# PDF Text Extractor with OCR (Scanned PDFs) (`tidyfold/pdf-text-ocr`) Actor Extract text from any PDF, including scanned pages (built-in OCR, 7 languages). Per-page text, word counts and optional chunks for AI/RAG. Pay per page. - **URL**: https://apify.com/tidyfold/pdf-text-ocr.md - **Developed by:** [Tidyfold Tools](https://apify.com/tidyfold) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 text page extracteds 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 ## PDF Text Extractor with OCR (Scanned PDFs) Extracts text from any PDF, page by page. Digital pages are read straight from the text layer (fast and cheap); scanned or image-only pages are automatically run through Tesseract OCR. Output is one row per page with the text and word count, plus optional fixed-size chunks ready for embeddings and RAG pipelines. ### Features - OCR modes: *auto* (only where needed), *always*, or *never* - OCR languages: English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German - Page ranges like `1-5,9` - Optional text chunks (set a chunk size in characters) for LLM / vector-database ingestion - Bulk PDF URLs, files up to 50 MB ### Use cases Feeding PDFs to AI and RAG systems, searching scanned archives, extracting contracts, letters and old reports, preparing documents for translation. ### Input example ```json { "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf" ], "pages": "1" } ``` ### Output example ```json { "pdfUrl": "https://example.com/scan.pdf", "page": 1, "pageCount": 1, "method": "ocr", "words": 49, "text": "Invoice number: 2026-0457\nInvoice date: 03/10/2026 ...", "status": "ok" } ``` ### Pricing Pay per event, so you pay only for results. - **$0.001 per text page** (digital pages read from the text layer) - **$0.004 per OCR page** (scanned or image-only pages) In *auto* mode OCR only runs on pages that need it, so you pay the cheaper rate wherever possible. PDFs that fail to download are not charged. There is also Apify's standard run-start fee of $0.00005 per GB of run memory (a fraction of a cent per run). The exact prices are always shown on the **Pricing** tab. You can cap any run with the *Maximum cost per run* setting. ### Use it from code or no-code tools Every run can be started from the Apify API, the Apify Python/JS clients, or connected to n8n, Make, Zapier and Google Sheets through Apify integrations. Results download as JSON, CSV, Excel or XML. ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient("") run = client.actor("tidyfold/pdf-text-ocr").call(run_input={'pdfUrls': ['https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf'], 'pages': '1'}) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) ``` ### Support Found a bug or need a field added? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. Tidyfold maintains these tools daily and usually replies within 1 business day. # Actor input Schema ## `pdfUrls` (type: `array`): Direct links to PDF files (digital or scanned). ## `pages` (type: `string`): Optional, e.g. '1-5,9'. Empty = all (max 300). ## `ocr` (type: `string`): auto = OCR only pages without a text layer. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language of scanned text. ## `chunkSize` (type: `integer`): 0 = no chunks. Otherwise adds overlapping text chunks for RAG/embeddings. ## Actor input object example ```json { "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf" ], "pages": "1", "ocr": "auto", "language": "eng", "chunkSize": 0 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): Pages returned by the run (one item per row). # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf" ], "pages": "1" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("tidyfold/pdf-text-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "pdfUrls": ["https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf"], "pages": "1", } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("tidyfold/pdf-text-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 '{ "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf" ], "pages": "1" }' | apify call tidyfold/pdf-text-ocr --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,tidyfold/pdf-text-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 ` 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/EC7PZSwDEpmqERgZc/builds/u3YEI7UkOb61JSbeN/openapi.json