OpenDataLoader PDF

OpenDataLoader PDF is a Python wrapper around a Java CLI that extracts structured data from PDFs (text, tables, layout, etc.) to Markdown, CSV, or JSON formats, that can be more easily processed by LLM coding agents.

Note

These instructions target the latest OpenDataLoader PDF release at the time of writing: 2.4.7.
If you are reading this at a later date, please confirm the installation steps against the official documentation on the GitHub repository.

Run these commands after installing the Python tooling:

# Update package lists, if necessary:
sudo apt update --assume-yes

# Install a working Java runtime and the optional packages suggested by 'apt':
sudo apt install --assume-yes \
  default-jre \
  libnss-mdns \
  avahi-autoipd \
  fonts-ipafont-mincho \
  fonts-ipafont-gothic \
  fonts-wqy-zenhei \
  fonts-wqy-microhei \
  fonts-indic

mkdir --parents "$HOME/.venvs"

/usr/bin/python3 <<'PYTHON'
from pathlib import Path
import venv

venv.create(Path.home() / ".venvs" / "OpenDataLoader", with_pip=True)
PYTHON

"$HOME/.venvs/OpenDataLoader/bin/pip" install --upgrade \
  pip \
  setuptools \
  wheel \
  opendataloader-pdf

"$HOME/.venvs/OpenDataLoader/bin/pip" show opendataloader-pdf

Since AI coding agents and other non-interactive shells often do not load aliases, install a real wrapper script on PATH:

mkdir --parents "$HOME/bin"

cat > "$HOME/bin/opendataloader-pdf" <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
exec "$HOME/.venvs/OpenDataLoader/bin/python" -m opendataloader_pdf "$@"
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/bin/opendataloader-pdf"

Then, ensure ~/bin is on PATH:

printf '\nexport PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"\n' >> "$HOME/.bashrc"
source "$HOME/.bashrc"
hash -r

---

Optional Steps

Run a quick smoke test that only verifies the wrapper and bundled JAR execution:

"$HOME/.venvs/OpenDataLoader/bin/python" \
  -m opendataloader_pdf --help \
  | head --lines=20