PDF Vision Parser

A GUI tool that uses vision AI (Kimi K2.5, GPT-4o, Gemini) to convert scanned PDF textbooks into clean, readable text files. Preserves page numbers, headers, footers, and footnotes.

Setup

macOS

1. Install Homebrew if you don't have it (open Terminal and paste):

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
   

2. Install Python and poppler:

   brew install python poppler python-tk@3.13
   

3. Download this project and install dependencies:

   git clone https://github.com/ddssamu3l/pdf-vision-parser.git
   cd pdf-vision-parser
   pip3 install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Run:

   python3 main.py
   

Windows

1. Install Python (check "Add Python to PATH" during install)

2. Install poppler:

   • Download the latest release from poppler-windows
   • Extract the zip to C:\poppler
   • Add C:\poppler\Library\bin to your system PATH:
     • Search "environment variables" in Start menu
     • Click "Environment Variables"
     • Under "Path", click Edit, then add C:\poppler\Library\bin

3. Open Command Prompt and run:

   git clone https://github.com/ddssamu3l/pdf-vision-parser.git
   cd pdf-vision-parser
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Run:

   python main.py
   

Usage

1. On first launch, you'll be asked to enter an API key. Pick a provider and sign up:

   Provider	Model	Sign up
   Kimi (Moonshot AI)	kimi-k2.5	https://platform.moonshot.cn/
   OpenAI	gpt-4o	https://platform.openai.com/
   Google Gemini	gemini-2.0-flash	https://aistudio.google.com/

2. Click the drop zone to select PDF files

3. Click Parse Selected Files

4. Output is saved next to the original PDF as filename (parsed).txt

Output Format

[HEADER: CHAPTER TITLE]
[PAGE 1]

Main body text exactly as written in the document...

[FOOTNOTE 1]: Footnote text here

[FOOTER: Page footer text]

---

[HEADER: CHAPTER TITLE]
[PAGE 2]

...

Building a Standalone App

To package as a distributable app (no Python needed for end users):

pip install pyinstaller
python build.py

This creates:

• macOS: dist/PDF Parser.app
• Windows: dist/PDF Parser/PDF Parser.exe

License

MIT