@cedrugs/pdf-parse

Pure JavaScript, cross-platform PDF text & metadata extraction.
A maintained fork of pdf-parse with bundled TypeScript types, ESM-friendly default export, and Node 18+ support.

!node

---

Why this fork?

- Types included — ships index.d.ts (no need for @types/pdf-parse).
- ESM & CJS friendly — default import works out of the box.
- Same API as upstream for drop-in replacement.
- Node 18+ minimum for modern runtimes.

> If you want to keep your existing import pdf from "pdf-parse" usage, see the Install (alias) section.

---

Installation

$3

``bash
npm i @cedrugs/pdf-parse

or

pnpm add @cedrugs/pdf-parse

or

yarn add @cedrugs/pdf-parse
``

$3

`bash
npm i pdf-parse@npm:@cedrugs/pdf-parse
`

Now import pdf from "pdf-parse" continues to work, but resolves to this fork.

---

Basic Usage — Local Files

$3

`js
const fs = require('fs');
const pdf = require('@cedrugs/pdf-parse'); // or 'pdf-parse' if using the alias

const dataBuffer = fs.readFileSync('path/to/file.pdf');

pdf(dataBuffer).then((data) => {
// number of pages
console.log(data.numpages);
// number of rendered pages
console.log(data.numrender);
// PDF info
console.log(data.info);
// PDF metadata
console.log(data.metadata);
// PDF.js version
// see https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/getting_started/
console.log(data.version);
// PDF text
console.log(data.text);
});
`

$3

`ts
import pdf from '@cedrugs/pdf-parse'; // default export supported
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

const buf = readFileSync('path/to/file.pdf');
const data = await pdf(buf);

console.log(data.text);
`

---

Basic Usage — HTTP

You can use packages like crawler-request which integrate with pdf-parse.

---

Exception Handling

`js
const fs = require('fs');
const pdf = require('@cedrugs/pdf-parse');

const buf = fs.readFileSync('path/to/file.pdf');

pdf(buf)
.then((data) => {
// use data
})
.catch((err) => {
// handle exceptions
console.error(err);
});
`

---

TypeScript

This fork bundles its own .d.ts. No external @types/pdf-parse needed.

`ts
import pdf from '@cedrugs/pdf-parse';

const res = await pdf(Buffer.from('...'));
res.text; // string
res.numpages; // number
res.version; // "default" | "v1.9.426" | "v1.10.100" | "v1.10.88" | "v2.0.550"
`

---

Options

`js
const DEFAULT_OPTIONS = {
// internal page parser callback
// set this if you need a custom output format instead of raw text
pagerender: render_page,

// max page number to parse (<= 0 means “all pages”)
max: 0,

// see https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/getting_started/
version: 'v1.10.100'
};
`

$3

Customize how each page is rendered/extracted if you need structured output beyond plain text.

$3

Maximum number of pages to parse. Use 0 or a negative value to parse all pages.

$3

* 'default'
* 'v1.9.426'
* 'v1.10.100'
* 'v1.10.88'
* 'v2.0.550'

> Default version is v1.10.100. See the pdf.js getting started guide.

---

Extend — Custom pagerender

`js
function render_page(pageData) {
// see https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/
const render_options = {
// replace all whitespace with standard spaces (0x20)
normalizeWhitespace: false,
// do not attempt to combine cedrugse-line TextItems
disableCombineTextItems: false
};

return pageData.getTextContent(render_options).then((textContent) => {
let lastY;
let text = '';
for (const item of textContent.items) {
if (lastY === item.transform[5] || !lastY) {
text += item.str;
} else {
text += '\n' + item.str;
}
lastY = item.transform[5];
}
return text;
});
}

const options = { pagerender: render_page };
const dataBuffer = require('fs').readFileSync('path/to/file.pdf');

require('@cedrugs/pdf-parse')(dataBuffer, options).then((data) => {
// use custom-formatted output
});
`

---

Similar Packages

* pdf2json
* j-pdfjson
* pdf-parser
* pdfreader
* pdf-extract

(Different trade-offs: dependencies, maintenance, platform support, and output formats.)

---

Tests

* npm test (runs mocha)
* See the test directory in upstream for usage ideas; contributions adding tests here are welcome.

---

Support / Issues

* Issues: open on GitHub → https://github.com/Cedrugs/pdf-parse/issues
* Discussions/PRs: welcome!

---

License

MIT

$3

This project builds on the excellent work of the original pdf-parse` and the PDF.js team.