How much does a pdf-split call cost?

$0.005 per call, paid in USDC on Base via x402, with no account and no API key.

What does pdf-split return?

A JSON object with 5 top-level fields: source_url, source_pages, pages, bytes and pdf_base64. The example on this page is a real call over documents/split-five-pages.pdf.

What happens when a pdf-split call fails?

The tool answers with a typed JSON error from the errors table. Payment is settled only after the tool has produced its result; a call that fails inside the tool is never settled. A 503 upstream_unavailable can follow a settled call; the x402 payments guide covers it, 429, 402 and an uncertain 500.

catalogue / tools / Documents / PDF Split API

PDF Split API

Extracts a 1-indexed page selection (e.g. "1,3-4") from a PDF into one new PDF, returned base64-encoded. Maximum output PDF size: 25 MiB before base64 encoding.

Endpoint: POST /v1/pdf-split
Price: $0.005 per call
Family: Documents
Docs: /docs/pdf-split

01When to use it

Splitting a PDF needs a real PDF library and a hardened fetch: an agent that pulls the URL itself walks past every SSRF control, and the output must be byte-reproducible, which a naive save is not.

When not to use it

The input is over 25 MB (26,214,400 bytes): pdf-split answers too_large (413).
The destination needs more than 30 s to answer: the call ends with upstream_timeout (424).
The destination is on a private or local network: the network guard refuses it with blocked_target (403).

02Parameters

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	yes	Absolute http(s) URL of the source PDF, up to 2048 characters; redirects are followed, the body must start with %PDF-, and an encrypted file is refused.
ranges	string	yes	Comma-separated 1-indexed pages or inclusive ranges such as "1,3-4", up to 512 characters; pages are emitted in the order written, repeats are kept, and a descending range or a page past the end is an error.

03Limits

Limit	Value
Size cap	25 MB (26,214,400 bytes)
Timeout	30 s

04Example

The published example of pdf-split, verbatim: the request body and the response it returns.

Request

POST /v1/pdf-split
content-type: application/json
payment-signature: <base64 x402 payload>

{
  "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf",
  "ranges": "1,3-4"
}

Response

200 OK
payment-response: <base64 settlement receipt>

{
  "source_url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf",
  "source_pages": 5,
  "pages": 3,
  "bytes": 1392,
  "pdf_base64": "JVBERi0xLjcKJYGBgYEKCjQgMCBvYmoKPDwKL0ZpbHRlciAvRmxhdGVEZWNvZGUK..."
}

Sample file: documents/split-five-pages.pdf. Five-page PDF with a Helvetica text layer where every page states its own number, built with pdf-lib with pinned metadata.

In the sample itself, the PDF 1.7 file has 7 top-level objects, 1 object stream among them, and a cross-reference stream; inflated, its streams declare 5 pages with MediaBox 0 0 420 300, base font Helvetica and 10 text runs at 14 pt, the first reading "Page 1". In the returned file: the file opens with the header line %PDF-1.7, then a comment of four bytes above 0x7F that marks the file as binary. The first object in the file is number 4, generation 0, a stream compressed with FlateDecode.

Response field	Type	In the example
source_url	string	"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf"
source_pages	number	5
pages	number	3
bytes	number	1392
pdf_base64	string	a string of 67 characters

05Call it from code

JavaScript

// pdf-split: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
// Install: npm install @x402/fetch@2 @x402/evm@2 viem@2
// Save as client.mjs (ES module, Node 18+), export EVM_PRIVATE_KEY with the paying wallet's key in your shell, then run: node client.mjs
// The wrapper reads the 402 (payment-required), signs and retries with payment-signature.
import { wrapFetchWithPayment, x402Client, decodePaymentResponseHeader } from '@x402/fetch'
import { ExactEvmScheme } from '@x402/evm/exact/client'
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts'

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.EVM_PRIVATE_KEY)
const client = new x402Client().register('eip155:8453', new ExactEvmScheme(account))
const fetchWithPayment = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, client)

const body = {
  "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf",
  "ranges": "1,3-4"
}

const res = await fetchWithPayment('https://grist.tools/v1/pdf-split', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify(body),
})
console.log(res.status, await res.json())
const settle = res.headers.get('payment-response')
if (settle) console.log(decodePaymentResponseHeader(settle).transaction)

Python

# pdf-split: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
# Install: pip install "x402[requests,evm]>=2.24,<3"
# The session reads the 402 (payment-required), signs and retries with payment-signature.
import os
from eth_account import Account
from x402 import x402ClientSync
from x402.http import decode_payment_response_header
from x402.http.clients.requests import x402_requests
from x402.mechanisms.evm.exact import register_exact_evm_client
from x402.mechanisms.evm.signers import EthAccountSigner

account = Account.from_key(os.environ["EVM_PRIVATE_KEY"])
client = x402ClientSync()
register_exact_evm_client(client, EthAccountSigner(account), networks="eip155:8453")
session = x402_requests(client)

payload = {
    "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf",
    "ranges": "1,3-4"
}

res = session.post("https://grist.tools/v1/pdf-split", json=payload)
print(res.status_code, res.json())
settle = res.headers.get("payment-response")
if settle:
    print(decode_payment_response_header(settle).transaction)

curl

# pdf-split: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
# 1. Unpaid call: HTTP 402, the requirements in the payment-required header (base64 JSON) and in the body.
curl -i -X POST 'https://grist.tools/v1/pdf-split' -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"url":"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf","ranges":"1,3-4"}'

# 2. Same call with the signed payment (an EIP-3009 authorization, EIP-712 signed: it cannot be
#    typed by hand). x-payment is accepted as the v1 alternative. HTTP 200 carries payment-response.
curl -i -X POST 'https://grist.tools/v1/pdf-split' -H 'content-type: application/json' -H 'payment-signature: <base64 x402 payload>' -d '{"url":"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/split-five-pages.pdf","ranges":"1,3-4"}'

06Errors

Code	HTTP	For this service
invalid_input	400	The body does not match the schema; its fields are url and ranges.
blocked_target	403
unreachable_target	424
upstream_timeout	424
unsupported_content_type	415
too_large	413
unprocessable	422
internal	500

Input that is rejected before the tool runs (malformed JSON, schema mismatch, body over the size limit) is never charged.

When each code is raised, and what it means for payment: /docs/pdf-split.

07Questions

How much does a pdf-split call cost?: $0.005 per call, paid in USDC on Base via x402, with no account and no API key.
What does pdf-split return?: A JSON object with 5 top-level fields: source_url, source_pages, pages, bytes and pdf_base64. The example on this page is a real call over documents/split-five-pages.pdf.
What happens when a pdf-split call fails?: The tool answers with a typed JSON error from the errors table. Payment is settled only after the tool has produced its result; a call that fails inside the tool is never settled. A 503 upstream_unavailable can follow a settled call; the x402 payments guide covers it, 429, 402 and an uncertain 500.

08Related

Documents guide