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How to turn a folder of scanned PDFs into markdown files with Indra

Batch-convert scanned PDFs to one markdown file each, using all CPU cores.

  • Top pick
  • Research
  • Intermediate
  • 15 minutes
  • From the README
  • Any agent

Who it is forA researcher, paralegal, or office worker with a folder of scanned PDFs who needs editable text without a GPU or a cloud upload.

The problemScanned PDFs cannot be searched, quoted, or edited, and manual retyping is slow.

The outcomeOne .md file per input PDF in a results folder, with headings, paragraphs, lists, and tables kept where the layout allows.

What you need first

  • Python 3.10 or newer (the README says it is tested on Linux and macOS)
  • pip to install the indra-ocr package
  • An internet connection for the first run, which downloads about 76 MB of models from Hugging Face
  • The PDFs or images to read

Steps

  1. Run pip install indra-ocr.
  2. Move the scanned PDFs into one folder and open a terminal in that folder.
  3. Run indra-ocr *.pdf --out results/ to write one .md file per input.
  4. Open a few files in results/ and compare them with the original pages.
  5. If a run hits an unreadable file, note its name; the CLI continues past it and exits with 1 if any failed.

Prompt for your agent

In the repo datalab-to/indra, install indra-ocr with pip and run `indra-ocr <folder>/*.pdf --out results/`. Expected output: one .md file per input PDF in results/. Verify that each .md file is non-empty and that the CLI exit code is 0, or list the files that failed.

Caveat. The code is Apache 2.0, but the model weights use a modified OpenRAIL-M license that limits some commercial and competitive uses, so check the license before using it in a product.

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