# Nutrient Document Processing

> Universal (non-OpenClaw) Nutrient DWS document-processing skill for Agent Skills-compatible products. Best for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenCode, and Copilot environments. Supports full workflows: convert PDF/Office/images, OCR, extract text/tables/key-values, redact PII (pattern + AI), watermark, digitally sign, form fill, merge/split/reorder pages, and API usage/credit checks. Prefers MCP server mode, with direct API/curl fallback. Activates on keywords: PDF, document, convert, extract, OCR, redact, watermark, sign, merge, split, compress, form fill, document processing, MCP.

- Skill: `dvcrn/nutrient-document-processing` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dvcrn/nutrient-document-processing`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dvcrn/nutrient-document-processing/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: dvcrn (https://skillmd.com/u/dvcrn)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dvcrn/nutrient-document-processing

---


# Nutrient Document Processing (Universal Agent Skill)

Best for Claude Code/Codex/Gemini/Cursor/Windsurf and other non-OpenClaw agents. Process, convert, extract, OCR, redact, sign, and manipulate documents using the [Nutrient DWS Processor API](https://www.nutrient.io/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` or `.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.


## Safety Boundaries

- This skill sends documents to the Nutrient DWS API (`api.nutrient.io`) for processing. Documents may contain sensitive data — ensure your Nutrient account's data handling policies are acceptable.
- It does NOT access local files beyond those explicitly passed for processing.
- It does NOT store API keys or credentials beyond the current session.
- MCP server mode (`npx @nutrient-sdk/dws-mcp-server`) downloads the official Nutrient MCP server package from npm at runtime.
- All API calls require an explicit API key — no anonymous access is possible.

## 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

1. **Use the MCP server** when your agent supports it — it handles file I/O, error handling, and sandboxing automatically.
2. **Set `SANDBOX_PATH`** to restrict file access to a specific directory.
3. **Check credit balance** before batch operations to avoid interruptions.
4. **Use AI redaction** for complex PII detection; use preset/regex redaction for known patterns (faster, cheaper).
5. **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](references/REFERENCE.md) — Detailed endpoints, parameters, and error codes
- [API Playground](https://dashboard.nutrient.io/processor-api/playground/) — Interactive API testing
- [API Documentation](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/) — Official guides
- [MCP Server repo](https://github.com/PSPDFKit/nutrient-dws-mcp-server) — Source code and issues