← PDF splitter

Extract pages from a PDF with curl

Extract pages into a new PDF, remove pages, or split a PDF into one file per page. Here is the whole call with curl, with the output it produced when we ran it.

Before you start

• An API key. Create a free account; it comes with free tokens every month. Put the key in an environment variable so it stays out of your code: export BLOODWEB_KEY=your_key
• curl 7.76 or later (for --fail-with-body, which makes curl stop on an error and still show the reason).
• The input file in the same folder: report.pdf. Use your own; that is the name the code expects.

The code

Save it as pdf-split.sh and run bash pdf-split.sh.

curl -sS --fail-with-body \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BLOODWEB_KEY" \
  -F file=@report.pdf \
  -F mode=extract \
  -F pages=2-4 \
  https://bloodweb.net/api/v1/pdf-split \
  -o pages.pdf

What you get

Tested 19 October 2026: this exact code ran against our test copy of the API, which runs the same service code as bloodweb.net, and produced this.

It writes pages.pdf: a PDF, 3 pages, 2 KB.

Change the call

Every option the PDF splitter takes. Add or change them the same way as the ones in the code.

• mode: extract: a PDF of the chosen pages, in the order given. remove: the PDF without the chosen pages. each: a zip with one PDF per chosen page. One of: extract, remove, each.
• pages: Pages such as 1-3,5 or 8- (to the end). Required for extract and remove; each defaults to all pages.

If it fails

A failed call is not charged. The answer is JSON with an error object; curl stops with an error, and that JSON lands in pages.pdf instead of the result, so open it as text to read the reason. The usual ones:

• 401 missing_key or invalid_key: BLOODWEB_KEY is not set in the shell that runs the code, or the key was revoked.
• 415 unsupported_type: the file is not a type this service reads. The type is read from the file itself, so renaming a file does not change it.
• 413 file_too_large: the file is over the limit on the service page.
• 402 insufficient_tokens: the balance does not cover the call. Top up in the dashboard.
• 429 rate_limited: too many calls at once. Wait the seconds in the Retry-After header and send it again.

Every code and its fix is in the docs.

Next

• The PDF splitter page: every option, the limits, and Try it now in your browser.
• Getting started: keys, errors and rate limits for all the services.