# PDF Extractor - Text, Tables, Metadata & Links (`scrapesage/pdf-extractor`) Actor

Extract text, per-page content, metadata, links, outline and best-effort tables from PDF files by URL. Pure pdfjs - no browser, no OCR service, cents per document.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapesage/pdf-extractor.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrape Sage](https://apify.com/scrapesage) (community)
- **Categories:** Agents, Integrations, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.75 / 1,000 pdf extracteds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#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 Extractor - Text, Tables, Metadata & Links

Turn a list of PDF links into clean, structured data. For each PDF you get the full text, the text
**per page**, document metadata (title, author, dates, producer), every hyperlink, the outline
(bookmarks), and - optionally - **tables** reconstructed into rows and columns.

Pure `pdfjs`: no browser, no third-party OCR service, no anti-bot target. Runs in seconds and costs a
fraction of a cent per document.

### What you get per PDF

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `text` | Full document text, with line and column layout preserved (tables stay readable, not word-soup) |
| `pages[]` | Each page's text separately (optional) |
| `pageCount` `wordCount` `charCount` `sizeBytes` | Size and length metrics |
| `title` `author` `subject` `keywords` `creator` `producer` `pdfVersion` `isEncrypted` `creationDate` `modificationDate` | Document metadata |
| `links[]` `linkCount` | Every `http(s)` link - from link annotations and from the text |
| `outline[]` | Bookmarks / table-of-contents entries, when present |
| `tables[]` | Best-effort row/column grids per page (opt-in via **Extract tables**) |
| `status` `error` | `ok`, or `failed` with the reason (bad link, not a PDF, too large) |

### Input

```json
{
  "pdfUrls": [
    "https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.03762",
    "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
  ],
  "extractTables": true,
  "includePageText": true
}
```

- **PDF URLs** - direct links to `.pdf` files, one per line. Leave empty for a small free sample.
- **Import PDF URLs from a file** - paste a whole list, or link a public `.txt`/`.csv`, a Google
  Sheet/Drive share link, or an Apify key-value-store record. Every common messy-file quirk (blank
  lines, `#` comments, quotes, extra CSV columns) parses.
- **Output fields** - tick only the fields you want for a lean export.
- **Max pages / Max PDF size** - cost controls for very large documents.

### Notes on accuracy

- Text extraction reads the PDF's own text layer, so it is exact for digitally-created PDFs. **Scanned
  image-only PDFs have no text layer** and will return little or no text (this actor does not run OCR).
- Table detection is **best-effort**: PDFs carry no standard table markup, so tables are reconstructed
  from text position. Ruled and well-aligned tables come out cleanly; free-form layouts may not.

### Use with AI assistants (MCP)

This actor is available through the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp),
so an AI assistant or agent can call it as a tool - hand it PDF links and get back structured text,
metadata and tables it can reason over (summarise a report, pull figures from a filing, index a
document set).

### Agent-ready: autonomous payments (x402 & Skyfire)

This actor is **agent-ready** - AI agents can discover it, run it, and **pay for it autonomously**, with no Apify account and no human in the loop. It uses [pay-per-event](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/publishing/monetize/pay-per-event) pricing and [limited permissions](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/permissions), so it qualifies for Apify's agentic-payment standards:

- **[x402](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/x402)** - an open, HTTP-native payment protocol. Agents pay per run in USDC on the Base network directly through the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp) - no account, no API key.
- **[Skyfire](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/skyfire)** - agent-to-service payments for fully autonomous AI-agent workflows.

Building an AI agent, MCP tool, or autonomous data pipeline? This scraper is ready to plug in and pay as it goes.

# Actor input Schema

## `pdfUrls` (type: `array`):

Direct links to PDF files, one per line. Each is downloaded and parsed. Duplicates are collapsed. <b>Leave empty and the run returns a small free sample.</b>

## `urlsFromFile` (type: `string`):

Bulk-load PDF links. Either <b>paste the whole list</b> (one URL per line), or give <b>a single link</b> to a public <code>.txt</code>/<code>.csv</code>, a Google Sheet or Drive share link, or an Apify key-value-store record. Blank lines, <code>#</code> comments, CRLF, a UTF-8 BOM, quotes and extra CSV columns all parse. A file that cannot be read says so and charges nothing.

## `extractTables` (type: `boolean`):

Also reconstruct tabular data into row/column grids from each page's text layout. Best-effort - PDF tables have no standard markup, so results are strongest on ruled/aligned tables. Off by default keeps records lean.

## `includePageText` (type: `boolean`):

Add a <code>pages\[]</code> array with each page's text separately, on top of the concatenated <code>text</code> field. Turn off for a leaner record when you only need the full text.

## `maxPagesPerPdf` (type: `integer`):

Cap how many pages to read per document. 0 = all pages. Use a small number to sample the start of very large PDFs cheaply.

## `maxPdfMb` (type: `integer`):

Skip any file larger than this. Protects a run from a single huge download. A skipped file is reported, not charged extra.

## `outputFields` (type: `array`):

Pick the fields you want and every record is trimmed to exactly those - handy for lean CSV/Sheets exports. <b>Nothing to memorise:</b> open the dropdown and tick, or start typing (<code>text</code>, <code>title</code>, <code>tables</code>) to filter.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of PDFs to process in one run (after de-duplication).

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. PDF files are usually public, so no proxy is needed by default. Enable a proxy only if a host blocks the downloader (e.g. returns 403).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "pdfUrls": [
    "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
  ],
  "extractTables": false,
  "includePageText": true,
  "maxPagesPerPdf": 0,
  "maxPdfMb": 50,
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Each scraped record - PDF documents extracted to text - as a JSON item in the default dataset.

# 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 = {
    "pdfUrls": [
        "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
    ],
    "urlsFromFile": ""
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapesage/pdf-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 = {
    "pdfUrls": ["https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"],
    "urlsFromFile": "",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapesage/pdf-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 '{
  "pdfUrls": [
    "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"
  ],
  "urlsFromFile": ""
}' |
apify call scrapesage/pdf-extractor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,scrapesage/pdf-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/nmWaFZAIFvS9YkrnF/builds/8Vv0fVDmbtZFrYVo2/openapi.json