Find PDF Information Using PDF.co and Node.js

Step 1: Prepare Your PDF and API Key

You’ll need:

• Node.js 22 or later.
• A PDF.co account and API key.
• An accessible download URL for your PDF.

For a local PDF, upload it to PDF.co’s file storage and copy its file link.

Step 2: Create the Code Sample

Save the following code as pdf-information.cjs. No additional packages are required.

const API_KEY = "YOUR_PDFCO_API_KEY";
const SOURCE_URL = "YOUR_PDF_FILE_URL";
const PDF_PASSWORD = "";

async function main() {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/info", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "x-api-key": API_KEY,
      "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      url: SOURCE_URL,
      password: PDF_PASSWORD,
      async: false
    }),
    signal: AbortSignal.timeout(60000)
  });

  const data = await response.json();

  if (!response.ok || data.error) {
    throw new Error(
      data.message || `Request failed: HTTP ${response.status}`
    );
  }

  if (!data.info) {
    throw new Error("The response did not contain PDF information");
  }

  console.log(JSON.stringify(data.info, null, 2));
}

main().catch(error => {
  console.error(error.message);
  process.exitCode = 1;
});

Replace YOUR_PDFCO_API_KEY and YOUR_PDF_FILE_URL with your values. If the PDF requires a password, enter it in PDF_PASSWORD; otherwise, leave it empty.

The script sends a POST request to /v1/pdf/info and prints the returned info object. See the PDF Information API documentation.

Step 3: Run the Program

Open a terminal in the script’s folder and run:

node pdf-information.cjs

The terminal displays the PDF information as formatted JSON.

Step 4: Review the Results

The response includes fields such as:

• PageCount: Number of pages.
• Author, Title, Subject, and Keywords: Document metadata.
• Creator and Producer: Software used to create the PDF.
• CreationDate and ModificationDate: Stored document dates.
• Encrypted: Whether the PDF is encrypted.
• PermissionPrinting and PermissionContentExtraction: Document permission settings.

Metadata fields may be empty if they were not set when the PDF was created. The request reads the document’s information without modifying the source PDF.