# Image OCR: Extract Text from Images (English & Japanese) (`kotaro-project/image-ocr`) Actor

Read the text in images by URL with OCR. Works with PNG, JPEG, WebP, TIFF and more, in English and Japanese. No API key needed. Returns the text and a confidence score. Pay only for images where text was found.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/kotaro-project/image-ocr.md
- **Developed by:** [KOTARO project](https://apify.com/kotaro-project) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 image reads

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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🔍 Image OCR — read the text in any image

Give it links to images. Get back the text in them, in English, Japanese, or both, with a confidence score. No API key, no setup.

### What it does

- 🖼️ **Works with PNG, JPEG, WebP, TIFF, BMP and GIF** by URL
- 🌏 **English and Japanese** (vertical Japanese is available as `jpn_vert`, but results are not guaranteed)
- 📊 **Confidence score** (0 to 100) for each image, so you can spot poor results
- 💸 **Pay only when text is found**: failed links and images with no text are free

### Input

| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| `urls` | Links to images (http or https) |
| `language` | `eng`, `jpn`, `jpn_vert` or `eng+jpn` (default `eng+jpn`) |

### Output

One row per link:

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com/receipt.png",
  "ok": true,
  "hasText": true,
  "chars": 128,
  "confidence": 91.4,
  "language": "eng+jpn",
  "text": "..."
}
```

If a link cannot be read, the row has `ok: false` and an `error` that says why.

### Good to know

- Powered by the open-source Tesseract OCR engine. Clear printed text reads best. Handwriting, very small text and busy photos read poorly.
- Limits: 30 MB per image, 200 links per run, about 5 minutes per run. Links not reached are listed so you can run them again.
- Private and internal addresses are refused. It does not log in to websites or solve CAPTCHAs: links must be publicly reachable.
- Only process images you have the right to use.

# Actor input Schema

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

Public http or https links to images (PNG, JPEG, WebP, TIFF, BMP, GIF). One result row per link. Private and internal addresses are refused.

## `language` (type: `string`):

The language of the text in the images. 'eng+jpn' reads both English and Japanese.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://tesseract.projectnaptha.com/img/eng_bw.png"
  ],
  "language": "eng+jpn"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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://tesseract.projectnaptha.com/img/eng_bw.png"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("kotaro-project/image-ocr").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://tesseract.projectnaptha.com/img/eng_bw.png"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("kotaro-project/image-ocr").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://tesseract.projectnaptha.com/img/eng_bw.png"
  ]
}' |
apify call kotaro-project/image-ocr --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,kotaro-project/image-ocr"
        }
    }
}
```

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/nJ3spLBCgNP3K6ACJ/builds/2UIS1Y5YCgBwBd6UO/openapi.json