OCRmyPDF/docs/installation.md

---
myst:
  substitutions:
    deb_11: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/debian_11/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Debian 11
      :::
    deb_12: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/debian_12/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Debian 12
      :::
    deb_unstable: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/debian_unstable/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Debian unstable
      :::
    fedora_38: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/fedora_38/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Fedora 38
      :::
    fedora_39: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/fedora_39/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Fedora 39
      :::
    fedora_rawhide: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/fedora_rawhide/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Fedore Rawhide
      :::
    latest: |-
      :::{image} https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: OCRmyPDF latest released version on PyPI
      :::
    ubu_2004: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/ubuntu_20_04/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
      :::
    ubu_2204: |-
      :::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/ubuntu_22_04/ocrmypdf.svg
      :alt: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
      :::
---

% SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 James R. Barlow
% SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-4.0

# Installing OCRmyPDF

(latest)=

The easiest way to install OCRmyPDF is to follow the steps for your operating
system/platform. This version may be out of date, however.

These platforms have one-liner installs:

:::{list-table}
:header-rows: 0

* - Debian, Ubuntu
  - ``apt install ocrmypdf``
* - Windows Subsystem for Linux
  - ``apt install ocrmypdf``
* - Fedora
  - ``dnf install ocrmypdf tesseract-osd``
* - macOS (Homebrew)
  - ``brew install ocrmypdf``
* - macOS (MacPorts)
  - ``port install ocrmypdf``
* - LinuxBrew
  - ``brew install ocrmypdf``
* - FreeBSD
  - ``pkg install textproc/py-ocrmypdf``
* - Snap (snapcraft packaging)
  - ``snap install ocrmypdf``
:::

More detailed procedures are outlined below. If you want to do a manual
install, or install a more recent version than your platform provides, read on.

:::{contents} Platform-specific steps
:depth: 2
:local: true
:::

## Installing on Linux

### Debian and Ubuntu 20.04 or newer

:::{list-table}
:header-rows: 1

* - OCRmyPDF versions in Debian & Ubuntu
* - {{ latest }}
* - {{ deb_11 }} {{ deb_12 }} {{ deb_unstable }}
* - {{ ubu_2004 }} {{ ubu_2204 }}
:::

Users of Debian or Ubuntu may simply

```bash
apt install ocrmypdf
```

As indicated in the table above, Debian and Ubuntu releases may lag
behind the latest version. If the version available for your platform is
out of date, you could opt to install the latest version from source.
See [Installing HEAD revision from
sources](#installing-head-revision-from-sources).

For full details on version availability for your platform, check the
[Debian Package Tracker](https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/ocrmypdf) or
[Ubuntu launchpad.net](https://launchpad.net/ocrmypdf).

:::{note}
OCRmyPDF for Debian and Ubuntu currently omit the JBIG2 encoder.
OCRmyPDF works fine without it but will produce larger output files.
If you build jbig2enc from source, ocrmypdf will
automatically detect it (specifically the `jbig2` binary) on the
`PATH`. To add JBIG2 encoding, see {ref}`jbig2`.
:::

### Fedora

:::{list-table}
:header-rows: 1

* - OCRmyPDF version
* - {{latest}}
* - {{fedora_38}} {{fedora_39}} {{fedora_rawhide}}
:::

Users of Fedora may simply

```bash
dnf install ocrmypdf tesseract-osd
```

For full details on version availability, check the [Fedora Package
Tracker](https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/ocrmypdf/ocrmypdf/).

If the version available for your platform is out of date, you could opt
to install the latest version from source. See [Installing HEAD revision
from sources](#installing-head-revision-from-sources).

:::{note}
OCRmyPDF for Fedora currently omits the JBIG2 encoder due to patent
issues. OCRmyPDF works fine without it but will produce larger output
files. If you build jbig2enc from source, ocrmypdf 7.0.0 and later
will automatically detect it on the `PATH`. To add JBIG2 encoding,
see {ref}`Installing the JBIG2 encoder <jbig2>`.
:::

(ubuntu-lts-latest)=

### RHEL 9

Prepare the environment by getting Python 3.11:

```bash
dnf install python3.11 python3.11-pip
```

Then, follow [Requirements for pip and HEAD install](#requirements-for-pip-and-head-install) to install dependencies:

```bash
dnf install ghostscript tesseract
```

and build ocrmypdf in virtual environment:

```bash
python3.11 -m venv .venv
```

To add JBIG2 encoding, see {ref}`Installing the JBIG2 encoder <jbig2>`.

Note Fedora packages for language data haven't been branched for RHEL/EPEL, but you can get traineddata files directly from [tesseract](https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/) and place them in `/usr/share/tesseract/tessdata`.

### Installing the latest version on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Ubuntu 22.04 includes ocrmypdf 13.4.0 - you can install that with
`apt install ocrmypdf`. To install a more recent version for the current
user, follow these steps:

```bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install ocrmypdf python3-pip

pip install --user --upgrade ocrmypdf
```

If you get the message `WARNING: The script ocrmypdf is installed in
'/home/$USER/.local/bin' which is not on PATH.`, you may need to re-login
or open a new shell, or manually adjust your PATH.

To add JBIG2 encoding, see {ref}`jbig2`.

### Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Ubuntu 20.04 includes ocrmypdf 9.6.0 - you can install that with `apt`. The
most convenient way to install recent OCRmyPDF on older Ubuntu is to use
Homebrew on Linux (Linuxbrew).

```bash
brew install ocrmypdf
```

### Arch Linux (AUR)

:::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/aur/ocrmypdf.svg
:alt: ArchLinux
:target: https://repology.org/metapackage/ocrmypdf
:::

There is an [Arch User Repository (AUR) package for OCRmyPDF](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ocrmypdf/).

Installing AUR packages as root is not allowed, so you must first [setup a
non-root user](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Users_and_groups#User_management) and
[configure sudo](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sudo#Configuration).
The standard Docker image, `archlinux/base:latest`, does **not** have a
non-root user configured, so users of that image must follow these guides. If
you are using a VM image, such as [the official Vagrant image](https://app.vagrantup.com/archlinux/boxes/archlinux), this work may already
be completed for you.

Next you should install the [base-devel package group](https://archlinux.org/packages/core/any/base-devel/). This includes the
standard tooling needed to build packages, such as a compiler and binary tools.

```bash
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel
```

Now you are ready to install the OCRmyPDF package.

```bash
curl -O https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/snapshot/ocrmypdf.tar.gz
tar xvzf ocrmypdf.tar.gz
cd ocrmypdf
makepkg -sri
```

At this point you will have a working install of OCRmyPDF, but the Tesseract
install won’t include any OCR language data. You can install [the
tesseract-data package group](https://www.archlinux.org/groups/any/tesseract-data/) to add all supported
languages, or use that package listing to identify the appropriate package for
your desired language.

```bash
sudo pacman -S tesseract-data-eng
```

As an alternative to this manual procedure, consider using an [AUR helper](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AUR_helpers). Such a tool will
automatically fetch, build and install the AUR package, resolve dependencies
(including dependencies on AUR packages), and ease the upgrade procedure.

If you have any difficulties with installation, check the repository package
page.

:::{note}
The OCRmyPDF AUR package currently omits the JBIG2 encoder. OCRmyPDF works
fine without it but will produce larger output files. The encoder is
available from [the jbig2enc-git AUR package](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/jbig2enc-git/) and may be installed
using the same series of steps as for the installation OCRmyPDF AUR
package. Alternatively, it may be built manually from source following the
instructions in {ref}`Installing the JBIG2 encoder <jbig2>`. If JBIG2 is
installed, OCRmyPDF 7.0.0 and later will automatically detect it.
:::

### Alpine Linux

:::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/alpine_edge/ocrmypdf.svg
:alt: Alpine Linux
:target: https://repology.org/metapackage/ocrmypdf
:::

To install OCRmyPDF for Alpine Linux:

```bash
apk add ocrmypdf
```

### Gentoo Linux

:::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/gentoo_ovl_guru/ocrmypdf.svg
:alt: Gentoo Linux
:target: https://repology.org/metapackage/ocrmypdf
:::

To install OCRmyPDF on Gentoo Linux, use the following commands:

```bash
eselect repository enable guru
emaint sync --repo guru
emerge --ask app-text/OCRmyPDF
```

### Other Linux packages

See the
[Repology](https://repology.org/metapackage/ocrmypdf/versions) page.

In general, first install the OCRmyPDF package for your system, then
optionally use the procedure [Installing with Python
pip](#installing-with-python-pip) to install a more recent version.

## Installing on macOS

### Homebrew

:::{image} https://img.shields.io/homebrew/v/ocrmypdf.svg
:alt: homebrew
:target: https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ocrmypdf
:::

OCRmyPDF is now a standard [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) formula. To
install on macOS:

```bash
brew install ocrmypdf
```

This will include only the English language pack. If you need other
languages you can optionally install them all:

```bash
brew install tesseract-lang  # Optional: Install all language packs
```

### MacPorts

:::{image} https://img.shields.io/badge/dynamic/json?url=https%3A%2F%2Fports.macports.org%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fports%2Focrmypdf%2F%3Fformat%3Djson&query=version&label=MacPorts
:alt: Macports Version Information
:target: https://ports.macports.org/port/ocrmypdf
:::

OCRmyPDF is includes in MacPorts:

```bash
sudo port install ocrmypdf
```

Note that while this will install tesseract you will need to install
the appropriate tesseract [language ports](https://ports.macports.org/search/?selected_facets=categories_exact%3Atextproc&installed_file=&q=tesseract&name=on).

### Manual installation on macOS

These instructions probably work on all macOS supported by Homebrew, and are
for installing a more current version of OCRmyPDF than is available from
Homebrew. Note that the Homebrew versions usually track the release versions
fairly closely.

If it's not already present, [install Homebrew](http://brew.sh/).

Update Homebrew:

```bash
brew update
```

Install or upgrade the required Homebrew packages, if any are missing.
To do this, use `brew edit ocrmypdf` to obtain a recent list of Homebrew
dependencies. You could also check the `.workflows/build.yml`.

This will include the English, French, German and Spanish language
packs. If you need other languages you can optionally install them all:

(macos-all-languages)=

> ```bash
> brew install tesseract-lang  # Option 2: for all language packs
> ```

Update the homebrew pip:

```bash
pip install --upgrade pip
```

You can then install OCRmyPDF from PyPI for the current user:

```bash
pip install --user ocrmypdf
```

The command line program should now be available:

```bash
ocrmypdf --help
```

## Installing on Windows

### Native Windows

% If you have a Windows that is not the Home edition, you can use Windows Sandbox to test on a blank Windows instance.
% https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/

:::{note}
Administrator privileges will be required for some of these steps.
:::

You must install the following for Windows:

- Python 64-bit
- Tesseract 64-bit
- Ghostscript 64-bit

Using the [winget](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/)
package manager:

- `winget install -e --id Python.Python.3.11`
- `winget install -e --id UB-Mannheim.TesseractOCR`

You will need to install Ghostscript manually, [since it does not support automated
installs anymore](https://artifex.com/news/ghostscript-10.01.0-disabling-silent-install-option).

- [Ghostscript download page](https://ghostscript.com/releases/gsdnld.html).\`

(Or alternately, using the [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) package manager, install
the following when running in an Administrator command prompt):

- `choco install python3`
- `choco install --pre tesseract`
- `choco install pngquant` (optional)

Either set of commands will install the required software. At the moment there is no
single command to install Windows.

You may then use `pip` to install ocrmypdf. (This can performed by a user or
Administrator.):

- `python3 -m pip install ocrmypdf`

% The Windows Python versions do not place any python or python3 executable in the path.
% They add the py launcher to the path:
% https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#python-launcher-for-windows

If you installed Python using WinGet, then use the following command instead:

- `py -m pip install ocrmypdf`

and use:

- `py -m ocrmypdf`

To start OCRmyPDF.

If you intend to use more Python software on your Windows machine, consider the use of
[pipx](https://pipx.pypa.io/stable/) or a similar tool to create isolated Python
environments for each Python software that you want to use.

OCRmyPDF will check the Windows Registry and standard locations in your Program Files
for third party software it needs (specifically, Tesseract and Ghostscript). To
override the versions OCRmyPDF selects, you can modify the `PATH` environment
variable. [Follow these directions](https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm#dospath)
to change the PATH.

:::{warning}
As of early 2021, users have reported problems with the Microsoft Store version of
Python and OCRmyPDF. These issues affect many other third party Python packages.
Please download Python from Python.org or a package manager instead of the
Microsoft Store version.
:::

:::{warning}
32-bit Windows is not supported.
:::

### Windows Subsystem for Linux

1. Install Ubuntu 22.04 for Windows Subsystem for Linux, if not already installed.
2. Follow the procedure to install {ref}`OCRmyPDF on Ubuntu 22.04 <ubuntu-lts-latest>`.
3. Open the Windows command prompt and create a symlink:

```powershell
wsl sudo ln -s  /home/$USER/.local/bin/ocrmypdf /usr/local/bin/ocrmypdf
```

Then confirm that the expected version from PyPI ({{ latest }}) is installed:

```powershell
wsl ocrmypdf --version
```

You can then run OCRmyPDF in the Windows command prompt or Powershell, prefixing
`wsl`, and call it from Windows programs or batch files.

### Cygwin64

First install the the following prerequisite Cygwin packages using `setup-x86_64.exe`:

```
python311 (or later)
python3?-devel
python3?-pip
python3?-lxml
python3?-imaging

   (where 3? means match the version of python3 you installed)

gcc-g++
ghostscript
libexempi3
libexempi-devel
libffi6
libffi-devel
pngquant
qpdf
libqpdf-devel
tesseract-ocr
tesseract-ocr-devel
```

Then open a Cygwin terminal (i.e. `mintty`), run the following commands. Note
that if you are using the version of `pip` that was installed with the Cygwin
Python package, the command name will be `pip3`. If you have since updated
`pip` (with, for instance `pip3 install --upgrade pip`) the the command is
likely just `pip` instead of `pip3`:

```bash
pip3 install wheel
pip3 install ocrmypdf
```

The optional dependency "unpaper" that is currently not available under Cygwin.
Without it, certain options such as `--clean` will produce an error message.
However, the OCR-to-text-layer functionality is available.

### Docker

You can also [Install the Docker image](docker) on Windows. Ensure that
your command prompt can run the docker "hello world" container.

## Installing on FreeBSD

:::{image} https://repology.org/badge/version-for-repo/freebsd/ocrmypdf.svg
:alt: FreeBSD
:target: https://repology.org/project/ocrmypdf/versions
:::

```bash
pkg install textproc/py-ocrmypdf
```

To install a more recent version, you could attempt to first install the system
version with `pkg`, then use `pip install --user ocrmypdf`.

## Installing the Docker image

For some users, installing the Docker image will be easier than
installing all of OCRmyPDF's dependencies.

See [Installing the Docker image](docker) for more information.

(installing-with-python-pip)=

## Installing with Python pip

OCRmyPDF is delivered by PyPI because it is a convenient way to install
the latest version. However, PyPI and `pip` cannot address the fact
that `ocrmypdf` depends on certain non-Python system libraries and
programs being installed.

For best results, first install [your platform's
version](https://repology.org/metapackage/ocrmypdf/versions) of
`ocrmypdf`, using the instructions elsewhere in this document. Then
you can use `pip` to get the latest version if your platform version
is out of date. Chances are that this will satisfy most dependencies.

Use `ocrmypdf --version` to confirm what version was installed.

Then you can install the latest OCRmyPDF from the Python wheels. First
try:

```bash
pip install --user ocrmypdf
```

(If the message appears `Requirement already satisfied: ocrmypdf in...`,
you will need to use `pip install --user --upgrade ocrmypdf`.)

You should then be able to run `ocrmypdf --version` and see that the
latest version was located.

## Installing with pipx

Some users may prefer pipx. As with the method above, you will need to
satisfy all non-Python dependencies. Then if pipx is installed, you
can use

```bash
pipx run ocrmypdf
```

(If not installed, pipx will install first.)

(requirements-for-pip-and-head-install)=

### Requirements for pip and HEAD install

OCRmyPDF currently requires these external programs and libraries to be
installed, and must be satisfied using the operating system package
manager. `pip` cannot provide them.

:::{versionchanged} 17.0.0
Ghostscript is now optional. pypdfium2 can be used for PDF rasterization,
and verapdf can validate speculative PDF/A conversion.
:::

The following versions are required:

- Python 3.11 or newer
- Tesseract 4.1.1 or newer
- One of: Ghostscript 9.54+ **or** pypdfium2 (Python package)
- One of: Ghostscript 9.54+ **or** verapdf (for PDF/A output)
- fpdf2 2.8 or newer (Python package)
- jbig2enc 0.29 or newer (optional)
- pngquant 2.5 or newer (optional)
- unpaper 6.1 (optional)

:::{note}
For the best user experience, install both Ghostscript and pypdfium2.
pypdfium2 is faster for rasterization, while Ghostscript provides
broader compatibility and is required for certain PDF/A conversions.
:::

We recommend 64-bit versions of all software. (32-bit versions are not
supported, although on Linux, they may still work.)

**fpdf2** is a required dependency that provides the text layer
rendering engine. It replaces the legacy hOCR-based renderer with improved
multilingual support. Install with: `pip install fpdf2`

**pypdfium2**, if present, provides fast PDF page rasterization using
the pdfium library (the same library used by Google Chrome). It is
preferred over Ghostscript when available due to better performance.
Install with: `pip install pypdfium2`

**verapdf**, if present, enables fast speculative PDF/A conversion.
OCRmyPDF attempts to create PDF/A by adding metadata and ICC profiles
using pikepdf, then validates with verapdf. If validation passes,
Ghostscript is skipped entirely. See your distribution's package manager
or visit [verapdf.org](https://verapdf.org/).

**jbig2enc**, if present, will be used to optimize the encoding of
monochrome images. This can significantly reduce the file size of the
output file. It is not required.
[jbig2enc](https://github.com/agl/jbig2enc) is not generally
available for Ubuntu or Debian due to lingering concerns about patent
issues, but can easily be built from source. To add JBIG2 encoding, see
{ref}`jbig2`.

:::{warning}
Lossy JBIG2 encoding (`--jbig2-lossy`) has been removed in v17.0.0 due to
well-documented risks of character substitution errors. Only lossless
JBIG2 compression is now supported.
:::

**pngquant**, if present, is optionally used to optimize the encoding of
PNG-style images in PDFs (actually, any that are that losslessly
encoded) by lossily quantizing to a smaller color palette. It is only
activated then the `--optimize` argument is `2` or `3`.

**unpaper**, if present, enables the `--clean` and `--clean-final`
command line options.

These are in addition to the Python packaging dependencies, meaning that
unfortunately, the `pip install` command cannot satisfy all of them.

(installing-head-revision-from-sources)=

## Installing HEAD revision from sources

If you have `git` and Python 3.11 or newer installed, you can install
from source. When the `pip` installer runs, it will alert you if
dependencies are missing.

If you prefer to build every from source, you will need to [build
pikepdf from
source](https://pikepdf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html#building-from-source).
First ensure you can build and install pikepdf.

To install the HEAD revision from sources in the current Python 3
environment:

```bash
pip install git+https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF.git
```

Or, to install in editable mode
allowing customization of OCRmyPDF, use the `-e` flag:

```bash
pip install -e git+https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF.git
```

You may find it easiest to install in a virtual environment, rather than
system-wide:

```bash
git clone -b main https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF.git
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
cd OCRmyPDF
pip install .
```

However, `ocrmypdf` will only be accessible on the system PATH when
you activate the virtual environment.

To run the program:

```bash
ocrmypdf --help
```

If not yet installed, the script will notify you about dependencies that
need to be installed. The script requires specific versions of the
dependencies. Older version than the ones mentioned in the release notes
are likely not to be compatible to OCRmyPDF.

## Optional Features

OCRmyPDF provides optional features and development tools. We recommend using `uv` as your package manager.

### Installing User Features

User features are available as optional dependencies. Install them with `uv` (recommended) or `pip`:

```bash
# Using uv (recommended)
uv sync --extra watcher        # File watching service
uv sync --extra webservice     # Streamlit web UI
uv sync --extra watcher --extra webservice  # Multiple features

# Using pip (also works)
pip install ocrmypdf[watcher]
pip install ocrmypdf[webservice]
pip install ocrmypdf[watcher,webservice]
```

### Development Tools (uv only)

Development tools use dependency groups and require `uv`:

```bash
# Testing infrastructure
uv sync --group test

# Documentation building
uv sync --group docs

# Enhanced Streamlit development
uv sync --group streamlit-dev

# All development groups
uv sync
```

:::{note}
**User features** (`watcher`, `webservice`) work with both `uv` and `pip`.
**Developer tools** (`test`, `docs`, `streamlit-dev`) require `uv` and use dependency groups (PEP 735).
:::

**Why use uv?**

- Modern, fast Python package manager
- Required for development (testing, docs)
- Better dependency resolution
- Consistent across all platforms

Install uv: `pip install uv` or visit https://docs.astral.sh/uv/

### For development

To install all of the development and test requirements:

```bash
git clone -b main https://github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF.git
cd OCRmyPDF
pip install uv  # Install uv if not already installed
uv sync --group test
```

Note: Development requires `uv`. The old `pip install -e .[test]` method is no longer supported.

To add JBIG2 encoding, see {ref}`jbig2`.

## Shell completions

Completions for `bash` and `fish` are available in the project's
`misc/completion` folder. The `bash` completions are likely `zsh`
compatible but this has not been confirmed. Package maintainers, please
install these at the appropriate locations for your system.

To manually install the `bash` completion, copy
`misc/completion/ocrmypdf.bash` to `/etc/bash_completion.d/ocrmypdf`
(rename the file).

To manually install the `fish` completion, copy
`misc/completion/ocrmypdf.fish` to
`~/.config/fish/completions/ocrmypdf.fish`.

## Note on 32-bit support

Many Python libraries no longer provide 32-bit binary wheels for Linux. This
includes many of the libraries that OCRmyPDF depends on, such as
Pillow. The easiest way to express this to end users is to say we don't
support 32-bit Linux.

However, if your Linux distribution still supports 32-bit binaries, you
can still install and use OCRmyPDF. A warning message will appear.
In practice, OCRmyPDF may need more than 32-bit memory space to run when
large documents are processed, so there are practical limitations to what
users can accomplish with it. Still, for the common use case of an 32-bit
ARM NAS or Raspberry Pi processing small documents, it should work.