pdfminer
PDF parser and analyzer
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
No—not recommended for new projects. The package is abandoned (last release 2019-11-25, repository archived 2022), receives no maintenance or security updates, and has high install friction due to source-only distribution. Use pdfminer.six instead, which is actively maintained and provides the same core functionality with ongoing support.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.6 or above; Python 2 is not supported.
- Source distribution requires build tools to compile.
- High install friction due to source-only distribution (pdfminer-20191125.tar.gz).
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, requiring only attribution and inclusion of the license text.
last release 2019-11-25 (2454 days) · last repo commit 2022-12-07 · 5,275 stars · archived
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 229,484 downloads/mo, #9,131 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pdfminer
python -m pdfminer.six samples/simple1.pdf
# or via command line:
pdf2txt.py samples/simple1.pdf- Whether the archived repository still accepts security patches or community contributions
- Current compatibility with modern PDF specifications beyond PDF-1.7
- Performance characteristics on large or complex PDF files
What it is and what it does
PDFMiner is a pure Python PDF parser and text extraction tool that reads PDF documents and extracts rendered text along with precise layout metadata—font names, sizes, positions, and writing direction. It performs automatic layout analysis to reconstruct document structure and can output results as plain text, HTML, XML, or tagged content. It handles encrypted PDFs (RC4 and AES), multiple font types (Type1, TrueType, Type3, CID), and CJK languages with vertical writing support.
The package provides both a programmatic API for integration into Python applications and command-line tools (pdf2txt.py for extraction, dumppdf.py for debugging). However, it is no longer maintained—the repository was archived in 2022 with the last commit in December of that year, and no updates have been released since November 2019. While it remains functional for basic PDF text extraction tasks, it receives no security updates or bug fixes.
Use it for
- Extract text and position data from PDF documents for document processing or data mining workflows
- Convert PDFs to HTML or XML for downstream analysis or republishing
- Debug PDF structure and internal content using dumppdf.py for troubleshooting
- Parse encrypted PDFs with password protection to access restricted content
- Analyze document layout and reconstruct reading order from complex multi-column or figure-heavy PDFs
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
No—not recommended for new projects.
The package is abandoned (last release 2019-11-25, repository archived 2022), receives no maintenance or security updates, and has high install friction due to source-only distribution. Use pdfminer.six instead, which is actively maintained and provides the same core functionality with ongoing support.
Install
pdfminer on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction due to source-only distribution (pdfminer-20191125.tar.gz). The project is archived and abandoned as of 2022-12-07, with no maintenance since version 20191125 released 2019-11-25. Consider pdfminer.six if ongoing support is needed.
Requires Python 3.6 or above; Python 2 is not supported. Source distribution requires build tools to compile.
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, requiring only attribution and inclusion of the license text.
Quickstart
pip install pdfminer
python -m pdfminer.six samples/simple1.pdf
# or via command line:
pdf2txt.py samples/simple1.pdfVerify before relying
- Whether the archived repository still accepts security patches or community contributions
- Current compatibility with modern PDF specifications beyond PDF-1.7
- Performance characteristics on large or complex PDF files
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 2,454 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | repository archived |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 229,484 / month, #9,131 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseTopic :: Text Processing |
Evidence: pdfminer-20191125.tar.gz
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See also pdfminer.six · playa-pdf · unPDF · pdftext · textract · pdfplumber · pdftotext · pymupdf · pymupdf-layout · drafthorse