Extract PDF Text

When to Use

Agent needs to extract text from PDFs. Use PyMuPDF (fitz) for fast local extraction. Works with text-based documents, scanned pages with OCR, forms, and complex layouts.

Quick Reference

Core Rules

1. Install PyMuPDF First

pip install PyMuPDF

Import as fitz (historical name):

import fitz  # PyMuPDF

2. Basic Text Extraction

import fitz

doc = fitz.open("document.pdf")
text = ""
for page in doc:
    text += page.get_text()
doc.close()

3. Pick the Right Method

4. Check for Text Before OCR

def needs_ocr(page):
    text = page.get_text().strip()
    return len(text) < 50  # Likely scanned if very little text

5. Handle Errors Gracefully

try:
    doc = fitz.open(path)
except fitz.FileDataError:
    print("Invalid or corrupted PDF")
except fitz.PasswordError:
    doc = fitz.open(path, password="secret")

Extraction Traps

Scope

This skill provides instructions for using PyMuPDF to extract PDF text.

This skill ONLY:

• Gives code examples for PyMuPDF
• Explains OCR setup when needed
• Troubleshoots common issues

This skill NEVER:

• Accesses files without user request
• Sends data externally
• Modifies original PDFs

Security & Privacy

All processing is local:

• PyMuPDF runs entirely on your machine
• No external API calls
• No data leaves your system

Output Formats

Plain Text

text = page.get_text()

Structured (dict)

blocks = page.get_text("dict")["blocks"]
for b in blocks:
    if b["type"] == 0:  # text block
        for line in b["lines"]:
            for span in line["spans"]:
                print(span["text"], span["size"])

JSON

import json
data = page.get_text("json")
parsed = json.loads(data)

Full Example

import fitz