justinandjohnson/unredactor-mcp
cd unredactor-mcp
pip install -e .

Available Tools

Tool	Description
upload_pdf	Upload a PDF (base64-encoded) for processing
get_pdf_info	Get page count and dimensions
detect_black_boxes	Find redaction boxes on a specific page
detect_all_pages	Scan entire PDF for boxes
replace_redaction_boxes	Replace boxes of a specific size with text
download_pdf	Get the modified PDF (base64-encoded)
cleanup_file	Delete temporary files

Usage Example

Once configured, you can ask Claude:

1. "Upload this PDF and scan it for redaction boxes"
2. "Replace all the 100x20 boxes on page 1 with 'CLASSIFIED'"
3. "Download the modified PDF"

GUI Application

A standalone GUI application is also available for manual editing:

pip install PyMuPDF pillow opencv-python
python unredact.py

Legal Disclaimer

• This tool is for forensics and legitimate document editing purposes only
• It does NOT recover truly destroyed/redacted data
• Republishing altered documents may be illegal
• By using this tool, you assume all legal liability

Known Limitations

• Converts PDF pages to PNG and back, which can increase file size
• Font size remains constant, so text may appear smaller after multiple edits
• Best results with clear, rectangular black boxes

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.