n8n-nodes-pdfconvert

This package contains the PDF Convert node for n8n. It provides functionality to convert PDF files into individual page images (PNG/JPG format).

Features

• ✅ Convert PDF files to images (PNG or JPG)
• ✅ Process all pages or specific page ranges
• ✅ Configurable image quality (DPI settings)
• ✅ Support for binary data input
• ✅ Reliable implementation using pdf2pic + GraphicsMagick
• ✅ Perfect for document processing workflows

System Requirements

This node requires the following system dependencies to be installed on your n8n host:

• GraphicsMagick - for image processing
• Ghostscript - for PDF parsing

For Docker installations:

# Install system dependencies
docker exec -it --user root n8n apk add --no-cache graphicsmagick ghostscript

# Then install the node via n8n UI or:
docker exec -it n8n sh -c "cd /home/node/.n8n/nodes && npm install n8n-nodes-pdfconvert"

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install graphicsmagick ghostscript

For CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum install GraphicsMagick ghostscript

Installation

To install this community node, follow the installation guide in the n8n docs.

Manual Installation

npm install n8n-nodes-pdfconvert

Usage

Node Configuration

The PDF Convert node provides the following configuration options:

Input Type

• Binary Data: Use PDF data from file uploads or previous nodes
• Base64: Use base64-encoded PDF string

Output Options

• Output Format: Choose PNG or JPG for resulting images
• Scale: Control image resolution (0.5x to 5x, default 2x)
• Pages: Specify pages to convert (e.g., "1,2,3" or "1-5" or leave empty for all)

Input/Output Properties

• Binary Property: Name of input property containing PDF data (default: "data")
• Output Property Name: Name for output property containing converted images (default: "images")

Examples

Example 1: Convert all PDF pages to PNG

Input: PDF file via HTTP Request or File node
Configuration:
- Input Type: Binary Data
- Output Format: PNG
- Scale: 2
- Pages: (empty - converts all pages)

Example 2: Convert specific pages to high-res JPG

Input: PDF file
Configuration:
- Input Type: Binary Data  
- Output Format: JPG
- Scale: 3
- Pages: 1,3-5,10

Example 3: Convert base64 PDF to images

Input: Base64 PDF string
Configuration:
- Input Type: Base64
- Base64 Data: {{$json.pdfBase64}}
- Output Format: PNG
- Scale: 2

Output Format

The node outputs:

• JSON Data: Metadata about converted images
• Binary Data: Individual page images as binary data

JSON output structure:

{
  "images": [
    {
      "data": Buffer,
      "mimeType": "image/png",
      "fileName": "page_1.png", 
      "fileExtension": "png",
      "pageNumber": 1
    }
  ],
  "totalPages": 3,
  "outputFormat": "png",
  "scale": 2
}

Binary output: Each page is also available as binary data with property names like images_page_1, images_page_2, etc.

Use Cases

• Extract pages from scanned documents
• Convert PDF presentations to image slides
• Generate thumbnails from PDF files
• Process invoices/receipts for OCR workflows
• Archive PDF content as individual images

Technical Details

• Built with TypeScript for n8n
• Uses pdf-img-convert library (lightweight, PDF.js-based)
• No external dependencies (GraphicsMagick, Ghostscript)
• Supports Node.js 20.15+

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 20.15
• n8n installed globally: npm install n8n -g

Setup

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies: npm install
3. Build the node: npm run build
4. Link for development: npm link

Testing

npm run lint        # Check code quality
npm run build       # Build the project
npm run dev         # Watch mode for development

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the n8n documentation
2. Open an issue on GitHub

Made with ❤️ for the n8n community