Private PDFs lose proof when flattened
Policies, contracts, support manuals, filings, and reports often collapse into loose text. Clauses, tables, definitions, and exceptions become easy for AI systems to misread.
Document ingestion API for RAG
Turn private PDFs into source-backed data for RAG & AI.
DocuShell Parse API extracts deterministic JSON, Markdown, HTML, and text — with tables, coordinates, metadata, and source maps — and pairs with Ethos to verify every citation against the original document.
No signup needed to inspect sample PDFs, structured outputs, and source references.
Read the docsinvoice.pdf → invoice.json
{ "invoice_number": "INV-2048", "vendor_name": "Northline Office Co.", "invoice_total": 8420, "due_date": "2026-05-31", "artifacts": ["json", "markdown", "html", "text"], "source": { "page": 1, "element_id": "odl-142", "bbox": [72, 96, 516, 214] }, "evidence": { "evidence_id": "inv2048-total", "evidence_kind": "text", "expected_text_sha256": "sha256:9f2c1e…", "source_fingerprint": "sha256:1d4ab7…" }}Try it live
Parse a document. No signup.
Pick a sample, inspect the payload, and see how Ethos releases an answer only when it can point back to the source. The degraded scan shows a withheld answer.
Layout-aware PDF extraction
PDF hallucinations start with bad extraction.
If a model receives flattened text, it loses the document evidence a reviewer needs. Give it deterministic fields, tables, layout, and source context instead.
RAG needs source-backed citations
DocuShell Parse API returns page context, coordinates, and structured artifacts so answers can point back to the source material instead of relying on retrieval text alone.
Workflows need stable evidence
Use deterministic JSON and Markdown for clauses, policy sections, invoice totals, tables, and other fields your application must route, review, or audit.
Use Parse APISource maps for citations
Parse once, return source-backed structure, and let your AI workflow cite the page and region it used.
LLM-ready parsing pipeline
From private PDF to source-backed context.
Validate the document, preserve structure, return artifacts, and keep source context available for review before it enters a model or workflow.
Output formats
Deterministic JSON, Markdown, text, and HTML. One parse.
JSON for extraction and review. Markdown for RAG and knowledge bases. Text for search and indexing. HTML for web delivery. The JSON carries source maps, while a companion Ethos evidence artifact anchors every output to the original document.
invoice.json
Best for: Extraction, validation, and review
{
"invoice_number": "INV-2048",
"vendor_name": "Northline Office Co.",
"invoice_total": 8420,
"due_date": "2026-05-31",
"table": { "rows": 3, "columns": 4 },
"source": {
"page": 1,
"element_id": "odl-142",
"bbox": [72, 96, 516, 214]
}
}One parse · JSON source map · Ethos companion anchor
One parse job can return all four artifacts together, with no second upload or pass.
Start freePricing shape
Start free. Pay when you ship.
Browser tools stay free, and free accounts include monthly credits plus the playgrounds. API keys and webhooks start on Starter — no surprises later.
Free
$0
No credit card required
- 500 credits every month
- Free browser PDF tools
- Playgrounds with sample documents
- Files up to 50 MB / 50 pages
Starter
$9/month
API access starts here
- API keys and webhooks
- 5,000 credits every month
- 2 concurrent queued parse jobs
- Files up to 50 MB / 100 pages
Built for teams where citations are not optional.
DocuShell is strongest when private PDFs feed a product, workflow, or knowledge base where a bad citation creates review risk.
Compliance and policy teams
Turn policies, procedures, standards, and guidance PDFs into source-backed sections that review workflows and RAG systems can cite.
See RAG use casesLegal and contract review
Preserve clause order, page references, and extraction warnings so reviewers can inspect the source before relying on AI output.
Review API contractSupport knowledge bases
Ingest manuals, onboarding packets, and troubleshooting PDFs with structure that keeps answer citations tied to the source document.
Open playgroundsStartups building document AI
Prototype with free tools, then move repeated ingestion, extraction, and webhook delivery into an authenticated API workflow.
Compare plansSecurity
Built for enterprise security.
Sensitive PDFs need more than a promise. DocuShell validates inputs, isolates processing, streams results, and keeps temporary storage short-lived.
Validate
Schema and PDF checks run before a job is accepted.
Process
Workers handle documents in isolated processing paths.
Stream
Results are returned for one-time download flows.
Delete
Temporary files are swept within the 1-hour retention window.
Zero-trust file handling
PDFs are checked before work is queued, including schema validation and file-type verification.
Ephemeral storage
Uploaded and generated files are temporary, with cleanup designed around a 1-hour retention window.
Private network protection
Webpage capture blocks localhost, intranet, and metadata IP ranges before rendering.
LLM privacy boundary
Parse workflows are framed around deterministic extraction instead of training on customer documents.
Need a quick, one-off file fix?
Use the free browser tools for compressing, merging, splitting, converting, protecting, rotating, or capturing PDFs.
Drop up to 5 PDFs here, or choose files
Practical guides for PDF data problems.
Read clear steps for compression, conversion, extraction, privacy tradeoffs, and when API parsing is better than a manual tool.
Extract data from PDFs, not just pages.
Pull tables, text, and fields into structured JSON for AI apps, search, dashboards, and rule-based workflows.
Answers before you upload or integrate.
Quick notes on AI-ready parsing, browser tools, secure workers, and developer APIs.
01How does DocuShell help reduce AI hallucinations from PDFs?+
DocuShell Parse API returns deterministic JSON, Markdown, tables, layout metadata, and source context from PDFs. That gives RAG systems and review workflows source-backed data instead of loose text that can cause AI systems to guess.
02Can I use DocuShell for rule-based PDF extraction?+
Yes. DocuShell can parse invoices, statements, forms, reports, and tables into stable fields and artifacts that work with deterministic business rules, audits, dashboards, and review workflows.
03Do all DocuShell PDF tools upload my files?+
No. DocuShell uses browser-first processing whenever the task can run locally. Workflows that need server resources, such as webpage capture, stronger compression, parsing, or DOCX conversion, use secure cloud workers with temporary processing rules.
04Does DocuShell offer APIs for developers?+
Yes. Developers can use the DocuShell API Hub for authenticated PDF parsing, source-aware JSON and Markdown output, table extraction, conversion, compression, webpage rendering, queued jobs, status polling, and downloadable artifacts.
05Are DocuShell tools free to use?+
DocuShell provides free browser PDF tools for common tasks such as compressing, merging, splitting, rotating, organizing, protecting, and extracting PDF content. Some advanced automation and API usage is tied to account plans and credits.
06What inputs and outputs does the Parse API support?+
The Parse API is PDF-first: it handles born-digital PDFs and scanned documents through OCR workflows. Output artifacts include deterministic JSON, Markdown, text, and HTML with tables, layout metadata, and source maps that point back to page and region.
07How is this different from sending a PDF straight to an LLM?+
An LLM returns fluent text, but no stable structure or provenance — the same document can produce different answers on different runs. The Parse API returns layout-grounded fields with page references and coordinates, so your application can validate values, cite sources, and get the same output for the same input every time.
08How is the Parse API different from OCR?+
OCR makes a scanned page machine-readable; it gives you a wall of text. The Parse API adds the structure a system can act on: reading order, tables, fields, page coordinates, and source maps, so downstream workflows can validate, route, and cite instead of re-parsing raw text.
09What happens when extraction is uncertain or incomplete?+
DocuShell fails closed. Uncertain or incomplete extractions surface explicit warnings and partial states instead of silently guessing, so review workflows can inspect the source before an answer or automation relies on it. Blocked and partial outcomes are valid, clearly labeled results.
10How long are uploaded files kept?+
Uploaded and generated files are temporary. Processing artifacts are cleaned up around a 1-hour retention window, and results are returned through one-time download flows. Customer documents are not used to train models.
11Can I get JSON and Markdown from the same parse?+
Yes. A single parse job can return JSON alongside Markdown or HTML artifacts for the same document — no second upload or second pass required.
12How does the free tier work?+
Free accounts include 500 credits per month, the free browser PDF tools, and the Parse Playground with sample documents — no credit card required. API keys and webhooks start on the Starter plan at $9/month with 5,000 monthly credits.
Developer resources
Everything you need for a first parse.
Reference docs, auth, limits, and a playground for inspecting output before you write a line of integration code.
Build document AI that can point back to the source.
Start in a playground, inspect the output, then move repeated ingestion into authenticated API workflows. Free PDF tools remain available for one-off jobs.