**Cost**: 13 credits per processed page.

Extract a structured, editable design tree out of one or more pages of a PDF. Each page becomes a fully-populated **`VisualElement`** tree — the same node shape as `image_to_design` — augmented with the vector / typography / transform fields that only PDFs carry.

## What this API is for

PDFs are vector documents: every paragraph, every shape, every gradient is stored as math, not pixels. This endpoint preserves that math instead of rasterizing it, so the tree you get back can be re-rendered, re-flowed, re-styled, or translated into another format without quality loss.

Typical use cases:
- **PDF → editable design**: open up an exported brochure / spec sheet / one-pager and turn it back into a Figma-like tree.
- **PDF → PPT / HTML / code**: walk the tree to emit slides, web pages, or component code. (Our own `pdf_to_ppt` builds on this.)
- **Content extraction**: pull every text run with its true font, size, and color, plus every vector shape with its actual path data.
- **Asset salvage**: re-export embedded images and vector logos at original resolution.

Differences vs. `image_to_design`: input is a **PDF URL or PDF file**, output is **one tree per requested page** (not a single tree), and the per-node fields tagged "PDF only" in the shared schema **are** populated here (vector paths, character-level styling, transform matrices, etc.).

## Sending the request

This endpoint supports two input modes:

1. **JSON URL mode**: send `application/json` with `pdf_url` and `page_no` when the PDF is already publicly reachable.
2. **Direct upload mode**: send `multipart/form-data` with a local PDF file in the `pdf_file` field and one or more `page_no` fields.

JSON example:

```bash
curl 'https://openapi.codia.ai/v2/open/pdf_to_design' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {codia_api_key}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{ "pdf_url": "https://example.com/file.pdf", "page_no": [0, 2, 5] }'
```

Direct upload example:

```bash
curl 'https://openapi.codia.ai/v2/open/pdf_to_design' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {codia_api_key}' \
  -F 'pdf_file=@./file.pdf' \
  -F 'page_no=0' \
  -F 'page_no=2'
```

- **`pdf_url`** *(JSON mode, required)* — public URL of the PDF. Encrypted / password-protected PDFs are rejected.
- **`pdf_file`** *(upload mode, required, binary)* — the PDF itself. Stream the file directly; do not base64-encode it.
- **`page_no`** *(required)* — **0-indexed** page numbers. JSON mode uses an integer array; multipart mode repeats the `page_no` field once per page. Page count and file-size caps follow the global Codia API limits.

## Response shape

Standard Codia envelope; on success `data` carries:

| Field | What it is | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| `data.configuration` | Same `Configuration` object as `image_to_design` — `baseWidth`, `measurementUnit` (`px` \| `pt`), `scalingFactor`. | Apply `scalingFactor` to every numeric value when rendering. `baseWidth` is the canvas width the trees were measured against (often page width in points or px, e.g. 1940). |
| `data.size` | Page dimensions in document units: `{ width, height }`. | Use to set up artboard / viewport per page. All pages in a single PDF share this size. |
| `data.pages[]` | One entry per requested page. Each entry is `{ visualElement: <Body root> }`. | Iterate pages in order; recurse into each `visualElement.childElements` to reach every region. |

## Walking a page tree

Each `data.pages[i].visualElement` is a `Body`-typed root with the same `VisualElement` shape used elsewhere in this API (see `image_to_design` for the full field guide). The headline pieces:

- **`elementType`** — `Body` at the root, then `Layer` / `Group` / `Text` / `Image` / `Vector` / `Component` inside. PDFs use `Vector` heavily for shapes, gradients, and logos.
- **`childElements`** — nested nodes; recurse depth-first.
- **`layoutConfig` / `styleConfig` / `processingMeta`** — same semantics as `image_to_design`.
- **`contentData`** — for `Text` reads `textValue`; for `Image` reads `imageSource` and/or the base64 in `imageData`; for `Vector` reads `vectorData` (see below).

### PDF-specific fields you can actually use

Fields the shared schema tags "PDF only" — these are real, populated, and useful on this endpoint:

- **`boundingBox`** *(`[x, y, width, height]`)* — exact node geometry in document coordinates. The most reliable positioning source for PDFs.
- **`displayOrder`** — z-order within the page; lower = drawn first.
- **`styleConfig.transformMatrix` / `extendedMatrix`** — affine transform applied to the node. `transformMatrix` is the 6-element PDF form `[a b c d e f]`; `extendedMatrix` is the CSS-compatible string. Apply this to handle rotated text, sheared images, etc.
- **`styleConfig.characterData`** — per-character styling keyed by character index. Use this when a single text node mixes fonts, sizes, or colors (very common in PDFs).
- **`styleConfig.cornerRadius`** — scalar fallback when the four-corner array isn't applicable.
- **`styleConfig.isRightToLeft`** — direction flag for Arabic / Hebrew text.
- **`contentData.vectorData`** — the actual vector path. Contains `pathItems[]` (each item is `{ pathType: "l" | "c", coordinates[] }` — `l` = line, `c` = cubic curve), plus `fillColor`, `strokeColor`, `strokeWidth`, `fillOpacity`, `strokeOpacity`, `lineCapStyle`, `lineJoinStyle`, `dashPattern`, `evenOddRule`, `isClosedPath`. Emit SVG `<path>` directly, or rebuild in your own renderer.
- **`contentData.imageData`** — base64-encoded image bytes for embedded raster images (alongside or instead of `imageSource`).
- **`contentData.svgTemplate`** — pre-rendered SVG markup template for compound vector content.
- **`contentData.maskingMode` / `blendingType`** — PDF graphics-state knobs (clip / soft-mask, blend mode). Map to CSS `mix-blend-mode` / SVG `<mask>` as appropriate.

### A minimal traversal

```ts
for (const page of response.data.pages) {
  console.log('page', page.visualElement.elementName, response.data.size);
  walk(page.visualElement);
}

function walk(node, depth = 0) {
  const pad = '  '.repeat(depth);
  if (node.elementType === 'Text') console.log(pad, 'TXT', node.contentData?.textValue);
  if (node.elementType === 'Image') console.log(pad, 'IMG', node.contentData?.imageSource);
  if (node.elementType === 'Vector') console.log(pad, 'VEC', node.contentData?.vectorData?.pathItems?.length, 'segs');
  node.childElements?.forEach(c => walk(c, depth + 1));
}
```

## Inputs, limits, billing

- **Input** — either JSON with `pdf_url` or `multipart/form-data` with `pdf_file`. Encrypted / password-protected PDFs are rejected.
- **Page selection** — `page_no` uses **0-based** indices. JSON mode sends an integer array; multipart mode repeats the `page_no` field once per page. Out-of-range indices are silently dropped from the response.
- **Billing** — consumes the unified Codia Open API balance (`GET /v2/open/credits`). 13 credits per processed page.
- **Latency** — synchronous. Throughput is per-page; a long document may take many seconds. For very long PDFs, batch the request by `page_no` ranges and parallelize.
- **Determinism** — same PDF + same `page_no` yields the same structural tree, but `elementId`s are regenerated each call; don't rely on cross-call ID stability.

## Errors

Uses the standard envelope with non-zero `code` and a descriptive `message`. HTTP status codes:
- `400` — bad input (missing `pdf_url` / `pdf_file`, malformed `page_no`, corrupt / encrypted PDF).
- `401` / `403` — missing / wrong / unauthorized API key.
- `402` — the subscription is inactive or credits are exhausted. See the global Errors section for recovery steps.
- `429` — rate-limited; back off and retry.
- `500` — internal error; safe to retry once.

### `measurementUnit`

`pdf_to_design` returns whichever unit the source PDF used. Most editorial / business PDFs report `pt` (PostScript points: 72 = 1 inch). PDFs exported from design tools at a specific pixel target may report `px`. Read this field per response and convert if your downstream renderer assumes one unit.

> **Sync vs. async**
> This synchronous endpoint returns the result inline — fine for short PDFs. For documents with more than ~5 pages, prefer `POST /v2/open/tasks` with `operation=pdf_to_design` to avoid HTTP client timeouts, get webhook delivery, and support cancellation. Inputs and credit cost are identical to this v2 endpoint.

Optional user-supplied key (up to 255 chars). When set, a successful (2xx) response is cached for 7 days. A retry with the same key + identical request body returns the cached response (no extra credit charged); a retry with the same key but a different body returns 409. Use to make POST safe to retry on network failures. For multipart/form-data uploads, requests are compared by form fields and file contents, so a retried upload is replayed even though the client picks a new multipart boundary.

Idempotency-Key

Public URL of the PDF to process. Must be directly fetchable by Codia.

pdf_url

0-indexed page numbers to process, e.g. [0, 2, 5].

page_no

The PDF file to process. Sent as a multipart binary part.

pdf_file

Repeat the multipart page_no field once per 0-indexed page to process.

Successful conversion. `data.pages` is an array — one entry per processed page, each containing a `visualElement` tree with the same `VisualElement` shape as `image_to_design` (plus the PDF-only fields documented in the operation description). `data.size` carries the page dimensions and `data.configuration` carries the canvas scale / unit.

code

message

Global rendering settings for the design output

configuration

pages

size

data

The request body is malformed or missing required parameters

The API key is missing, invalid, or revoked

Account balance is insufficient or subscription has expired

Account does not have access to this endpoint

Idempotency-Key reused with a different request body.

Rate limited. Wait for the number of seconds in the `Retry-After` header before retrying.

An unexpected error occurred on the server

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V E L O R A · W H O L E S A L E

Image

Turns PDF pages into editable design trees that keep the original vectors, fonts and colors instead of rasterizing them.

PDF to Design

Input

Output

Related APIs