#CLI

The npm package includes a clawpdf command for shell and agent workflows.

npm install clawpdf

#Extract Text

clawpdf report.pdf
cat report.pdf | clawpdf -

The default command is shorthand for clawpdf extract and prints extracted text to stdout. Diagnostics and errors go to stderr.

#JSON Output

clawpdf report.pdf --json
clawpdf extract report.pdf --mode both --pages 1,3-5 --json

JSON output uses a stable shape:

{
  "text": "...",
  "pagesProcessed": [1],
  "truncated": { "text": false, "images": false },
  "images": [
    {
      "page": 1,
      "width": 800,
      "height": 1000,
      "mimeType": "image/png",
      "base64": "..."
    }
  ]
}

#Render One Page

clawpdf render report.pdf --page 1 > page.png
clawpdf render report.pdf --page 1 -o page.png
clawpdf render report.pdf --page 1 --inline auto

Rendering writes PNG bytes to stdout unless -o, --output is provided. Use --inline auto|kitty|iterm|none to render the page in supported terminals instead of writing binary PNG bytes to stdout.

#Common Flags

• --mode auto|text|images|both selects extraction behavior.
• --pages 1,3-5 selects one-based pages for extraction.
• --max-pages, --max-text-chars, and --min-text-chars set extraction limits. The CLI caps extraction at 20 pages unless --max-pages is set, and rejects page lists above 100,000 pages.
• --dpi or --scale controls image size.
• --max-pixels and --max-dimension bound fallback image output.
• --forms and --no-forms control form rendering.
• --password <value> or --password-file <path> opens encrypted PDFs.
• --output-dir <dir> writes extracted fallback images as page-N.png.
• --inline auto|kitty|iterm|none renders extracted or rendered PNGs inline in supported terminals. It is not supported with --json.

#Exit Codes

• 0: success.
• 1: runtime extraction or rendering failure.
• 2: invalid usage or flags.
• 3: input could not be read or parsed as a PDF.
• 4: password is missing or incorrect.
• 5: render or extraction budget exceeded.