How do I write the range?

In "option", one-based, the way a reader numbers pages: "1-3" for the first three, "2,5" for two pages, "1-3,7,9-10" for a mix.

Does the order I ask for matter?

Yes. "3,1" returns page three followed by page one. The pages come back in the order requested rather than sorted.

What if I ask for a page that does not exist?

You get a 422 naming the real page count and the page you asked for, rather than a shorter file than you expected.

Split PDF API

Keep only the pages you name. Put the range in "option", for example 1-3,7.

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Endpoint	POST https://astralpdf.com/api/v1/split-pdf
Auth	Bearer token, free
Sends	input: base64
Returns	result: base64
Price	Free. 1,000 calls a day, 60 a minute.

When to call it

Splitting is how a document becomes the part somebody actually needs: one invoice out of a batch print, a single chapter, the signature page. In a pipeline the ranges come from data rather than from a person clicking, which is the only way it scales past a handful of files.

For a one-off, the browser version needs no token and never sends your data anywhere: it runs on your own machine.

Example

curl

curl -X POST https://astralpdf.com/api/v1/split-pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ast_YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": "JVBERi0xLjcKJYGBgYEK...", "option": "2-4,9"}'

response

{
  "tool": "split-pdf",
  "result": "JVBERi0xLjcKJWDjz9MKMSAwIG9iago8PC9UeXBlL0NhdGFsb2c...",
  "chars": 2180,
  "ms": 42
}

In your language

JavaScript

const res = await fetch("https://astralpdf.com/api/v1/split-pdf", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.ASTRAL_TOKEN}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({"input": "JVBERi0xLjcKJYGBgYEK...", "option": "2-4,9"}),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error((await res.json()).detail);
const { result } = await res.json();

Python

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://astralpdf.com/api/v1/split-pdf",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['ASTRAL_TOKEN']}"},
    json={"input": "JVBERi0xLjcKJYGBgYEK...", "option": "2-4,9"},
    timeout=30,
)
res.raise_for_status()
result = res.json()["result"]

Parameters

Field	Type	Notes
input	string	Required. The file, base64 encoded. A data: URL is accepted too. Up to 6,000,000 characters per call.
option	string	See the example above.

Errors

Errors are RFC 7807 problem documents with a stable type you can branch on.

missing-token	401	No Authorization header.
bad-request	400	input missing or the wrong type.
tool-failed	422	The input could not be processed. detail says why.
quota-exceeded	429	Past 1,000 calls today.

Questions

How do I write the range?: In "option", one-based, the way a reader numbers pages: "1-3" for the first three, "2,5" for two pages, "1-3,7,9-10" for a mix.
Does the order I ask for matter?: Yes. "3,1" returns page three followed by page one. The pages come back in the order requested rather than sorted.
What if I ask for a page that does not exist?: You get a 422 naming the real page count and the page you asked for, rather than a shorter file than you expected.

Other endpoints

A token takes thirty seconds

Free, no card, 1,000 calls a day, and the same token works on astraltext.com, astralpdf.com, astraljson.com and astralbatch.com.

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