Nutrient Document Processing

Process, convert, extract, redact, sign, and manipulate documents using the Nutrient DWS Processor API.

Setup

You need a Nutrient DWS API key. Get one free at https://dashboard.nutrient.io/sign_up/?product=processor.

Option 1: MCP Server (Recommended)

If your agent supports MCP (Model Context Protocol), use the Nutrient DWS MCP Server. It provides all operations as native tools.

Configure your MCP client (e.g.,

claude_desktop_config.json

.mcp.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nutrient-dws": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@nutrient-sdk/dws-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NUTRIENT_DWS_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "SANDBOX_PATH": "/path/to/working/directory"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then use the MCP tools directly (e.g.,

convert_to_pdf

extract_text

redact

, etc.).

Option 2: Direct API (curl)

For agents without MCP support, call the API directly:

bash

export NUTRIENT_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

All requests go to

https://api.nutrient.io/build

as multipart POST with an

instructions

JSON field.

Operations

1. Convert Documents

Convert between PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, HTML, and image formats.

HTML to PDF:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "index.html=@index.html" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"html":"index.html"}]}' \
  -o output.pdf

DOCX to PDF:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.docx=@document.docx" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.docx"}]}' \
  -o output.pdf

PDF to DOCX/XLSX/PPTX:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"output":{"type":"docx"}}' \
  -o output.docx

Image to PDF:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "image.jpg=@image.jpg" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"image.jpg"}]}' \
  -o output.pdf

2. Extract Text and Data

Extract plain text:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"output":{"type":"text"}}' \
  -o output.txt

Extract tables (as JSON, CSV, or Excel):

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"output":{"type":"xlsx"}}' \
  -o tables.xlsx

Extract key-value pairs:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"extraction","strategy":"key-values"}]}' \
  -o result.json

3. OCR Scanned Documents

Apply OCR to scanned PDFs or images, producing searchable PDFs with selectable text.

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "scanned.pdf=@scanned.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"scanned.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"ocr","language":"english"}]}' \
  -o searchable.pdf

Supported languages:

english

german

french

spanish

italian

portuguese

dutch

swedish

danish

norwegian

finnish

polish

czech

turkish

japanese

korean

chinese-simplified

chinese-traditional

arabic

hebrew

thai

hindi

russian

, and more.

4. Redact Sensitive Information

Pattern-based redaction (preset patterns):

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"redaction","strategy":"preset","preset":"social-security-number"}]}' \
  -o redacted.pdf

Available presets:

social-security-number

credit-card-number

email-address

north-american-phone-number

international-phone-number

date

url

ipv4

ipv6

mac-address

us-zip-code

vin

time

Regex-based redaction:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"redaction","strategy":"regex","regex":"\\b[A-Z]{2}\\d{6}\\b"}]}' \
  -o redacted.pdf

AI-powered PII redaction:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"ai_redaction","criteria":"All personally identifiable information"}]}' \
  -o redacted.pdf

The

criteria

field accepts natural language (e.g., "Names and phone numbers", "Protected health information", "Financial account numbers").

5. Add Watermarks

Text watermark:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"watermark","text":"CONFIDENTIAL","fontSize":48,"fontColor":"#FF0000","opacity":0.5,"rotation":45,"width":"50%","height":"50%"}]}' \
  -o watermarked.pdf

Image watermark:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F "logo.png=@logo.png" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"watermark","imagePath":"logo.png","width":"30%","height":"30%","opacity":0.3}]}' \
  -o watermarked.pdf

6. Digital Signatures

Sign a PDF with CMS signature:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"sign","signatureType":"cms","signerName":"John Doe","reason":"Approval","location":"New York"}]}' \
  -o signed.pdf

Sign with CAdES-B-LT (long-term validation):

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"sign","signatureType":"cades","cadesLevel":"b-lt","signerName":"Jane Smith"}]}' \
  -o signed.pdf

7. Form Filling (Instant JSON)

Fill PDF form fields using Instant JSON format:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "form.pdf=@form.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"form.pdf"}],"actions":[{"type":"fillForm","fields":[{"name":"firstName","value":"John"},{"name":"lastName","value":"Doe"},{"name":"email","value":"john@example.com"}]}]}' \
  -o filled.pdf

8. Merge and Split PDFs

Merge multiple PDFs:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "doc1.pdf=@doc1.pdf" \
  -F "doc2.pdf=@doc2.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"doc1.pdf"},{"file":"doc2.pdf"}]}' \
  -o merged.pdf

Extract specific pages:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf","pages":{"start":0,"end":4}}]}' \
  -o pages1-5.pdf

9. Render PDF Pages as Images

bash

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/build \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY" \
  -F "document.pdf=@document.pdf" \
  -F 'instructions={"parts":[{"file":"document.pdf","pages":{"start":0,"end":0}}],"output":{"type":"png","dpi":300}}' \
  -o page1.png

10. Check Credits

bash

curl -X GET https://api.nutrient.io/credits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUTRIENT_API_KEY"

Best Practices

Use the MCP server when your agent supports it — it handles file I/O, error handling, and sandboxing automatically.
Set
SANDBOX_PATH
to restrict file access to a specific directory.
Check credit balance before batch operations to avoid interruptions.
Use AI redaction for complex PII detection; use preset/regex redaction for known patterns (faster, cheaper).
Chain operations — the API supports multiple actions in a single call (e.g., OCR then redact).

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Check your API key is valid and has credits
413 Payload Too Large	Files must be under 100 MB
Slow AI redaction	AI analysis takes 60–120 seconds; this is normal
OCR quality poor	Try a different language parameter or improve scan quality
Missing text in extraction	Run OCR first on scanned documents

More Information

Full API reference — Detailed endpoints, parameters, and error codes
API Playground — Interactive API testing
API Documentation — Official guides
MCP Server repo — Source code and issues

nutrient-document-processing

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Nutrient Document Processing

Setup

Option 1: MCP Server (Recommended)

Option 2: Direct API (curl)

Operations

1. Convert Documents

2. Extract Text and Data

3. OCR Scanned Documents

4. Redact Sensitive Information

5. Add Watermarks

6. Digital Signatures

7. Form Filling (Instant JSON)

8. Merge and Split PDFs

9. Render PDF Pages as Images

10. Check Credits

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

More Information