docbeast
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    Quickstart

    Convert a scanned PDF or photo into Excel, CSV or JSON with one request.

    docbeast reads scanned PDFs and photos of documents and gives you their tables as rows. The base URL for every request is https://api.docbeast.com.

    1. Convert a file

    You can try the API without an account. The first page of a file is free, 3 times a day.

    curl -X POST "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/convert?wait=25&filename=list.pdf" \
  --data-binary @list.pdf

    wait=25 holds the request open for up to 25 seconds, so a short file can finish in the same response. See Convert a file for the other options.

    2. Read the response

    This is an example. Your id and times will differ.

    {
  "id": "job_cbff845fa8cb4e0a9f3d26b14c7e5a10",
  "status": "done",
  "filename": "list.pdf",
  "page_count": 1,
  "pages_converted": 1,
  "pages_skipped": 0,
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-11-09T10:44:51Z",
  "expires_at": "...",
  "downloads": {
    "json": "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/jobs/job_cbff845fa8cb4e0a9f3d26b14c7e5a10/result.json",
    "csv": "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/jobs/job_cbff845fa8cb4e0a9f3d26b14c7e5a10/result.csv",
    "xlsx": "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/jobs/job_cbff845fa8cb4e0a9f3d26b14c7e5a10/result.xlsx"
  }
}

    If status is still queued or running, the response is a 202. Check again with GET /v1/jobs/{id}. See Jobs.

    3. Download the result

    The links in downloads need no key. Files are deleted automatically after a short time, so save what you need.

    curl -o list.xlsx "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/jobs/job_cbff845fa8cb4e0a9f3d26b14c7e5a10/result.xlsx"

    4. Get an API key

    Longer files need an account. Sign in with your email address and we send you a sign-in link. A new account gets 10 free pages a month, and its first key is waiting on the dashboard. Then send the key with each request:

    curl -X POST "https://api.docbeast.com/v1/convert?wait=25&filename=list.pdf" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dbk_live_..." \
  --data-binary @list.pdf

    Next steps