PDF to Markdown - Extract Text, Tables, Formulas from PDF#

Convert PDF files to clean Markdown using MinerU Open API. No API key required.

Quick Start#

bash

# Convert a local PDF to Markdown
mineru-open-api flash-extract report.pdf

# Convert a PDF from URL (no download needed)
mineru-open-api flash-extract https://cdn-mineru.openxlab.org.cn/demo/example.pdf

# Save to file
mineru-open-api flash-extract report.pdf -o ./output/

# Convert specific pages
mineru-open-api flash-extract report.pdf --pages 1-10

Language Rule#

You MUST reply to the user in the SAME language they use. This is non-negotiable.

Capabilities#

• Extracts text, tables, and formulas from PDF
• Supports both local files and URLs directly
• Page range selection with --pages
• Language hint with --language (default: ch, use en for English)
• No API key, no signup, no authentication
• Max 10MB / 20 pages per document

When to Use#

• User asks to "read", "extract", "convert", or "parse" a PDF
• User shares a PDF file or PDF link and asks for its content
• User wants to summarize or analyze a PDF document
• User needs PDF content in Markdown format

CLI Reference#

Run mineru-open-api flash-extract --help for all available options.

Data Flow#

flash-extract sends the document to the MinerU API (mineru.net) for processing and returns Markdown. This is a stateless API call — no account, no persistent storage. MinerU is an open-source project by OpenDataLab (Shanghai AI Lab): https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU

Notes#

• Output is Markdown only; images/tables/formulas may be replaced with placeholders
• For larger files (up to 200MB/600 pages) or precision extraction with full assets, use mineru-open-api extract (requires auth via mineru-open-api auth)
• If the CLI cannot be installed via npm/uv/go, download it from https://mineru.net/ecosystem?tab=cli