PDF Text Extractor: Markdown & Metadata | $1.00 per 1,000 PDFs

Extract the text of PDF files page by page, as plain text or as Markdown with headings, bold, lists and paragraphs, ready for LLM and search pipelines. Each PDF also gives its page count, title, author, dates and other metadata. Links or uploads.

What it does

Extract the text of a PDF page by page as plain text or Markdown, with page selection, an optional layout-preserving mode and the document metadata. It runs in seconds, needs no login and no API key of your own, and can process up to 1000 items in one run (batch mode).

Examples:

• All pages of a two-page PDF
• Page 2 only, layout mode
• All pages as Markdown

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
file_url	string	no	Public http(s) URL of the file. The PDF: base64 string (or data: URI) or {"url": "https://..."}. Up to 10 MB.
file_urls	array	no	Many files in one run: one public http(s) URL per line, up to 1000. Each file is processed on its own with the options below and gives its own row.
file_text	string	no	The file content pasted as text. Use this or file_url.
file_base64	string	no	The file content as base64 (or a data: URI). Use this or file_url.
pages	string	no	Pages to extract, e.g. '1-3,7' or '5-' (default: all pages).
layout	boolean	no	Preserve the visual layout (columns, spacing) instead of reading order.
format	select	no	text: the plain text of each page. markdown: headings, bold and italic, lists and paragraphs as Markdown, page headers and footers that repeat on most pages left out (layout does not apply). Allowed: text, markdown.
items	array	no	Optional. A list of input objects with the same fields as above; every object is processed in its own right and the top-level fields act as shared defaults. Leave empty to process the single input above (up to 1000 items per run).

Example input:

{
  "file_urls": [
    "https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf"
  ],
  "format": "markdown"
}

Output

Each processed item adds one row to the dataset with the result fields ({page_count, pages: [{n, text}] (Markdown: [{n, markdown}]), chars, metadata: {title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, created, modified}}; meta.note when the PDF has no text layer.), plus credits and ms. A failed item adds a row with error and status instead; the run fails only when every item failed.

Limits

• Up to 30 seconds per item.
• Input size up to 10,000,000 bytes per item.
• URLs must be public http(s) addresses; private and local addresses are refused, robots.txt is respected where pages are fetched.
• No logins, no captcha solving, no personal-data lookups.
• Each run sends one short usage record to the developer: the Actor and run IDs, the number of results, whether the run succeeded (and if not, the kind of error, such as "blocked" or "input problem"), whether the account is on a paid Apify plan, how the run was started (for example from the Console, the API or a schedule) and a one-way fingerprint of the account (a hash, not the account ID), so that repeat runs of one account count once. It contains nothing from your input or results.

Pricing

You pay per successfully processed item (the current price is on the Pricing tab). A failed item is not charged.

Run it through the API

Python, with the apify-client package:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("v0iddo/mint-pdf-text-extractor").call(run_input={"file_urls": ["https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf"], "format": "markdown"})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript, with the apify-client package:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('v0iddo/mint-pdf-text-extractor').call({"file_urls": ["https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf"], "format": "markdown"});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

One HTTP call that waits for the run and returns the rows (for runs that finish within 5 minutes):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/v0iddo~mint-pdf-text-extractor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file_urls": ["https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf"], "format": "markdown"}'

Use it from an agent (MCP)

Claude, Cursor, VS Code and other MCP clients can call this actor as a tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to the client's MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=v0iddo/mint-pdf-text-extractor",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Do I need an account or an API key?

No key of your own. You only need an Apify account to start the actor.

How many items can one run process?

One item from the fields above, or up to 1,000 in items (batch mode) or one per URL in file_urls. Each item becomes one row in the dataset.

How am I charged?

Per successfully processed item, at the price on the Pricing tab for your Apify plan. A failed item is not charged, the platform usage of the run is included, and your spending limit for a run is always respected.

Where are the results?

In the run's dataset: export it as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML from the Output tab, or read it through the API.

Can I run it on a schedule or from another tool?

Yes. Save the input as a task and schedule it in the Apify Console, or start it from Make, Zapier, n8n, a webhook or the API calls above.

Something is missing or wrong. Where do I report it?

Open an issue on the Issues tab of this actor with the run link, or write to data@voiddo.com.

Other ways to use it

The same engine is also available as an API at https://data.voiddo.com and as browser tools at https://utils.voiddo.com.

Support

Questions or a case that does not work: data@voiddo.com. We answer within one business day.