# AI use cases for OC Rmy PDF (ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF) Repo: [ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF](https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF) | Use cases: 3 | Page: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/ OCRmyPDF adds an OCR text layer to scanned PDF files so they can be searched and copied. It produces validated PDF/A output, places text accurately under the image, keeps original image resolution, can deskew and rotate pages, optimizes file size, uses all CPU cores and recognizes more than 100 languages through Tesseract, all locally. This file holds every use case of this repo. Each one starts with a "## " heading and ends with its URL. - Make your scanned PDFs searchable: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/make-scanned-pdfs-searchable/ - OCR documents in French, Chinese or mixed languages: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/ocr-documents-in-other-languages/ - OCR a whole archive in place, safely: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/batch-ocr-an-archive-with-in-place-updates/ ## How to make your scanned PDFs searchable with OC Rmy PDF Repo: [ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF](https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF) | Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 15 minutes | Basis: From the README Install OC Rmy PDF and add a hidden text layer to scans so you can search and copy text. **Who it is for:** Someone with a drawer of scanned bills, letters and manuals saved as image-only PDFs. **The problem:** Scanned PDFs are just pictures, so search, copy and paste do not work. **The outcome:** Searchable PDF/A files that look the same as the originals and are often smaller. ### Steps 1. Install it, for example `apt install ocrmypdf` on Debian or Ubuntu, or `brew install ocrmypdf` on macOS 2. Add an OCR layer with `ocrmypdf --output-type pdfa input.pdf output.pdf` 3. Straighten crooked scans with `ocrmypdf --deskew input.pdf output.pdf` 4. Turn a photo into a one page PDF with `ocrmypdf input.jpg output.pdf` 5. See every option with `ocrmypdf --help` ### Prompt to paste into your agent ```text Install ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF and run it on every PDF in with `--output-type pdfa` and `--deskew`, writing results to . Skip files that already have text and report the size before and after. ``` ### Caveat OCR accuracy depends on scan quality; Tesseract struggles with handwriting and very low resolution images. Disclaimer: Third-party repos we don't own or vouch for. AI-generated use cases can be wrong: review everything and run at your own risk. Full text: https://dedupedai.com/disclaimer/ URL: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/make-scanned-pdfs-searchable/ ## How to oCR documents in French, Chinese or mixed languages with OC Rmy PDF Repo: [ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF](https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF) | Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 20 minutes | Basis: From the README Install Tesseract language packs and tell OC Rmy PDF which languages to look for. **Who it is for:** A family historian or immigrant scanning records in two languages. **The problem:** Without the right language pack, accents and non-Latin scripts come out as gibberish. **The outcome:** Searchable PDFs with correct accented and non-English text, including bilingual documents. ### Steps 1. List available packs with `apt-cache search tesseract-ocr` on Debian or Ubuntu 2. Install one, for example `apt-get install tesseract-ocr-chi-sim`, or `brew install tesseract-lang` on macOS 3. Run a single language with `ocrmypdf -l fra LeParisien.pdf LeParisien.pdf` 4. Run mixed documents with `ocrmypdf -l eng+fra Bilingual-English-French.pdf Bilingual-English-French.pdf` ### Prompt to paste into your agent ```text Using ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF, install the Tesseract language packs for and OCR with `-l `. Then search each output for to confirm the text layer is correct. ``` ### Caveat Language codes are ISO 639-3, so look up your language's code before running. Disclaimer: Third-party repos we don't own or vouch for. AI-generated use cases can be wrong: review everything and run at your own risk. Full text: https://dedupedai.com/disclaimer/ URL: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/ocr-documents-in-other-languages/ ## How to oCR a whole archive in place, safely with OC Rmy PDF Repo: [ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF](https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF) | Difficulty: Intermediate | Time: 1 hour | Basis: From the README Process thousands of pages across all CPU cores, updating files only when OCR succeeds. **Who it is for:** An office manager digitising years of paper records into a shared drive. **The problem:** Large archives take forever one file at a time, and a crash halfway can leave broken files. **The outcome:** An archive where every PDF is searchable, processed in parallel and replaced only on success. ### Steps 1. Install OC Rmy PDF and the language packs you need 2. Update a file in place with `ocrmypdf myfile.pdf myfile.pdf`; it only modifies the file on success 3. Use the --jobs option to control how many cores it uses; it uses multiple cores by default 4. Pair it with paperless-ngx, which integrates OC Rmy PDF into a searchable document management system 5. Swap the engine with a plugin such as OCRmyPDF-EasyOCR if you have a GPU ### Prompt to paste into your agent ```text Write a script that runs ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF in place on every PDF under , logs successes and failures to a CSV, and never overwrites a file when OCR fails. Run it on a small test folder first and show me the log. ``` ### Caveat Speed depends on your CPU and page count; the README does not give throughput numbers. Risk, data-loss: In place mode rewrites your originals; it only modifies a file on success, but back up the archive before a large run. Disclaimer: Third-party repos we don't own or vouch for. AI-generated use cases can be wrong: review everything and run at your own risk. Full text: https://dedupedai.com/disclaimer/ URL: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/ocrmypdf-ocrmypdf/batch-ocr-an-archive-with-in-place-updates/