CamScanner PDF to Markdown#

Overview#

CamScanner provides a high-precision document parsing engine that converts PDF documents to Markdown format. It intelligently decomposes document paragraphs, precisely recognizes tables and multiple element types, and outputs structured results in reading order — empowering large language models to accurately understand document content. The workflow is a 3-step pipeline: upload the PDF, convert it, then download the result.

When to Use#

• User wants to convert a PDF to Markdown
• User wants to extract text/content from a PDF as Markdown
• User has a PDF and needs it as Markdown for further editing or processing

Privacy & Data#

Important: Privacy & Data Flow Notice

• Third-party service: This skill sends your files to CamScanner's official servers ( ai-tools.camscanner.com) for processing.
• Data retention: CamScanner servers process your files in real-time. Files are not permanently stored on the server.
• Local files: Output files are saved to your local filesystem at the path you specify.

API Reference#

Base URL: https://ai-tools.camscanner.com

Supported Conversions#

source_typetarget_typeOutputpdfmd.md

Step 1: Upload PDF#

bash

BASE="https://ai-tools.camscanner.com"

IN_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/upload_file/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary "@/path/to/document.pdf" | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

Response:

json

{
  "code": 200,
  "tool": "upload_file",
  "tool_result": {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "file_id": "file_1741857600_ab12cd34ef56",
      "size": 24576
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Convert PDF to Markdown#

bash

OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/convert_pdf/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"pdf\",\"target_type\":\"md\",\"output_mode\":\"file_id\"}" \
  | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

Response:

json

{
  "code": 200,
  "tool": "convert_pdf",
  "tool_result": {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "file_id": "file_1741857701_9988aabbccdd",
      "target_type": "md"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Download Result#

bash

curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/download_file/execute?response_mode=raw" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$OUT_FILE_ID\"}" \
  -o /path/to/output.md

Critical: The response_mode=raw query parameter is required to get the binary file. Without it, the response is JSON.

Quick Reference: Complete Pipeline#

bash

BASE="https://ai-tools.camscanner.com"
INPUT_PDF="/path/to/document.pdf"
OUTPUT_FILE="/path/to/output.md"

# Upload
IN_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/upload_file/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary "@$INPUT_PDF" | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

# Convert
OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/convert_pdf/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"pdf\",\"target_type\":\"md\",\"output_mode\":\"file_id\"}" \
  | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

# Download
curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/download_file/execute?response_mode=raw" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$OUT_FILE_ID\"}" \
  -o "$OUTPUT_FILE"

Common Mistakes#

MistakeFixForgetting response_mode=raw on downloadAlways append ?response_mode=raw to the download URLWrong Content-Type on uploadUpload uses application/octet-stream, not multipart/form-dataUsing GET instead of POSTAll three endpoints use POSTMissing source_type in convert requestAlways include "source_type": "pdf"Missing output_mode in convert requestAlways include "output_mode": "file_id" to get a downloadable file_id

Error Handling#

Check each step before proceeding:

bash

# After upload
if [ -z "$IN_FILE_ID" ] || [ "$IN_FILE_ID" = "null" ]; then
  echo "Upload failed"; exit 1
fi

# After convert
if [ -z "$OUT_FILE_ID" ] || [ "$OUT_FILE_ID" = "null" ]; then
  echo "Conversion failed"; exit 1
fi