Text recognition in images

You can recognize text in an image using the OCR API. The OCR API is an updated and revised interface with enhanced features, including multi-column text recognition.

Getting startedGetting started

To use the examples, install cURL.

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Recognizing text in an image through the OCR APIRecognizing text in an image through the OCR API

Image text recognition is implemented in the recognize OCR API method.

1. Prepare an image file that meets the requirements:

   • The supported file formats are JPEG, PNG, and PDF. Specify the MIME type of the file in the mime_type property. The default value is image.
   • The maximum file size is 10 MB.
   • The image size should not exceed 20 MP (height × width).

   Note

   Need a sample image? Download an image of the penguin crossing road sign.

2. Encode the image file as Base64:

   UNIX

   Windows

   PowerShell

   Python

   Node.js

   Java

   Go

   base64 -i input.jpg > output.txt
   

   C:> Base64.exe -e input.jpg > output.txt
   

   [Convert]::ToBase64String([IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("./input.jpg")) > output.txt
   

   # Import a library for encoding files in Base64.
   import base64
   
   # Create a function to encode a file and return the results.
   def encode_file(file_path):
     with open(file_path, "rb") as fid:
         file_content = fid.read()
     return base64.b64encode(file_content).decode("utf-8")
   

   // Read the file contents to memory.
   var fs = require('fs');
   var file = fs.readFileSync('/path/to/file');
   
   // Get the file contents in Base64 format.
   var encoded = Buffer.from(file).toString('base64');
   

   // Import a library for encoding files in Base64.
   import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;
   
   // Get the file contents in Base64 format.
   byte[] fileData = Base64.encodeBase64(yourFile.getBytes());
   

   import (
       "bufio"
       "encoding/base64"
       "io/ioutil"
       "os"
   )
   
   // Open the file.
   f, _ := os.Open("/path/to/file")
   
   // Read the file contents.
   reader := bufio.NewReader(f)
   content, _ := ioutil.ReadAll(reader)
   
   // Get the file contents in Base64 format.
   base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(content)
   

3. Create a file with the request body, e.g., body.json.

   body.json:

   {
     "mimeType": "JPEG",
     "languageCodes": ["*"],
     "model": "page",
     "content": "<base64_encoded_image>"
   }
   

   In the content property, specify the image file contents encoded as Base64.

   To automatically detect the text language, indicate the "languageCodes": ["*"] property in the configuration.

4. Send a request using the recognize method and save the response to a file, e.g., output.json:

   UNIX

   Python

   export IAM_TOKEN=<IAM_token>
   curl \
     --request POST \
     --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
     --header "Authorization: Bearer ${IAM_TOKEN}" \
     --header "x-folder-id: <folder_ID>" \
     --header "x-data-logging-enabled: true" \
     --data '{
       "mimeType": "JPEG",
       "languageCodes": ["ru","en"],
       "model": "handwritten",
       "content": "<base64_encoded_image>"
     }' \
     https://ocr.api.cloud.yandex.net/ocr/v1/recognizeText \
     --output output.json
   

   Where:

   • <IAM_token>: Previously obtained IAM token.
   • <folder_ID>: Previously obtained folder ID.

   data = {"mimeType": <mime_type>,
           "languageCodes": ["ru","en"],
           "content": content}
   
   url = "https://ocr.api.cloud.yandex.net/ocr/v1/recognizeText"
   
   headers= {"Content-Type": "application/json",
             "Authorization": "Bearer {:s}".format(<IAM_token>),
             "x-folder-id": "<folder_ID>",
             "x-data-logging-enabled": "true"}
     
     w = requests.post(url=url, headers=headers, data=json.dumps(data))
   

   The result will consist of recognized blocks of text, lines, and words with their position on the image:

   {
     "result": {
       "text_annotation": {
         "width": "1920",
         "height": "1280",
         "blocks": [{
           "bounding_box": {
             "vertices": [{
               "x": "460",
               "y": "777"
             }, {
               "x": "460",
               "y": "906"
             }, {
               "x": "810",
               "y": "906"
             }, {
               "x": "810",
               "y": "777"
             }]
           },
           "lines": [{
             "bounding_box": {
               "vertices": [{
                 "x": "460",
                 "y": "777"
               }, {
                 "x": "460",
                 "y": "820"
               }, {
                 "x": "802",
                 "y": "820"
               }, {
                 "x": "802",
                 "y": "777"
               }]
             },
             "alternatives": [{
               "text": "PENGUINS",
               "words": [{
                 "bounding_box": {
                   "vertices": [{
                     "x": "460",
                     "y": "768"
                   }, {
                     "x": "460",
                     "y": "830"
                   }, {
                     "x": "802",
                     "y": "830"
                   }, {
                     "x": "802",
                     "y": "768"
                   }]
                 },
                 "text": "PENGUINS",
                 "entity_index": "-1"
               }]
             }]
           }, {
             "bounding_box": {
               "vertices": [{
                 "x": "489",
                 "y": "861"
               }, {
                 "x": "489",
                 "y": "906"
               }, {
                 "x": "810",
                 "y": "906"
               }, {
                 "x": "810",
                 "y": "861"
               }]
             },
             "alternatives": [{
               "text": "CROSSING",
               "words": [{
                 "bounding_box": {
                   "vertices": [{
                     "x": "489",
                     "y": "852"
                   }, {
                     "x": "489",
                     "y": "916"
                   }, {
                     "x": "810",
                     "y": "916"
                   }, {
                     "x": "810",
                     "y": "852"
                   }]
                 },
                 "text": "CROSSING",
                 "entity_index": "-1"
               }]
             }]
           }],
           "languages": [{
             "language_code": "en"
           }]
         }, {
           "bounding_box": {
             "vertices": [{
               "x": "547",
               "y": "989"
             }, {
               "x": "547",
               "y": "1046"
             }, {
               "x": "748",
               "y": "1046"
             }, {
               "x": "748",
               "y": "989"
             }]
           },
           "lines": [{
             "bounding_box": {
               "vertices": [{
                 "x": "547",
                 "y": "989"
               }, {
                 "x": "547",
                 "y": "1046"
               }, {
                 "x": "748",
                 "y": "1046"
               }, {
                 "x": "748",
                 "y": "989"
               }]
             },
             "alternatives": [{
               "text": "SLOW",
               "words": [{
                 "bounding_box": {
                   "vertices": [{
                     "x": "547",
                     "y": "983"
                   }, {
                     "x": "547",
                     "y": "1054"
                   }, {
                     "x": "748",
                     "y": "1054"
                   }, {
                     "x": "748",
                     "y": "983"
                   }]
                 },
                 "text": "SLOW",
                 "entity_index": "-1"
               }]
             }]
           }],
           "languages": [{
             "language_code": "en"
           }]
         }],
         "entities": []
       },
       "page": "0"
     }
   }
   

5. To get all the words recognized in the image, find all values with the text property.