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https://github.com/unjs/unpdf

📄 Utilities to work with PDFs in Node.js, browser and workers
https://github.com/unjs/unpdf

pdf pdfjs serverless

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📄 Utilities to work with PDFs in Node.js, browser and workers

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# unpdf



A collection of utilities to work with PDFs. Designed specifically for Deno, workers and other nodeless environments.



`unpdf` ships with a serverless build/redistribution of Mozilla's [PDF.js](https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js) for serverless environments. Apart from some string replacements and mocks, [`unenv`](https://github.com/unjs/unenv) does the heavy lifting by converting Node.js specific code to be platform-agnostic. See [`pdfjs.rollup.config.ts`](./pdfjs.rollup.config.ts) for all the details.



This library is also intended as a modern alternative to the unmaintained but still popular [`pdf-parse`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/pdf-parse).



## Features



- 🏗️ Works in Node.js, browser and workers

- 🪭 Includes serverless build of PDF.js ([`unpdf/pdfjs`](./package.json#L34))

- 💬 Extract text and images from PDFs

- 🧱 Opt-in to legacy PDF.js build

- 💨 Zero dependencies



## PDF.js Compatibility



The serverless build of PDF.js provided by `unpdf` is based on PDF.js v4.6.82. If you need a different version, you can [use another PDF.js build](#use-official-or-legacy-pdfjs-build).



## Installation



Run the following command to add `unpdf` to your project.



```bash

# pnpm

pnpm add unpdf



# npm

npm install unpdf



# yarn

yarn add unpdf

```



## Usage



### Extract Text From PDF



```ts

import { extractText, getDocumentProxy } from 'unpdf'



// Fetch a PDF file from the web

const buffer = await fetch(

  'https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf',

).then(res => res.arrayBuffer())



// Or load it from the filesystem

const buffer = await readFile('./dummy.pdf')



// Load PDF from buffer

const pdf = await getDocumentProxy(new Uint8Array(buffer))

// Extract text from PDF

const { totalPages, text } = await extractText(pdf, { mergePages: true })



console.log(`Total pages: ${totalPages}`)

console.log(text)

```



### Access the PDF.js API



This will return the resolved PDF.js module and gives full access to the PDF.js API, like:



- `getDocument`

- `version`

- … and all other methods



Especially useful for platforms like 🦕 Deno or if you want to use the PDF.js API directly. If no custom build was defined beforehand, the serverless build bundled with `unpdf` will be initialized.



```ts

import { getResolvedPDFJS } from 'unpdf'



const { getDocument } = await getResolvedPDFJS()

const data = Deno.readFileSync('dummy.pdf')

const doc = await getDocument(data).promise



console.log(await doc.getMetadata())



for (let i = 1; i <= doc.numPages; i++) {

  const page = await doc.getPage(i)

  const textContent = await page.getTextContent()

  const contents = textContent.items.map(item => item.str).join(' ')

  console.log(contents)

}

```



### Use Official or Legacy PDF.js Build



Generally speaking, you don't need to worry about the PDF.js build. `unpdf` ships with a serverless build of the latest PDF.js version. However, if you want to use the official PDF.js version or the legacy build, you can define a custom PDF.js module.



> [!WARNING]

> The latest PDF.js v4.6.82 uses `Promise.withResolvers`, which may not be supported in all environments, such as Node < 22. Consider to use the bundled serverless build, which includes a polyfill, or use an older version of PDF.js.



```ts

// Before using any other method, define the PDF.js module

// if you need another PDF.js build

import { configureUnPDF } from 'unpdf'



await configureUnPDF({

  // Use the official PDF.js build (make sure to install it first)

  pdfjs: () => import('pdfjs-dist'),

})



// Now, you can use the other methods

// …

```



## Config



```ts

interface UnPDFConfiguration {

  /**

   * By default, UnPDF will use the latest version of PDF.js compiled for

   * serverless environments. If you want to use a different version, you can

   * provide a custom resolver function.

   *

   * @example

   * // Use the official PDF.js build (make sure to install it first)

   * () => import('pdfjs-dist')

   */

  pdfjs?: () => Promise

}

```



## Methods



### `configureUnPDF`



Define a custom PDF.js module, like the legacy build. Make sure to call this method before using any other methods.



```ts

function configureUnPDF(config: UnPDFConfiguration): Promise

```



### `getResolvedPDFJS`



Returns the resolved PDF.js module. If no build is defined, the latest version will be initialized.



```ts

function getResolvedPDFJS(): Promise

```



### `getMeta`



```ts

function getMeta(

  data: DocumentInitParameters['data'] | PDFDocumentProxy,

): Promise<{

  info: Record

  metadata: Record

}>

```



### `extractText`



Extracts all text from a PDF. If `mergePages` is set to `true`, the text of all pages will be merged into a single string. Otherwise, an array of strings for each page will be returned.



```ts

function extractText(

  data: DocumentInitParameters['data'] | PDFDocumentProxy,

  { mergePages }?: { mergePages?: boolean },

): Promise<{

  totalPages: number

  text: string | string[]

}>

```



### `renderPageAsImage`



> [!NOTE]

> This method will only work in Node.js and browser environments.



To render a PDF page as an image, you can use the `renderPageAsImage` method. This method will return an `ArrayBuffer` of the rendered image.



In order to use this method, you have to meet the following requirements:



- Use the official PDF.js build

- Install the [`canvas`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/canvas) package in Node.js environments



**Example**



```ts

import { configureUnPDF, renderPageAsImage } from 'unpdf'



await configureUnPDF({

  // Use the official PDF.js build

  pdfjs: () => import('pdfjs-dist'),

})



const pdf = await readFile('./dummy.pdf')

const buffer = new Uint8Array(pdf)

const pageNumber = 1



const result = await renderPageAsImage(buffer, pageNumber, {

  canvas: () => import('canvas'),

})

await writeFile('dummy-page-1.png', result)

```



**Type Declaration**



```ts

declare function renderPageAsImage(

  data: DocumentInitParameters['data'],

  pageNumber: number,

  options?: {

    canvas?: () => Promise

    /** @default 1 */

    scale?: number

    width?: number

    height?: number

  },

): Promise

```



## FAQ



### Why Is `canvas` An Optional Dependency?



The official PDF.js library depends on the `canvas` module for Node.js environments, which [doesn't work inside worker threads](https://github.com/Automattic/node-canvas/issues/1394). That's why `unpdf` ships with a serverless build of PDF.js that mocks the `canvas` module.



However, to render PDF pages as images in Node.js environments, you need to install the `canvas` module. That's why it is a peer dependency.



## License



[MIT](./LICENSE) License © 2023-PRESENT [Johann Schopplich](https://github.com/johannschopplich)