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pdftools (aka. pdf-tools)

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PDF tools to manipulate and process PDF files using the command line or simple files.

اقرأ عن المشروع بالعربية.

Requirements

  1. Node.js (at least v18.11.0)

  2. PDFtk server:

    Or pdftk-java:

    • Ubuntu: sudo apt install pdftk-java
    • macOS & Linux (Homebrew): brew install pdftk-java
    • Windows (Chocolatey): choco install pdftk-java --params "'/AddToUserPath:yes /AddToSystemPath:yes'"
  3. mutool for some commands:

    • Ubuntu: sudo apt install mupdf-tools
    • macOS & Linux (Homebrew): brew install mupdf
    • Windows:
      • winget: winget install ArtifexSoftware.mutool (maybe just mutool)
      • Chocolatey: choco install mupdf

Let me know if I should use any other program or library to perform the current tasks or any other suggested tasks.

Usage

$ npm install -g @bader-nasser/pdftools
$ pdftools COMMAND
running command...
$ pdftools (--version|-v)
@bader-nasser/pdftools/4.1.0 linux-x64 node-v21.2.0
$ pdftools --help [COMMAND]
USAGE
  $ pdftools COMMAND
...

Commands

pdftools autocomplete [SHELL]

Display autocomplete installation instructions.

USAGE
  $ pdftools autocomplete [SHELL] [-r]

ARGUMENTS
  SHELL  (zsh|bash|powershell) Shell type

FLAGS
  -r, --refresh-cache  Refresh cache (ignores displaying instructions)

DESCRIPTION
  Display autocomplete installation instructions.

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools autocomplete

  $ pdftools autocomplete bash

  $ pdftools autocomplete zsh

  $ pdftools autocomplete powershell

  $ pdftools autocomplete --refresh-cache

See code: @oclif/plugin-autocomplete

pdftools compress INPUT

Restore page stream compression

USAGE
  $ pdftools compress INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Uncompressed PDF file

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Restore page stream compression

ALIASES
  $ pdftools c

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools compress uncompressed.pdf

  $ pdftools compress uncompressed.pdf -o compressed.pdf

See code: src/commands/compress/index.ts

pdftools compress2 INPUT

Compress streams [mutool]

USAGE
  $ pdftools compress2 INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>] [-l] [-p <value>] [-m]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Decompressed PDF file

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run           Pretend to work!
  -l, --linearize         Linearize PDF (optimize for web browsers) (ALIASES: -O, --optimize)
  -m, --metadata          Preserve metadata
  -o, --output=<value>    Output file
  -p, --pages=<value>...  Comma/space separated list of page numbers and ranges (1,3-5 12-9 N)
  -s, --silent            Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Compress streams [mutool]

ALIASES
  $ pdftools c2

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools compress2 decompressed.pdf

  $ pdftools compress2 decompressed.pdf -o compressed.pdf

See code: src/commands/compress2/index.ts

pdftools convert INPUT

Convert PDF to text file

USAGE
  $ pdftools convert INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  PDF file to convert

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Convert PDF to text file

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools convert file.pdf

  $ pdftools convert file.pdf -o file-text.txt

See code: src/commands/convert/index.ts

pdftools decompress INPUT

Decompress PDF page streams for editing the PDF in a text editor

USAGE
  $ pdftools decompress INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Compressed PDF file

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Decompress PDF page streams for editing the PDF in a text editor

ALIASES
  $ pdftools d
  $ pdftools uncompress
  $ pdftools u

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools decompress doc.pdf

  $ pdftools decompress doc.pdf -o doc-decompressed.pdf

See code: src/commands/decompress/index.ts

pdftools decompress2 INPUT

Decompress streams [mutool]

USAGE
  $ pdftools decompress2 INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>] [-p <value>] [-m]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Compressed PDF file

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run           Pretend to work!
  -m, --metadata          Preserve metadata
  -o, --output=<value>    Output file
  -p, --pages=<value>...  Comma/space separated list of page numbers and ranges (1,3-5 12-9 N)
  -s, --silent            Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Decompress streams [mutool]

ALIASES
  $ pdftools d2
  $ pdftools uncompress2
  $ pdftools u2

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools decompress2 compressed.pdf

  $ pdftools decompress2 compressed.pdf -o decompressed.pdf

See code: src/commands/decompress2/index.ts

pdftools drop-xfa INPUT

Remove the form's XFA data

USAGE
  $ pdftools drop-xfa INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  PDF with XFA data

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Remove the form's XFA data

ALIASES
  $ pdftools drop

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools drop-xfa pdf-with-xfa.pdf

  $ pdftools drop-xfa pdf-with-xfa.pdf -o pdf-no-xfa.pdf

See code: src/commands/drop-xfa/index.ts

pdftools extract

Extract pages from PDF file

USAGE
  $ pdftools extract -i <value> [-D] [-s] [-c] [-o <value>] [-f <value> | -p <value> | -d <value>] [-l
    <value> |  | ] [-q even|odd] [-r north|south|east|west|left|right|down] [-k]

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run                 Pretend to work!
  -c, --compress                Reduce file size
                                You also may want to try: https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
  -d, --data=<value>            Data file (lines of page ranges)
                                See: https://github.com/bader-nasser/pdftools/blob/main/test/docs/data.txt
  -f, --first-page=<value>      First page (defaults to last-page)
  -i, --input=<value>           (required) Relative or absolute path to the PDF file to be used.
                                Use / in the path. On Windows, \ can be changed to either / or \\.
                                Surround the path by " or ' if it contains spaces.
  -k, --keep                    Keep output's name
  -l, --last-page=<value>       Last page (defaults to first-page)
  -o, --output=<value>          [default: extracted.pdf] Relative or absolute path to the PDF file to be created.
                                Use / in the path. On Windows, \ can be changed to either / or \\.
                                Surround the path by " or ' if it contains spaces.
  -p, --page-ranges=<value>...  Comma/Space-seperated list of page ranges (eg. 1-3,5east, 4 7-10even 22-11odd)
                                See: https://github.com/bader-nasser/pdftools/blob/main/test/docs/data.txt
  -q, --qualifier=<option>      <options: even|odd>
  -r, --rotation=<option>       <options: north|south|east|west|left|right|down>
  -s, --silent                  Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Extract pages from PDF file

ALIASES
  $ pdftools ext
  $ pdftools ex
  $ pdftools e

EXAMPLES
  Extract page number 5 from input.pdf to extracted.pdf

    $ pdftools extract --input input.pdf -f 5

  Extract page number 5 from input.pdf to output.pdf

    $ pdftools extract -i input.pdf -o output.pdf -l 5

  Extract pages from 1 to 3 from input.pdf to output.pdf

    $ pdftools extract -i input.pdf -o output.pdf -f 1 -l 3

  Extract *even* pages from 9 to 4, compress it and rotate it to the left

    $ pdftools extract -i input.pdf -o output.pdf -f 9 -l 4 -c -r left -q even

  Extract pages from 1 to 3, with the 5th page rotated to the east, and *odd* pages from 7 to 4

    $ pdftools extract -i input.pdf -o output.pdf -p 1-3, 5east 7-4odd

  Extract pages as declared in file.txt

    $ pdftools extract -i input.pdf -o output.pdf --data file.txt

See code: src/commands/extract/index.ts

pdftools help [COMMANDS]

Display help for pdftools.

USAGE
  $ pdftools help [COMMANDS] [-n]

ARGUMENTS
  COMMANDS  Command to show help for.

FLAGS
  -n, --nested-commands  Include all nested commands in the output.

DESCRIPTION
  Display help for pdftools.

See code: @oclif/plugin-help

pdftools linearize INPUT

Optimize for web browsers [mutool]

USAGE
  $ pdftools linearize INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>] [-d | -c | -F | -I] [-g] [-C] [-G] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Input PDF file

FLAGS
  -C, --garbage-compact      ... and compact cross reference table (ALIASES: --gc, --compact)
  -D, --dry-run              Pretend to work!
  -F, --compress-fonts       Compress embedded fonts (ALIASES: --cf)
  -G, --garbage-deduplicate  ... and remove duplicate objects (ALIASES: --gd, --deduplicate)
  -I, --compress-images      Compress images (ALIASES: --ci)
  -c, --compress             Compress all streams
  -d, --decompress           Decompress all streams (except compress-fonts/images)
  -g, --garbage              Garbage collect unused objects
  -k, --keep                 Keep output's name
  -o, --output=<value>       Output file
  -s, --silent               Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Optimize for web browsers [mutool]

ALIASES
  $ pdftools l
  $ pdftools optimize
  $ pdftools o

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools linearize input.pdf

  $ pdftools linearize input.pdf -o input-linearized.pdf

See code: src/commands/linearize/index.ts

pdftools merge INPUT

Merge PDFs

USAGE
  $ pdftools merge INPUT [-D] [-s] [-c] [-o <value>] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Input files (e.g. cover.pdf part-*.pdf)

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -c, --compress        Reduce file size
                        You also may want to try: https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
  -k, --keep            Keep output's name
  -o, --output=<value>  [default: merged.pdf] Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Merge PDFs

ALIASES
  $ pdftools m
  $ pdftools join
  $ pdftools j

EXAMPLES
  Merge all .pdf files

    $ pdftools merge *.pdf

  Merge all .pdf files

    $ pdftools merge *.pdf -o output.pdf

  Merge all .pdf files that start with input- & compress the output

    $ pdftools merge input-*.pdf -o output.pdf -c

  Merge cover.pdf with all .pdf files that start with input-, and notes.pdf

    $ pdftools merge cover.pdf input-*.pdf notes.pdf -o output.pdf

See code: src/commands/merge/index.ts

pdftools merge2 INPUT

Merge PDFs [mutool]

USAGE
  $ pdftools merge2 INPUT [-D] [-s] [-c | -d] [-o <value>] [-F | ] [-I | ] [-l] [-g] [-C] [-G] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  PDF files followed by comma-seperated page numbers or ranges
         (e.g. cover.pdf part-*.pdf file.pdf 2,11,4-6,10-8,13-N otherfile.pdf)

FLAGS
  -C, --garbage-compact      ... and compact cross reference table (ALIASES: --gc, --compact)
  -D, --dry-run              Pretend to work!
  -F, --compress-fonts       Compress embedded fonts (ALIASES: --cf)
  -G, --garbage-deduplicate  ... and remove duplicate objects (ALIASES: --gd, --deduplicate)
  -I, --compress-images      Compress images (ALIASES: --ci)
  -c, --compress             Compress all streams
  -d, --decompress           Decompress all streams (except compress-fonts/images)
  -g, --garbage              Garbage collect unused objects
  -k, --keep                 Keep output's name
  -l, --linearize            Optimize for web browsers (ALIASES: -O, --optimize)
  -o, --output=<value>       [default: merged.pdf] Output file
  -s, --silent               Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Merge PDFs [mutool]

  Note: Compression & garbage collection flags do NOT seem to work!

ALIASES
  $ pdftools m2
  $ pdftools join2
  $ pdftools j2

EXAMPLES
  Merge all .pdf files

    $ pdftools merge2 *.pdf

  Merge all .pdf files

    $ pdftools merge2 *.pdf -o output.pdf

  Merge all .pdf files that start with input- & compress the output

    $ pdftools merge2 input-*.pdf -o output.pdf -c

  Merge cover.pdf with all .pdf files that start with input-, and notes.pdf

    $ pdftools merge2 cover.pdf input-*.pdf notes.pdf -o output.pdf

  Merge all .pdf files and optimize the output for web browsers

    $ pdftools merge2 input-*.pdf -o output -l

See code: src/commands/merge2/index.ts

pdftools plugins

List installed plugins.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins [--json] [--core]

FLAGS
  --core  Show core plugins.

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  List installed plugins.

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools plugins

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins:inspect PLUGIN...

Displays installation properties of a plugin.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins inspect PLUGIN...

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN  [default: .] Plugin to inspect.

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  Displays installation properties of a plugin.

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools plugins inspect myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins:install PLUGIN...

Installs a plugin into the CLI.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins install PLUGIN...

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN  Plugin to install.

FLAGS
  -f, --force    Run yarn install with force flag.
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -s, --silent   Silences yarn output.
  -v, --verbose  Show verbose yarn output.

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  Installs a plugin into the CLI.
  Can be installed from npm or a git url.

  Installation of a user-installed plugin will override a core plugin.

  e.g. If you have a core plugin that has a 'hello' command, installing a user-installed plugin with a 'hello' command
  will override the core plugin implementation. This is useful if a user needs to update core plugin functionality in
  the CLI without the need to patch and update the whole CLI.


ALIASES
  $ pdftools plugins add

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools plugins install myplugin

  $ pdftools plugins install https://github.com/someuser/someplugin

  $ pdftools plugins install someuser/someplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins:link PLUGIN

Links a plugin into the CLI for development.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins link PLUGIN

ARGUMENTS
  PATH  [default: .] path to plugin

FLAGS
  -h, --help          Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose
      --[no-]install  Install dependencies after linking the plugin.

DESCRIPTION
  Links a plugin into the CLI for development.
  Installation of a linked plugin will override a user-installed or core plugin.

  e.g. If you have a user-installed or core plugin that has a 'hello' command, installing a linked plugin with a 'hello'
  command will override the user-installed or core plugin implementation. This is useful for development work.


EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools plugins link myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins reset

Remove all user-installed and linked plugins.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins reset

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins:uninstall PLUGIN...

Removes a plugin from the CLI.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins uninstall PLUGIN...

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN  plugin to uninstall

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Removes a plugin from the CLI.

ALIASES
  $ pdftools plugins unlink
  $ pdftools plugins remove

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools plugins uninstall myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools plugins update

Update installed plugins.

USAGE
  $ pdftools plugins update [-h] [-v]

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Update installed plugins.

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

pdftools process FILE

Merge PDFs, extract pages and update metadata using simple file

USAGE
  $ pdftools process FILE [-D] [-s] [-c] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  FILE  Data file to process (JSON5 or YAML or TOML)
        See: https://github.com/bader-nasser/pdftools/blob/main/test/docs/data.json (or .yaml or .toml)
        Use / in the paths. On Windows, \ can be changed to either / or \\

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run   Pretend to work!
  -c, --compress  Reduce file size
                  You also may want to try: https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
  -k, --keep      Keep output's name
  -s, --silent    Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Merge PDFs, extract pages and update metadata using simple file

ALIASES
  $ pdftools p

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools process data.json

See code: src/commands/process/index.ts

pdftools repair INPUT

Repair a PDF's corrupted XREF table and stream lengths, if possible

USAGE
  $ pdftools repair INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Broken PDF

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Repair a PDF's corrupted XREF table and stream lengths, if possible

ALIASES
  $ pdftools r

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools repair broken.pdf

  $ pdftools repair broken.pdf -o fixed.pdf

See code: src/commands/repair/index.ts

pdftools rotate INPUT

Rotate specified pages of PDF

USAGE
  $ pdftools rotate INPUT [-D] [-s] [-c] [-o <value>] [-p <value>] [-d
    north|south|east|west|left|right|down|-] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  PDF files

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run             Pretend to work!
  -c, --compress            Reduce file size
                            You also may want to try: https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
  -d, --direction=<option>  [default: east]
                            <options: north|south|east|west|left|right|down|->
  -k, --keep                Keep output's name
  -o, --output=<value>      [default: rotated.pdf] Output file
  -p, --pages=<value>...    [default: 1-end] Space-seperated page ranges (eg. 1 end 2-9odd 10west 15-11evensouth)
                            Set --direction to - if you want to customize each page's direction!
                            See: https://www.pdflabs.com/docs/pdftk-man-page/#dest-op-rotate
  -s, --silent              Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Rotate specified pages of PDF

  Takes a single input PDF and rotates just the specified pages.
  All other pages remain unchanged.

ALIASES
  $ pdftools rot

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools rotate input.pdf

  $ pdftools rotate input.pdf -o rotated

  $ pdftools rotate input.pdf -c

See code: src/commands/rotate/index.ts

pdftools shuffle INPUT

Collate pages from input PDFs to create a new PDF

USAGE
  $ pdftools shuffle INPUT [-D] [-s] [-c] [-o <value>] [-k]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  PDF files

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -c, --compress        Reduce file size
                        You also may want to try: https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
  -k, --keep            Keep output's name
  -o, --output=<value>  [default: shuffled.pdf] Output file
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!

DESCRIPTION
  Collate pages from input PDFs to create a new PDF

  It takes one page at a time from each PDF to assemble the output PDF

ALIASES
  $ pdftools sh
  $ pdftools collate

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools shuffle *.pdf

  $ pdftools shuffle *.pdf -o collated

  $ pdftools shuffle *.pdf -c

See code: src/commands/shuffle/index.ts

pdftools split INPUT

Split each page into many tiles [mutool]

USAGE
  $ pdftools split INPUT [-D] [-s] [-o <value>] [-x <value>] [-y <value>] [-r]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Input PDF file

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run         Pretend to work!
  -o, --output=<value>  Output file
  -r, --r               Split horizontally from right to left (default splits from left to right). (v1.23.0+)
  -s, --silent          Work silently unless there is an error!
  -x, --x=<value>       [default: 2] Pieces to horizontally divide each page into. (Uses default only if --y is NOT
                        used)
  -y, --y=<value>       Pieces to vertically divide each page into.

DESCRIPTION
  Split each page into many tiles [mutool]

ALIASES
  $ pdftools s

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools split input.pdf

  $ pdftools split input.pdf -x 2

  $ pdftools split input.pdf -o splitted.pdf -y 2

  $ pdftools split input.pdf -x 2 -y 3 -r

See code: src/commands/split/index.ts

pdftools update-metadata INPUT

Update PDF's metadata

USAGE
  $ pdftools update-metadata INPUT [-D] [-s] [-f <value>] [-t <value>] [-a <value>] [-S <value>] [-k <value>] [-p
    <value>] [-c <value>] [-d <value>] [-m <value>] [-o <value>]

ARGUMENTS
  INPUT  Input PDF to update

FLAGS
  -D, --dry-run                    Pretend to work!
  -S, --subject=<value>
  -a, --author=<value>
  -c, --creator=<value>
  -d, --creation-date=<value>
  -f, --file=<value>               Metadata file (JSON5 or YAML or TOML)
                                   See: https://github.com/bader-nasser/pdftools/blob/main/test/docs/meta-only.json (or
                                   .yaml or .toml)
  -k, --keywords=<value>...
  -m, --modification-date=<value>
  -o, --output=<value>             Output file
  -p, --producer=<value>
  -s, --silent                     Work silently unless there is an error!
  -t, --title=<value>

DESCRIPTION
  Update PDF's metadata

ALIASES
  $ pdftools up-meta
  $ pdftools meta

EXAMPLES
  $ pdftools update-metadata input.pdf -f meta.json

  $ pdftools update-metadata input.pdf -f meta.toml -o updated.pdf

  $ pdftools update-metadata input.pdf -o updated.pdf -f meta.yaml -a "Bader Nasser" -t awesome

See code: src/commands/update-metadata/index.ts

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