# Document Parsing (/features/document-parsing) Related: [Search](/features/search.md), [Search Highlights](/features/search-highlights.md), [Research Index](/features/research.md), [Scrape](/features/scrape.md), [Faster Scraping](/features/fast-scraping.md), [Batch Scrape](/features/batch-scrape.md) Firecrawl provides powerful document parsing capabilities, allowing you to extract structured content from various document formats. This feature is particularly useful for processing files like spreadsheets, Word documents, and more. ## Supported Document Formats [#supported-document-formats] Firecrawl currently supports the following document formats: * **Excel Spreadsheets** (`.xlsx`, `.xls`) * Each worksheet is converted to an HTML table * Worksheets are separated by H2 headings with the sheet name * Preserves cell formatting and data types * **Word Documents** (`.docx`, `.doc`, `.odt`, `.rtf`) * Extracts text content while preserving document structure * Maintains headings, paragraphs, lists, and tables * Preserves basic formatting and styling * **PDF Documents** (`.pdf`) * Extracts text content with layout information * Preserves document structure including sections and paragraphs * Handles both text-based and scanned PDFs (with OCR support) * Supports `mode` option to control parsing strategy: `fast` (text-only), `auto` (text with OCR fallback, default), or `ocr` (force OCR) * Priced at 1 credit per-page. See [Pricing](https://firecrawl.dev/pricing) for details. ### PDF Parsing Modes [#pdf-parsing-modes] Use the `parsers` option to control how PDFs are processed: | Mode | Description | | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `auto` | Attempts fast text-based extraction first, falls back to OCR if needed. This is the default. | | `fast` | Text-based parsing only (embedded text). Fastest option, but will not extract text from scanned or image-heavy pages. | | `ocr` | Forces OCR parsing on every page. Use for scanned documents or when `auto` misclassifies a page. | ```js // Object syntax with mode parsers: [{ type: "pdf", mode: "ocr", maxPages: 20 }] // Default (auto mode) parsers: [{ type: "pdf" }] ``` ## How to Use Document Parsing [#how-to-use-document-parsing] Document parsing in Firecrawl works in two ways: 1. **URL-based parsing (`/v2/scrape`)**: provide a URL that points to a supported document type. 2. **File upload parsing (`/v2/parse`)**: upload file bytes directly with `multipart/form-data`. For URL-based parsing, Firecrawl detects file type from extension or content type automatically. ### Upload documents with `/v2/parse` [#upload-documents-with-v2parse] Use `/v2/parse` when the source document is local or not publicly accessible by URL. cURL Node Python ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/parse" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer fc-YOUR-API-KEY" \ -F 'options={"formats":["markdown"]}' \ -F "file=@./document.docx;type=application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document" ``` ```js import { Firecrawl } from "firecrawl"; const app = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" }); const doc = await app.parse( { data: "

Upload Parse

", filename: "upload.html", contentType: "text/html", }, { formats: ["markdown"] }, ); console.log(doc.markdown); ``` ```python from firecrawl import Firecrawl from firecrawl.v2.types import ScrapeOptions app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY") doc = app.parse( b"

Upload Parse

", filename="upload.html", content_type="text/html", options=ScrapeOptions(formats=["markdown"]), ) print(doc.markdown) ``` ### Example: Scraping an Excel File [#example-scraping-an-excel-file] ```js title="Node" import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl'; const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ // No API key needed to get started — add one for higher rate limits: // apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY", }); const doc = await firecrawl.scrape('https://example.com/data.xlsx'); console.log(doc.markdown); ``` ### Example: Scraping a Word Document [#example-scraping-a-word-document] ```js title="Node" import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl'; const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ // No API key needed to get started — add one for higher rate limits: // apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY", }); const doc = await firecrawl.scrape('https://example.com/data.docx'); console.log(doc.markdown); ``` ## Output Format [#output-format] All supported document types are converted to clean, structured markdown. For example, an Excel file with multiple sheets might be converted to: ```markdown ## Sheet1 | Name | Value | |-------|-------| | Item 1 | 100 | | Item 2 | 200 | ## Sheet2 | Date | Description | |------------|--------------| | 2023-01-01 | First quarter| ``` > Are you an AI agent that needs a Firecrawl API key? See [firecrawl.dev/agent-onboarding/SKILL.md](https://www.firecrawl.dev/agent-onboarding/SKILL.md) for automated onboarding instructions.