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pdfconversionapi

HTML to TXT API

POST /v2/convert/html/to/txt returns the page's text as UTF-8, wrapped at 100 characters unless you set LineWidth. The sample used LineWidth=72: 41 lines, none longer than 72 characters, with the table drawn in box-drawing characters and both links listed as numbered references at the end.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/html/to/txt
Accepts
html
Sample timing
1 ms median of 5 runsHow we measure
Request size
Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together

Request and response

Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.

curl -sS -X POST \
  https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/html/to/txt \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@seed-swap.html \
  --form-string LineWidth=72 \
  -o response.json

# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
  mkdir -p converted
  name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
  jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
    | base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
  cat response.json
fi
200 OK1 ms median1 file, 2.1 KB
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0.001,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "seed-swap.txt",
      "FileExt": "txt",
      "FileSize": 2176,
      "FileData": "IyBTcHJpbmcgc2VlZCBzd2Fw…"
    }
  ]
}

Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.

The sample, converted

The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.

seed-swap.txt, first 30 of 41 lines

# Spring seed swap 2027The **Maple Row Seed Library** is a fictional lending library for gardenseeds. Bring seeds you saved, take seeds you want, and *return a packet*after harvest. Read the [borrowing rules][1] before you come.Doors open at 10:00[A kraft seed packet with three seeds]## How the swap works1. Check in at the front table and get a tally card.2. Label each packet with the variety and the year it was saved.3. Take up to **five packets** per household.## Packets on hand───────────────┬─────────┬───────┬───────────┬───────────Variety        │Crop     │Packets│Germination│Last tested───────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────────┼───────────Cherokee Purple│Tomato   │42     │91%        │2027-01-14 ───────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────────┼───────────Dragon Tongue  │Bush bean│18     │86%        │2027-01-21 ───────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────────┼───────────Lemon Queen    │Sunflower│27     │78%        │2026-12-03 ───────────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────────┼───────────Red Russian    │Kale     │9      │94%        │2027-02-02 ───────────────┴─────────┴───────┴───────────┴───────────## What to bring
Input
seed-swap.html (3.0 KB)
Output
seed-swap.txt (2.1 KB)
Source
A one-page web page for a fictional community seed library, written for this site: headings, a table, two lists, links, a quote, a style sheet, a script and an inlined picture. (CC0-1.0). How it was made
Made by
2026-11-04, API build 9eeeb0640aba

Parameters

Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.

ParameterWhat it does
LineWidthinteger, default 100Column at which text wraps. The sample's paragraphs wrap at 72. Narrower than a table, the table's cells wrap inside their columns: at 20, "Cherokee Purple" took five lines.Values: 20–1000
FileNamestringBase name of the .txt; the sample's is seed-swap.txt.
StoreFileboolean, default falsetrue returns a 3-hour link in Files[].Url instead of the text inline.

Not supported yet

Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.

OptionWhat to do instead
JavaScriptScripts never run. The default true is accepted; false returns 400.
UrlSend the page as a file. A Url value returns 400 "Url is not supported yet for HTML → TXT".
CssMediaTypeCSS is not applied, so only the default screen is accepted.
ExtractElementsAny selector returns 400; the whole body is converted.
HideElementsAny selector returns 400. Remove the elements from the HTML before sending it.
ConversionDelayOnly 0 passes.
UserCssRefused, like UserJs, Cookies, Headers, AuthUsername, AuthPassword, AdBlock, CookieConsentBlock and WaitElement, which all belong to loading a page in a browser.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • Headings marked with # and ##, bold with ** and italic with *
  • The table in aligned columns, drawn with │, ─ and ┼, each column as wide as its longest cell
  • Numbered steps as 1. to 3., bullets as *, the nested bullet indented two spaces
  • Links as [text][1], with the URLs listed as [1]: https://seeds.example/rules at the end
  • The picture's alt text in brackets: [A kraft seed packet with three seeds]
  • The quote with > on each wrapped line
  • Strikethrough as combining strokes (s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶) and superscript marked with ^ and braces

Lost or not yet supported

  • Everything in the <head>: the title is not printed.
  • Script output, styles and comments.
  • Charset declarations. A windows-1252 page with a matching meta tag came back with U+FFFD in place of é, so send UTF-8.
  • Horizontal rules, which leave only a blank line, and the subscript mark.
  • Windows line endings. Lines end with LF only, and there is no option to change that.

Limits

  • One HTML file per request.
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together.
  • 120 seconds per conversion, then 504.

Where teams use it

Plain-text parts of HTML emails

A multipart email should carry a text version next to the HTML one. Convert the HTML body with LineWidth=72 and the links end up as numbered references a text-only mail client can show.

Text for search indexes and diffs

Index the words of a page without its tags, or compare two versions of a page line by line. Tables stay aligned in columns, so row values remain readable in a diff.

Questions

Is the output plain text or Markdown?

Plain text with light markers that read naturally: # before headings, ** around bold, * bullets and numbered link references. It is not meant to be parsed as Markdown. For real Markdown, use /v2/convert/html/to/md.

How do I keep long lines unwrapped?

Set LineWidth=1000, the highest value. At 1000 the sample's opening paragraph stays on one 207-character line and the file has 38 lines instead of 41 at 72. The size hardly moves (2,174 bytes against 2,176), since a wrap only turns a space into a line break.

Can I convert a web address directly?

No. Upload the HTML as a file. ConvertAPI's Url option, and the other browser options such as JavaScript=false or WaitElement, return 400 because nothing is loaded or run.

What happens to a table that is wider than LineWidth?

The columns are squeezed and cell text wraps inside them, breaking words if it must. At LineWidth=20 the sample's header "Variety" split into "Var", "iet" and "y".

Convert your first HTML file in a minute.