PDF Text Extraction API

Overview

This project provides a REST API to extract structured text from PDF files, including:

Text Content
Font Size
Font Color (HEX)
Bold & Italic Styles
Text Position (X, Y, Width, Height)
Page Dimensions

The API processes PDFs using Node.js (Express.js) and calls a Python script (pdfminer.six) to extract detailed font information.

Installation & Setup

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/EL-Mehdiri/PDF-Text-Extraction-API.git
cd pdf-extractor-api

2️⃣ Install Node.js Dependencies

npm install

3️⃣ Set Up Python Environment

Ensure you have Python 3 installed. Then create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

python3 -m venv venv  # Create virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate  # Activate (Linux/macOS)
venv\Scripts\activate  # Activate (Windows)
pip install -r requirements.txt  # Install dependencies

4️⃣ Start the API Server

node src/app.js

API Usage

Upload a PDF for Extraction

Endpoint: POST /api/pdf/upload

Example Request (cURL)

curl -X POST -F "pdfFile=@sample.pdf" http://localhost:5100/api/pdf/upload

Example Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "0": {
      "height": 841.89,
      "width": 595.276,
      "data": {
        "1": {
          "text": "Retirement Plan",
          "left": 50,
          "top": 700,
          "end_left": 250,
          "end_top": 730,
          "font_size": 14,
          "font_color": "#000000",
          "is_bold": true,
          "is_italic": false
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Project Structure

pdf-extractor-api/
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── pdfController.js
│   ├── services/
│   │   ├── pdfService.js
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── pdfRoutes.js
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   ├── multerMiddleware.js
│   ├── scripts/
│   │   ├── extractPdf.py
│   ├── app.js
├── uploads/
├── package.json
├── requirements.txt
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

PORT=5100

Deployment

Run with Nodemon (for Development)

npm install -g nodemon
nodemon src/app.js

Run as a Production Service

node src/app.js &

Troubleshooting

Error: Cannot find module 'dotenv'

npm install dotenv

Error: Python script not found Ensure extractPdf.py is in src/scripts/ and requirements.txt is installed.

pip install -r requirements.txt

Error: Module 'pdfminer.six' not found

pip install pdfminer.six

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.