Extract text from PDFs when read_file fails or returns unreadable data. Use dedicated command-line tools or Python libraries to retrieve text and tables, preserve spacing where possible, inspect document properties, and validate the extracted content.
Extract PDF text content using shell tools or Python libraries when read_file PDF handler fails
Review the instructions the agent will receive before you install.
The read_file tool with filetype='pdf' can be unreliable for PDF text extraction. It may:
Use run_shell with dedicated PDF extraction tools instead of relying on read_file for PDFs.
pdftotext input.pdf output.txt
Or to extract to stdout:
pdftotext input.pdf -
With layout preservation:
pdftotext -layout input.pdf output.txt
pdfinfo input.pdf
Useful for checking page count, dimensions, and PDF properties before extraction.
import fitz # PyMuPDF
doc = fitz.open("input.pdf")
text = ""
for page in doc:
text += page.get_text()
doc.close()
import pdfplumber
with pdfplumber.open("input.pdf") as pdf:
for page in pdf.pages:
text = page.extract_text()
tables = page.extract_tables()
Check PDF exists and is readable:
pdfinfo input.pdf 2>/dev/null || echo "PDF not accessible"
Extract text using pdftotext:
pdftotext -layout input.pdf - > extracted_text.txt
If pdftotext fails, try Python fallback:
import fitz
doc = fitz.open("input.pdf")
for i, page in enumerate(doc):
print(f"--- Page {i+1} ---")
print(page.get_text())
doc.close()
Verify extraction succeeded:
| Tool | Best For |
|---|---|
pdftotext | Fast, simple text extraction |
pdftotext -layout | Preserving spacing/formatting |
PyMuPDF | Complex PDFs, programmatic access |
pdfplumber | Tables and structured data |
# In your agent workflow, prefer this pattern:
result = run_shell(command="pdftotext document.pdf -", timeout=30)
if result.stdout and len(result.stdout.strip()) > 0:
content = result.stdout
else:
# Fallback to Python
content = execute_python_to_extract_pdf("document.pdf")
apt-get install poppler-utils (for pdftotext/pdfinfo)pip install pymupdf pdfplumberNo reviews yet. Tell others what you thought.
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