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Unstructured

by Unstructured-IOHTML

Preprocess and parse documents (PDF, HTML, docs) for LLM ingestion.

Toolexperimental

Maturity: experimental because latest release 0.24.1 is pre 1.0. Derived from release and commit history, not a rating.

Stars
15k
Forks
1.3k
Downloads / mo
5.3M
Last commit
2026-08-02
License
Apache-2.0
Open issues
275

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In practice

Written by AI from this repository’s README · medium confidence

Feeding real documents to an LLM means writing brittle parsers for every file type you receive.

Use it when

Use it when you need a document ingestion and partitioning step in front of an LLM or retrieval pipeline.

Not the right pick when

It is a preprocessing library, not a retrieval or serving system, so you still need somewhere to store the output.

Capabilities

  • ingest and pre-process images and text documents such as PDFs, HTML and Word docs
  • modular functions and connectors forming one ingestion system
  • transform unstructured data into structured outputs for LLMs
  • Unstructured Transform available to agents as an MCP server
  • adaptable across different platforms

Cost: Free and open source

Install

Derived from the published package name in the repository, not from a model.

Video walkthroughs

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What the repository ships

Docker imageCI configured

Detected from the actual files in the repository root.

Latest release 0.24.1

Published 2026-07-11

What's Changed

  • fix: sanitize v2 HTML output to prevent stored XSS (GHSA-v5mq-3xhg-98m9) by @badGarnet in https://github.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/pull/4394

Full Changelog: https://github.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/compare/0.24.0...0.24.1

Tags

README

<h3 align="center">

<img

src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/main/img/unstructured_logo.png"

height="200"

</h3>

<div align="center">

<a href="https://github.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/blob/main/LICENSE.md">https://pypi.python.org/pypi/unstructured/</a>

<a href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/unstructured/">https://pypi.python.org/pypi/unstructured/</a>

<a href="https://GitHub.com/unstructured-io/unstructured/graphs/contributors">https://GitHub.com/unstructured-io/unstructured.js/graphs/contributors</a>

<a href="https://github.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md">code_of_conduct.md </a>

<a href="https://GitHub.com/unstructured-io/unstructured/releases">https://GitHub.com/unstructured-io/unstructured.js/releases</a>

<a href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/unstructured/">https://github.com/Naereen/badges/</a>

Downloads

Downloads

<a

href="https://www.phorm.ai/query?projectId=34efc517-2201-4376-af43-40c4b9da3dc5">

<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Phorm-Ask_AI-%23F2777A.svg?&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" />

</a>

</div>

<div>

<p align="center">

<a

href="https://short.unstructured.io/pzw05l7">

<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/JOIN US ON SLACK-4A154B?style=for-the-badge&logo=slack&logoColor=white" />

</a>

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<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/LinkedIn-0077B5?style=for-the-badge&logo=linkedin&logoColor=white" />

</a>

</div>

<h2 align="center">

<p>Open-Source Pre-Processing Tools for Unstructured Data</p>

</h2>

The unstructured library provides open-source components for ingesting and pre-processing images and text documents, such as PDFs, HTML, Word docs, and many more. The use cases of unstructured revolve around streamlining and optimizing the data processing workflow for LLMs. unstructured modular functions and connectors form a cohesive system that simplifies data ingestion and pre-processing, making it adaptable to different platforms and efficient in transforming unstructured data into structured outputs.

Unstructured Transform MCP — Document Processing for your Agents

Unstructured Transform brings production-grade document processing to your agents as an MCP server. It gives them the ability to turn 60+ file types into structured data that's ready for your applications, vector databases, and any downstream processes by parsing, enriching, chunking, and embedding files directly inside their current session.

Setup Steps for Your Agent

  1. Pick your MCP client. Transform works with virtually any MCP-compatible host or agent framework — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI and more.
  1. Add the Transform MCP server to your client's MCP configuration (via the CLI mcp add command or the client's MCP settings/config file, depending on the tool).
  1. Authenticate once when your client prompts you. Sign in, and the Transform tools become available to your agent on its next message.
  1. Point your agent at a file. Drag and drop or reference a local file or URL. Transform handles 60+ formats (PDFs, emails, images, scanned files, and more).
  1. Describe what you need in plain language. Tell the agent your intent (e.g. "parse and chunk this contract for a vector store") and Transform partitions, enriches, chunks, and embeds the file, returning structured data ready to use.

15,000 free pages a month, 3 cents per page after!

📄 Full docs: https://docs.unstructured.io/transform/overview

Unstructured Pipelines

Ready to move your data processing pipeline to production, and take advantage of advanced features? Check out Unstructured Pipelines. In addition to better processing performance, take advantage of chunking, embedding, and image and table enrichment generation, all from a low code UI or an API. Request a demo from our sales team to learn more about how to get started.

:eight_pointed_black_star: Quick Start

There are several ways to use the unstructured library:

  1. Install from PyPI
  2. Install for local development
  • For installation with conda on Windows system, please refer to the documentation

Run the library in a container

The following instructions are intended to help you get up and running using Docker to interact with unstructured.

See here if you don't already have docker installed on your machine.

NOTE: we build multi-platform images to support both x86_64 and Apple silicon hardware. docker pull should download the corresponding image for your architecture, but you can specify with --platform (e.g. --platform linux/amd64) if needed.

We build Docker images for all pushes to main. We tag each image with the corresponding short commit hash (e.g. fbc7a69) and the application version (e.g. 0.5.5-dev1). We also tag the most recent image with latest. To leverage this, docker pull from our image repository.


docker pull downloads.unstructured.io/unstructured-io/unstructured:latest

Once pulled, you can create a container from this image and shell to it.


# create the container
docker run -dt --name unstructured downloads.unstructured.io/unstructured-io/unstructured:latest

# this will drop you into a bash shell where the Docker image is running
docker exec -it unstructured bash

You can also build your own Docker image. Note that the base image is wolfi-base, which is

updated regularly. If you are building the image locally, it is possible docker-build could

fail due to upstream changes in wolfi-base.

If you only plan on parsing one type of data you can speed up building the image by commenting out some

of the packages/requirements necessary for other data types. See Dockerfile to know which lines are necessary

for your use case.


make docker-build

# this will drop you into a bash shell where the Docker image is running
make docker-start-bash

Once in the running container, you can try things directly in Python interpreter's interactive mode.


# this will drop you into a python console so you can run the below partition functions
python3

>>> from unstructured.partition.pdf import partition_pdf
>>> elements = partition_pdf(filename="example-docs/layout-parser-paper-fast.pdf")

>>> from unstructured.partition.text import partition_text
>>> elements = partition_text(filename="example-docs/fake-text.txt")

Installing the library

Use the following instructions to get up and running with unstructured and test your

installation.

  • Install the Python SDK to support all document types with pip install "unstructured[all-docs]"
  • For plain text files, HTML, XML, JSON and Emails that do not require any extra dependencies, you can run pip install unstructured
  • To process other doc types, you can install the extras required for those documents, such as pip install "unstructured[docx,pptx]"
  • Install the following system dependencies if they are not already available on your system.

Depending on what document types you're parsing, you may not need all of these.

  • libmagic-dev (filetype detection)
  • poppler-utils (images and PDFs)
  • tesseract-ocr (images and PDFs, install tesseract-lang for additional language support)
  • libreoffice (MS Office docs)
  • pandoc is bundled automatically via the pypandoc-binary Python package (no system install needed)
  • For suggestions on how to install on the Windows and to learn about dependencies for other features, see the

installation documentation here.

At this point, you should be able to run the following code:


from unstructured.partition.auto import partition

elements = partition(filename="example-docs/eml/fake-email.eml")
print("\n\n".join([str(el) for el in elements]))

Installation Instructions for Local Development

The following instructions are intended to help you get up and running with unstructured

locally if you are planning to contribute to the project.

This project uses uv for dependency management. Install it first:


# macOS / Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Then install all dependencies (base, extras, dev, test, and lint groups):


make install

This runs uv sync --locked --all-extras --all-groups, which creates a virtual environment

and installs everything in one step. No need to manually create or activate a virtualenv.

To install only specific document-type extras:


uv sync --extra pdf
uv sync --extra csv --extra docx

To update the lock file after changing dependencies in pyproject.toml:


make lock
  • Optional:
  • To install extras for processing images and PDFs locally, run uv sync --extra pdf --extra image.
  • For processing image files, tesseract is required. See here for installation instructions.
  • For processing PDF files, tesseract and poppler are required. The pdf2image docs have instructions on installing poppler across various platforms.

Additionally, if you're planning to contribute to unstructured, we provide you an optional pre-commit configuration

file to ensure your code matches the formatting and linting standards used in unstructured.

If you'd prefer not to have code changes auto-tidied before every commit, you can use make check to see

whether any linting or formatting changes should be applied, and make tidy to apply them.

If using the optional pre-commit, you'll just need to install the hooks with pre-commit install since the

pre-commit package is

Truncated. Read the full README on GitHub ↗

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