# PDF to Text & Markdown Extractor (URLs → clean text) (`arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor`) Actor

Extract clean text or Markdown from PDF files by URL. Reading-order text, layout mode for tables/columns, per-page splitting, page ranges, metadata (pages, title, author). Fast Poppler engine, pay per document. Ideal for RAG/LLM ingestion and document monitoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor.md
- **Developed by:** [Arthur](https://apify.com/arthursbuisness) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 processed documents

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## PDF to Text & Markdown Extractor — turn PDF URLs into clean text

Give it a list of PDF links and get back **clean text or Markdown** per document (or per page), plus metadata (page count, title, author, character count). Built on Poppler (`pdftotext`), the industry-standard PDF engine — fast, accurate reading order, optional layout mode that preserves columns and tables.

### Why this Actor

- **Simple**: paste URLs, run, download JSON/CSV/Excel — no code.
- **Three output modes**: `text` (reading order), `layout` (keeps spacing of columns/tables), `markdown` (headings and bullets guessed from the document structure — ideal for LLM/RAG pipelines).
- **Per-page splitting** for chunking, and page ranges to skip covers or appendices.
- **Cheap and predictable**: pay per document, no minimum.

### Use cases

RAG/LLM ingestion, contract and report analysis, invoice/receipt text capture (digital PDFs), academic paper collection, tender/government documents, monitoring public PDFs on a schedule.

### Input

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `urls` | List of direct PDF links |
| `format` | `text` · `layout` · `markdown` (default) |
| `perPage` | One item per page instead of per document |
| `firstPage` / `lastPage` | Optional page range (1-based) |
| `maxSizeMb` | Skip files larger than this (default 50) |

### Output (dataset)

`url, pages, title, author, chars, text` — or with `perPage`: `url, page, pages, title, chars, text`. Errors are returned as items with an `error` field (download failed, not a PDF, too large) so batch runs never stop.

### Limits

Digital PDFs only — scanned images (no text layer) return empty text; OCR is on the roadmap. Password-protected PDFs are not supported.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.005 per document** ($5 per 1,000 PDFs). Failed downloads are not charged.

### FAQ

**Does it handle big files?** Yes, up to `maxSizeMb` (default 50 MB); increase for large reports.
**Is the text order correct?** Poppler follows the PDF's reading order; use `layout` for multi-column layouts and tables.
**Can I schedule it?** Yes — schedule in Apify, call via API, or connect to Make/Zapier/Google Sheets.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Direct links to PDF files (http/https).

## `format` (type: `string`):

text (plain, reading order), layout (keeps columns/tables spacing) or markdown (headings guessed from font size, paragraphs).

## `perPage` (type: `boolean`):

Output one dataset item per page instead of per document.

## `firstPage` (type: `integer`):

Start page (1-based). Leave empty for all.

## `lastPage` (type: `integer`):

End page (inclusive). Leave empty for all.

## `maxSizeMb` (type: `integer`):

Skip PDFs larger than this.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
  ],
  "format": "markdown",
  "perPage": false,
  "maxSizeMb": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `documents` (type: `string`):

One item per PDF with text/markdown and metadata

## `documentsCsv` (type: `string`):

Same dataset as CSV

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "urls": ["https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
  ]
}' |
apify call arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,arthursbuisness/pdf-to-text-markdown-extractor"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/4g4KlgAcsfe6Phrr2/builds/XdjL0w0nkn1a685A3/openapi.json