ConvertPdf

A simple webservice for converting PDF files to text or JSON, written in C# using iText.

Licensed under GPL.

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Features

• Convert PDF → plain text
• Convert PDF → structured JSON
• Run locally or on a Linux VPS
• Simple to deploy and run behind nginx

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Development & Testing

1. Open ConvertPdf in Visual Studio.

2. Test locally:

   • Console App → for local files.
   • Webservice Project → for API endpoints.

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Deployment Guide (Linux VPS)

1. Reverse Proxy (nginx)

Example config (/etc/nginx/sites-available/convertpdf.nginx):

# Test config:  sudo nginx -t
# Reload:      sudo service nginx restart
# Add HTTPS:   sudo certbot --nginx
# Enable site: sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/convertpdf.nginx /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    server_name pdf.yourserver.com;

    location / {
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header   Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header   Connection $connection_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header   Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_pass         http://127.0.0.1:4399;
    }
}

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2. Deploying Code

Upload your zip (deploy_convertpdf.zip) to the server and run:

if [[ ! -f deploy_convertpdf.zip ]] ; then
    echo 'File "deploy_convertpdf.zip" is not there, aborting.'
    exit
fi

unzip deploy_convertpdf.zip
rm codeBackup/deploy_convertpdf.zip
mv deploy_convertpdf.zip codeBackup/deploy_convertpdf.zip

rm -rf /var/www/convertpdf_backup
mv /var/www/convertpdf /var/www/convertpdf_backup

mv ./ConvertPdf /var/www/convertpdf
find /var/www/convertpdf -type d -exec chmod 755 {} +
find /var/www/convertpdf -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +

pm2 restart convertpdf
echo "✅ Deployment complete!"

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3. Run Service with pm2

Start the service (once):

sudo pm2 start dotnet --name convertpdf \
  --log /var/log/dotnet/pm2-convertpdf.log \
  -- /var/www/convertpdf/ConvertPdf.dll --urls="http://*:4399;"

For more pm2 info: pm2 quick start.

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Notes

• Port 4399 is the internal port (nginx forwards to this).
• HTTPS is handled by nginx + certbot.
• Logs are in /var/log/dotnet/pm2-convertpdf.log.