How to Use OpenDataLoader PDF: Python Quick Start Guide for PDF Extraction

Jun 4, 2026

Purpose

This post demonstrates how to install OpenDataLoader PDF and use its Python SDK for batch PDF extraction. You will get clean Markdown and structured JSON data from your PDFs in about 30 seconds.

Prerequisites

Java 11+: Check with java -version. Install from Adoptium if needed.
Python 3.10+: Check with python --version.

Installation

pip install -U opendataloader-pdf

For hybrid mode features (OCR, complex tables, formulas):

pip install "opendataloader-pdf[hybrid]"

Basic Usage

The primary API is opendataloader_pdf.convert(). Pass a list of input paths (files and directories), an output directory, and a format string.

import opendataloader_pdf

opendataloader_pdf.convert(
    input_path=["report.pdf", "invoice.pdf", "documents/"],
    output_dir="output/",
    format="markdown,json"
)

Performance Tip

Each convert() call spawns a JVM process. Calling it per-file is slow. Always batch all files into a single call.

opendataloader-pdf report.pdf invoice.pdf documents/ -o output/ --format markdown,json

Advanced Options

opendataloader_pdf.convert(
    input_path=["paper.pdf"],
    output_dir="output/",
    format="json,markdown",
    reading_order="xycut",
    image_output="embedded",
    quiet=True,
)

Output Formats

Format	Use Case
JSON	Structured data with bounding boxes
Markdown	Clean text for LLM context
HTML	Web display
Text	Plain text
Annotated PDF	Visual debugging
Tagged PDF	Accessibility (screen readers)

Summary

In this post, I showed how to install OpenDataLoader PDF and run your first extraction. The key point is to batch all files in a single convert() call to avoid repeated JVM startup overhead.

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

👨‍💻 OpenDataLoader PDF Python SDK
👨‍💻 OpenDataLoader PDF GitHub Repository

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!