PDF to HTML API

About the PDF to HTML API

Conversion uses pdf2htmlEX, which places every line of text where it sits in the PDF using the PDF's own fonts, converted to web fonts and embedded in the file, and draws images and vector graphics as a background layer. The HTML needs no other files, so it can be stored, emailed or shown in an iframe as it is.

Paid plans convert up to 10 pages per call and the Free plan 2; pageCount gives the length of the document and nextPage the page to send next. textOnly leaves out the background layer for smaller files that keep just the positioned text. HTML up to 512 KB is returned in the response; every result is also stored behind a download link valid for 2 days.

How it works

Pages are converted by pdf2htmlEX 0.18.8, which uses Poppler to read the PDF. Every text run becomes an absolutely positioned element in the PDF's own font: embedded fonts are extracted, re-encoded so their characters map to Unicode, and inlined as WOFF web fonts, and fonts the PDF only names are matched to metric-compatible system fonts. Everything that is not text (images, vector paths, shading) is rendered into one PNG background image per page. CSS, fonts and images are all embedded, so the output is a single HTML file with no external references; pages are div elements with ids pf1, pf2 and so on, numbered by their position in the PDF.

pages takes one page (3), a closed range (2-7) or an open range (5-, to the end); the default is the whole document from page 1. Each call converts at most 10 pages from the start of the range (2 on the Free plan); nextPage is the first page left in the requested range, or null, so a loop that sends pages=<nextPage>- walks the document. Page numbers past the end return 400 with the page count. The PDF is checked with Poppler's pdfinfo first: an encrypted file without password returns 400 "password-protected", a wrong password 400 "not correct". Copy-restriction flags are not enforced.

textOnly turns off the background layer, so only positioned text remains; it is much smaller and suits indexing. HTML up to 512 KB is returned in html and inline is true; larger output has html null and is read from downloadURL, a signed link valid for two days (expires, Unix milliseconds). A conversion has 22 seconds; image-heavy pages that take longer return 504, and a call whose HTML would pass 30 MB returns 413, so convert fewer pages or use textOnly. Scanned PDFs without a text layer come out as background images only.

What people use it for

Documents in the Browser

Show invoices, statements and reports inside your web app as HTML instead of sending users a PDF download.

Searchable Archives

Turn PDF archives into HTML pages that search engines and site search can index, with the original look intact.

Email and CMS Publishing

Publish brochures, menus and newsletters made as PDFs on a website or in a CMS without retyping them.

Accessibility Workflows

Get selectable, copyable text in its original position as a starting point for accessible versions of PDF documents.

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON

Default REST response

XML

Markup format

YAML

Human-readable

CSV

Tabular export

Beta

GraphQL

Query language

New

MCP

For AI agents

Request parameters — POST /v1/pdftohtml

Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Optional

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curl -X POST "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/pdftohtml" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F "pages=1-" \
  -F "textOnly=false"

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Response — POST /v1/pdftohtml

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "htmlName": "7c1e4b9a-2f3d-4e8a-9b6c-5d0a1f2e3c4b.html",
    "pageCount": 14,
    "firstPage": 1,
    "lastPage": 10,
    "pagesConverted": 10,
    "nextPage": 11,
    "textOnly": false,
    "encrypted": false,
    "size": 1873402,
    "inline": false,
    "html": null,
    "expires": 1792400000000,
    "downloadURL": "https://storage.googleapis.com/apiverve/APIData/pdftohtml/7c1e4b9a-2f3d-4e8a-9b6c-5d0a1f2e3c4b.html?GoogleAccessId=635500398038-compute%40developer.gserviceaccount.com&Expires=1792400000&Signature=SAMPLE"
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

What a call costs — 20 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend

Drop an interactive PDF to HTML form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.

Changelog — PDF to HTML API

Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.

Currently v1