API Documentation

Quickstart

Convert a PDF in one command. No signup.

$ curl -X POST https://pdftomarkdown.dev/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer demo_public_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input":{"pdf_url":"https://pdftomarkdown.dev/samples/invoice.pdf"}}'

The demo key demo_public_key works instantly. Multi-page PDFs are accepted, but the Hacker tier only processes page 1 and is limited to 3 req/min.

Have Node installed? The CLI converts local files, URLs, or stdin — no install, no signup:

$ npx pdftomarkdown document.pdf > document.md

Set PDFTOMARKDOWN_API_KEY to use your own key. Run npx pdftomarkdown --help for all options, or read the CLI guide.

Using Claude Code? Install the official plugin with /plugin marketplace add ThiloReintjes/pdftomarkdown-skill and Claude reads PDFs on its own.

Processing time: OCR runs on GPUs and takes roughly 10–30 seconds per page (a little longer on the first request after idle, while a worker spins up). For multi-page documents, set your HTTP client timeout to at least 10 minutes — many clients default to 30–120 seconds and give up while the conversion is still running.

Review privacy, security, and data retention before sending sensitive documents.

Language guides

Use plain HTTP from any stack. These focused guides are easier to share with implementation teams.

Tiers

Both are free. Pick the one that fits.

Tier 1 — Hacker

Public demo key, rate-limited to 3 req/min per IP. If you send a multi-page PDF, only page 1 is processed.

curl

$ curl -X POST https://pdftomarkdown.dev/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer demo_public_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input":{"pdf_url":"https://pdftomarkdown.dev/samples/invoice.pdf"}}'

{
  "markdown": "# Invoice\n\nDate: 2024-01-15\n...",
  "pages": 1,
  "request_id": "req_abc123"
}

Tier 1 responses append a watermark: > Processed by pdfToMarkdown.dev

Successful Hacker-tier responses also include X-PdfToMarkdown-Page-Cap: 1 so you can detect the enforced page cap.

Python

import requests

# Public demo key — no signup
r = requests.post(
    "https://pdftomarkdown.dev/v1/convert",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer demo_public_key"},
    json={"input": {"pdf_url": "https://pdftomarkdown.dev/samples/invoice.pdf"}},
)
print(r.json()["markdown"])

Tier 2 — Developer

Sign in with GitHub for a personal key. 100 pages/month, no watermark, multi-page PDFs.

curl

$ curl -X POST https://pdftomarkdown.dev/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input":{"pdf_url":"https://pdftomarkdown.dev/samples/invoice.pdf"}}'

{
  "markdown": "# Invoice\n\nDate: 2024-01-15\nInvoice #: INV-2024-0042\n\n| Item | Qty | Price |\n|---|---|---|\n| API Pro Plan | 1 | $49.00 |\n\n**Total: $49.00**",
  "pages": 3,
  "request_id": "req_def456"
}

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from GitHub login.

Python

import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://pdftomarkdown.dev/v1/convert",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={"input": {"pdf_url": "https://pdftomarkdown.dev/samples/invoice.pdf"}},
)
result = r.json()
print(result["markdown"])
print(f"Processed {result['pages']} pages")

API Reference

Errors

Error responses always include error, message, and request_id. Any 429 also includes retry_after_seconds and the same value in the Retry-After header.

{
  "error": "unprocessable_document",
  "message": "The file could not be parsed as a PDF. Only PDF documents are supported.",
  "request_id": "req_pdf321"
}

{
  "error": "missing_api_key",
  "message": "Send an Authorization: Bearer <api_key> header. Get a free key in 30 seconds at https://pdftomarkdown.dev/auth/github.",
  "request_id": "req_auth789"
}

{
  "error": "rate_limited",
  "message": "Free Hacker-tier limit reached (3 requests per minute per IP). Retry shortly, or get a free API key with higher limits at https://pdftomarkdown.dev/auth/github.",
  "request_id": "req_rate123",
  "retry_after_seconds": 42
}

{
  "error": "quota_exceeded",
  "message": "Your monthly page quota is exhausted; it resets at the start of next month (see reset_at).",
  "request_id": "req_quota456",
  "retry_after_seconds": 2678400,
  "reset_at": "2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}