pdftract/docs/user-docs/build/user-docs/sdk/python.html
jedarden 3e3fff08e1 fix(pdftract-1j0f8): fix clap short flag conflict in conformance subcommand
The conformance subcommand had duplicate short options (-s) for both
--suite and --sdk, causing the CLI reference generator to panic with
"Short option names must be unique".

Changed --sdk short option from -s to -k (matching the CI workflow
convention). This allows the gen-cli-reference binary to run and the
CI cli-ref-gen gate to function correctly.

Also regenerated mdBook build output including the new cli-reference.html.

Closes pdftract-1j0f8. Verification: notes/pdftract-1j0f8.md.
2026-06-08 16:06:26 -04:00

428 lines
32 KiB
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<h1 id="python-sdk"><a class="header" href="#python-sdk">Python SDK</a></h1>
<p>The Python SDK (<code>pdftract</code>) provides native Python bindings with idiomatic ergonomics including an exception hierarchy, dataclass types, and optional asyncio wrappers.</p>
<h2 id="installation"><a class="header" href="#installation">Installation</a></h2>
<pre><code class="language-bash">pip install pdftract
</code></pre>
<p>The package includes a precompiled native module for your platform. If the native module fails to import, a subprocess fallback is automatically used (with significantly degraded performance).</p>
<h2 id="basic-extraction"><a class="header" href="#basic-extraction">Basic Extraction</a></h2>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
doc = pdftract.extract("document.pdf")
print(f"Extracted {len(doc.pages)} pages")
for page in doc.pages:
for span in page.spans:
print(span.text)
</code></pre>
<h2 id="text-only-extraction"><a class="header" href="#text-only-extraction">Text-Only Extraction</a></h2>
<p>For RAG pipelines that just need the text body:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
text = pdftract.extract_text("document.pdf")
print(text)
</code></pre>
<h2 id="streaming"><a class="header" href="#streaming">Streaming</a></h2>
<p>For large PDFs, stream pages one at a time to keep memory usage bounded:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
for page in pdftract.extract_stream("large_document.pdf"):
print(f"Page {page.page_index}: {len(page.spans)} spans")
# Process page while only one page is resident in memory
</code></pre>
<h2 id="markdown-extraction"><a class="header" href="#markdown-extraction">Markdown Extraction</a></h2>
<p>Extract Markdown with optional anchor links for mapping back to PDF locations:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
# Basic Markdown
markdown = pdftract.extract_markdown("document.pdf")
# With anchor links (HTML comments)
markdown = pdftract.extract_markdown("document.pdf", anchors=True)
</code></pre>
<h2 id="options"><a class="header" href="#options">Options</a></h2>
<p>Pass extraction options as keyword arguments:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
doc = pdftract.extract(
"document.pdf",
pages="1-5,7", # Page range
password="secret123", # PDF password
receipts="lite" # Receipt generation mode
)
</code></pre>
<h3 id="available-options"><a class="header" href="#available-options">Available Options</a></h3>
<div class="table-wrapper">
<table>
<thead>
<tr><th>Option</th><th>Type</th><th>Default</th><th>Use Case</th></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td><code>pages</code></td><td><code>str | None</code></td><td><code>None</code></td><td>Page range (e.g., <code>"1-5,7,12-"</code>)</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>password</code></td><td><code>str | None</code></td><td><code>None</code></td><td>PDF password for encrypted documents</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>receipts</code></td><td><code>str | None</code></td><td><code>None</code></td><td>Receipt mode: <code>"off"</code>, <code>"lite"</code>, or <code>"full"</code></td></tr>
<tr><td><code>ocr</code></td><td><code>bool</code></td><td><code>False</code></td><td>Enable OCR for scanned documents</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>ocr_language</code></td><td><code>list[str]</code></td><td><code>["eng"]</code></td><td>OCR language codes</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>include_invisible</code></td><td><code>bool</code></td><td><code>False</code></td><td>Include invisible text in output</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>extract_forms</code></td><td><code>bool</code></td><td><code>True</code></td><td>Extract AcroForm fields</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>extract_attachments</code></td><td><code>bool</code></td><td><code>True</code></td><td>Extract embedded attachments</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>readability_threshold</code></td><td><code>float</code></td><td><code>0.0</code></td><td>Minimum readability score</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>max_decompress_gb</code></td><td><code>int</code></td><td><code>512</code></td><td>Max decompressed GB per stream</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>full_render</code></td><td><code>bool</code></td><td><code>False</code></td><td>Enable full rendering</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<h2 id="error-handling"><a class="header" href="#error-handling">Error Handling</a></h2>
<p>The SDK provides a structured exception hierarchy:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
try:
doc = pdftract.extract("encrypted.pdf", password="wrong")
except pdftract.EncryptionError as e:
print(f"Encryption error: {e.code} - {e.hint}")
except pdftract.CorruptPdfError as e:
print(f"Corrupt PDF: {e}")
except pdftract.SourceUnreachableError as e:
print(f"File not found: {e}")
except pdftract.PdftractError as e:
print(f"Extraction failed: {e}")
</code></pre>
<h3 id="exception-hierarchy"><a class="header" href="#exception-hierarchy">Exception Hierarchy</a></h3>
<p>All exceptions inherit from <code>PdftractError</code>:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>PdftractError</code> — Base exception for all extraction errors</li>
<li><code>EncryptionError</code> — PDF encryption/password errors</li>
<li><code>CorruptPdfError</code> — Malformed or corrupted PDF</li>
<li><code>SourceUnreachableError</code> — File or URL unreachable</li>
<li><code>RemoteFetchInterruptedError</code> — Network interruption during fetch</li>
<li><code>TlsError</code> — TLS/certificate errors</li>
<li><code>ReceiptVerifyError</code> — Receipt verification failed</li>
<li><code>UnsupportedOperationError</code> — Requested operation not available</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="exception-attributes"><a class="header" href="#exception-attributes">Exception Attributes</a></h3>
<p>All exceptions have the following attributes:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>code</code> — Diagnostic code (e.g., <code>"ENCRYPTION_WRONG_PASSWORD"</code>)</li>
<li><code>page_index</code> — Page number where error occurred (if applicable)</li>
<li><code>hint</code> — Suggested action for resolution</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="metadata"><a class="header" href="#metadata">Metadata</a></h2>
<p>Get document metadata without full extraction:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
metadata = pdftract.get_metadata("document.pdf")
print(f"Pages: {metadata.page_count}")
print(f"Title: {metadata.title}")
print(f"Author: {metadata.author}")
print(f"Fingerprint: {metadata.fingerprint}")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="search"><a class="header" href="#search">Search</a></h2>
<p>Search for a regex pattern in the PDF:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
for match in pdftract.search("document.pdf", r"\b\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}\b"):
print(f"Found SSN at page {match.page_index}: {match.text}")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="fingerprint"><a class="header" href="#fingerprint">Fingerprint</a></h2>
<p>Compute the structural fingerprint of a PDF:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
fingerprint = pdftract.hash("document.pdf")
print(f"Fingerprint: {fingerprint.value}")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="classify"><a class="header" href="#classify">Classify</a></h2>
<p>Classify a PDF page type:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
classification = pdftract.classify("document.pdf")
print(f"Type: {classification.class_name}")
print(f"Confidence: {classification.confidence}")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="verify-receipt"><a class="header" href="#verify-receipt">Verify Receipt</a></h2>
<p>Verify a cryptographic receipt:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
# Extract with receipts enabled
doc = pdftract.extract("document.pdf", receipts="lite")
receipt = doc.pages[0].receipt
# Verify later
verified = pdftract.verify_receipt("document.pdf", receipt)
print(f"Verified: {verified}")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="remote-pdfs"><a class="header" href="#remote-pdfs">Remote PDFs</a></h2>
<p>Extract from HTTP/HTTPS URLs:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract
doc = pdftract.extract("https://example.com/document.pdf")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="mcp-integration"><a class="header" href="#mcp-integration">MCP Integration</a></h2>
<p>For AI-assisted PDF extraction, pdftract provides an <a href="../cli/mcp.html">MCP (Model Context Protocol) server</a>. The Python SDK can be used alongside MCP clients like Claude Desktop:</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">pdftract mcp --stdio
</code></pre>
<p>See <a href="../cli/mcp.html">MCP Server Documentation</a> for setup instructions.</p>
<h2 id="types"><a class="header" href="#types">Types</a></h2>
<p>The SDK provides typed wrappers for all output structures:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">from pdftract.types import Document, Page, Span, Block, Metadata
# All extraction functions return typed objects
doc: Document = pdftract.extract("document.pdf")
page: Page = doc.pages[0]
span: Span = page.spans[0]
block: Block = page.blocks[0]
metadata: Metadata = pdftract.get_metadata("document.pdf")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="async-api"><a class="header" href="#async-api">Async API</a></h2>
<p>For asyncio-based applications, use the async API:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">import pdftract.asyncio as pdftract_async
async def extract_async():
doc = await pdftract_async.extract("document.pdf")
print(f"Extracted {len(doc.pages)} pages")
</code></pre>
<h2 id="see-also"><a class="header" href="#see-also">See Also</a></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="../cli/mcp.html">MCP Server Documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="../json-schema-reference.html">JSON Schema Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="../cli/README.html">CLI Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="../advanced/ocr.html">Advanced: OCR Configuration</a></li>
</ul>
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