Read with Codex
Use your own agent for the conversation. PRDB keeps your PDFs, highlights, comments and private reviews together.
PRDB public trial 0.2.0 connects to your production account. It is available from our public repository, with rights reserved; it is not an OpenAI-reviewed directory listing.
https://prdb.ai/mcp
Install PRDB in Codex Desktop
- Create your ordinary PRDB account
Register and verify your email. Use your own account; no demo or administrator account is needed.
Register - Ask Codex to install the plugin
Paste this request into Codex Desktop:
Install the PRDB public trial from https://github.com/prdb-ai/prdb-plugin, pinned to v0.2.0. You may add this one marketplace and install prdb@prdb. Check that the Codex CLI supports plugin commands first, preserve my other settings, and tell me when to start a new chat and authorize PRDB in my browser.
Check that PRDB is enabled, then start a new chat. If the plugin commands are unavailable, update Codex or report its version. Do not copy credentials from another computer.
- Sign in and choose access
Connect PRDB through browser OAuth using your ordinary account. Choose the operations and confirm sharing private materials with your agent. Access covers your entire Library and lasts until revoked by default; 1, 7 or 30 days are optional. Enter your current password only in PRDB for this initial authorization, never in chat.
- Check the actual connection
Ask Codex to call get_connection and report the environment, account, permissions and expiry. It should report production and your account. An enabled plugin alone does not prove authorization finished.
Install with the Codex CLI
codex plugin marketplace add prdb-ai/prdb-plugin --ref v0.2.0
codex plugin add prdb@prdbUpload your first PDF
Start with one PDF containing selectable text for a paper in the PRDB catalog. No local MCP server, npm package or Python package is needed for remote reading or browser imports.
Find my paper in PRDB and show its title, authors and year. Open a private import for one PDF so I can select the file and confirm its paper in the browser. After I approve, check the import result and read a page. Do not publish anything.
Open the agent's import link, select your PDF, review the match and approve. The agent must check the actual uploaded document. The ordinary paper-page Upload button also works. Each PDF is limited to 30 MiB; ambiguous or missing catalog matches need your choice.
For a chat attachment or folder, explicitly give your agent access to the actual file or selected directory. The optional Python 3 helper checks PDF bytes, matches the catalog and uploads privately with retry progress. This works only when the client exposes a readable local file; ambiguous matches need your input. Browser import and the OS picker remain available. Upload needs no copyright statement or password re-entry.
Highlight, comment and save a private review
Read my uploaded PDF in PRDB. Find two exact passages relevant to its main contribution. Save private highlights with my comments, then a private review referencing them. Check every source at the saved draft revision and give me Reader and private review links. Do not publish.
Open Reader beside your chat and check the positions, comments and private review. Refresh to confirm they remain saved. The agent uses actual PDF text and location candidates; ambiguous passages need clarification. Source checks verify text and versions, not scientific conclusions.
Public reviews and export imports
Public publication is optional. Choose the publication permission when connecting, let the agent prepare a preview, then personally confirm the exact public body in PRDB. Installing the plugin never publishes a private PDF or draft.
For Zotero or ReadCube exports, select a PDF folder and optional bibliography, review matches and approve one private batch. Browser imports need no Python and can preserve supported embedded highlights and comments. Up to 50 PDFs or 300 MiB per batch; third-party account scanning and OCR are not implemented.
Import private libraryConnect HTTP MCP without the plugin
Add this environment's Streamable HTTP address in a client that supports MCP and browser OAuth. Authorize with your ordinary PRDB account, then check get_connection. Choose this route or the plugin, rather than adding the same server twice.
Official Codex MCP setupUpdate, revoke or remove
The public trial is pinned to v0.2.0 and does not follow main. Read the release notes before choosing a new tag, then check the installed version and start a new chat. Disable an old preview explicitly; its grants are not expanded automatically.
Revoke in My Account → Connections whenever you want. Uninstalling a client plugin does not revoke PRDB access. Your saved private materials remain available on the website.
Open Connectionscodex plugin remove prdb@prdb
codex plugin marketplace remove prdbHelp improve the public trial
Try one paper, then two or three more. Report your OS, Codex and plugin versions, the failing step, expected and actual result, time taken and a redacted error. Do not post passwords, tokens, private PDFs or notes in public issues. Fresh-machine human testing remains separate from automated parsing and SDK checks.