OpenDataLoader PDF Parser (乌贼版)

PDF parsing tool for AI/RAG. Convert PDF to Markdown, JSON, HTML with layout preservation, bounding boxes, and image extraction. Use when you need to extract content from PDF files for AI processing, RAG pipelines, or document analysis.

opendataloader-pdf Skill

PDF parsing tool for AI/RAG scenarios. Converts PDF to Markdown, JSON, HTML with layout preservation.

Installation

pipx install opendataloader-pdf

Requires Java runtime (bundled JAR is included).

Quick Usage

# PDF to Markdown (most common)
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f markdown

# PDF to JSON (with bounding boxes)
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f json

# Multiple formats at once
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f json,markdown,html

# Extract specific pages
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f markdown --pages "1,3,5-10"

# Extract images
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f markdown --image-dir images/

# Use PDF structure tree (for tagged PDFs)
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output_dir -f markdown --use-struct-tree

# Output to stdout
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -f markdown --to-stdout

Output Formats

Format	Description
json	Structured JSON with bounding boxes, fonts, reading order
markdown	Markdown text with images as references
html	HTML with styling
text	Plain text
pdf	Rebuilt PDF
markdown-with-html	Markdown with HTML for complex elements
markdown-with-images	Markdown with embedded base64 images

Key Options

Option	Description
--pages	Page range, e.g., "1,3,5-10"
--image-dir	Directory for extracted images
--use-struct-tree	Use PDF structure tree for reading order
--table-method	Table detection: default (border-based) or cluster
--reading-order	Algorithm: off or xycut (default)
--hybrid	Hybrid AI mode: docling-fast for complex tables
--sanitize	Remove sensitive data (emails, phones, etc.)
--include-header-footer	Include page headers/footers

Examples

Basic Conversion

# Convert to markdown
opendataloader-pdf document.pdf -o ./output -f markdown

# Convert to JSON with structure
opendataloader-pdf document.pdf -o ./output -f json --use-struct-tree

Batch Processing

# Multiple files
opendataloader-pdf "file1.pdf" "file2.pdf" "folder/" -o output/

# All PDFs in directory
opendataloader-pdf ./pdfs/ -o ./output/ -f markdown

Advanced Options

# Use AI hybrid mode for complex tables
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output/ -f markdown --hybrid docling-fast

# Extract only pages 1-5
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output/ -f markdown --pages "1-5"

# Sanitize sensitive data
opendataloader-pdf input.pdf -o output/ -f json --sanitize

Performance Notes

• Each convert() call spawns a JVM process
• For batch processing, pass multiple files in one call
• ~6 seconds for typical 300-page PDF
• Images extracted to {output_name}_images/ directory

Troubleshooting

Java not found

Ensure Java runtime is installed. The tool bundles its own PDFBox JAR.

Font warnings

Warnings about missing fonts are normal and don't affect output quality.

Slow performance

Use batch mode (multiple files in one call) instead of calling repeatedly.