# MinerU review

> MinerU is a Python document parser that converts PDFs, images, and Office files into Markdown or JSON for LLM and agent workflows.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/mineru/

## TL;DR

MinerU parses PDFs, scanned images, Office, EPUB, OFD, HTML, and CSV files into Markdown, JSON, and other formats. MinerU is for developers and AI agents that need to read long documents with tables, formulas, or complex layouts. MinerU offers four parsing tiers, a local document library with search, and stable page and block locators for citations.

## MinerU at a glance

- **Category:** [RAG, data and memory](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/rag-data-and-memory/)
- **Maintained by:** OpenDataLab (organization, [@opendatalab](https://github.com/opendatalab) on GitHub)
- **Language:** Python, JavaScript, Shell
- **Repository:** [github.com/opendatalab/MinerU](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU)
- **Website:** [opendatalab.github.io/MinerU](https://opendatalab.github.io/MinerU/)
- **PyPI package:** [mineru](https://pypi.org/project/mineru/) 4.0.12
- **Latest release:** [mineru-4.0.12-released](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/releases/tag/mineru-4.0.12-released) on GitHub, Oct 11, 2026
- **First published:** Feb 29, 2024

## What MinerU does

- MinerU parses PDF, images, DOC/DOCX, PPT/PPTX, XLS/XLSX, RTF, OpenDocument, EPUB, OFD, HTML/MHTML, and CSV/TSV files.
- MinerU offers four parsing tiers: Flash for fast previews, Basic for OCR, and Standard and Advanced for demanding layouts.
- MinerU renders one document model to targets including Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, DOCX, EPUB, PDF, and Content List V1/V2.
- MinerU keeps a local document library that discovers files, caches results, and searches indexed content.
- MinerU returns stable doc/tier/page/block locators so agents can continue reading and cite exact locations.
- MinerU can retrieve page or block images for visual inspection.

### How it works

MinerU runs locally through the mineru CLI, stateless mineru-kit batch conversion, a Python SDK, a V1 HTTP API, a multi-service Router, and a Gradio WebUI. Small models use ONNX or Torch. The VLM uses llama.cpp, vLLM, or LMDeploy. The default install runs ONNX on CPU and llama.cpp in Vulkan mode. Documents are not uploaded to the official service unless remote parsing is configured.

## How to install MinerU

**With uv**

```
uv pip install -U "mineru>=4.0,<5"
```

**As an agent skill**

```
npx skills add opendatalab/MinerU --skill mineru --global --yes
```

### Requirements

- Python >=3.10,<3.15
- NVIDIA GPU users should install mineru[full]>=4.0 for best throughput; on Windows the GPU torch build is installed separately.
- The Python SDK requires starting the local server first with mineru server start.

### First steps

1. Create a virtual environment with uv and Python 3.12, then install mineru>=4.0,<5.
2. Convert a file with mineru-kit parse document.pdf -o document.md --tier standard.
3. Open the browser interface with mineru-kit webui.
4. For agent reading, run mineru parse "document.pdf" --json and continue with the returned locators.

## Who MinerU is for

- AI agents that read, quote, and cite local documents with stable page and block references.
- Developers converting PDFs with tables, formulas, figures, or complex layouts into Markdown or JSON.
- Teams that need OCR on scanned PDFs and images while keeping documents local.

### Limitations

- MinerU is not a RAG framework, vector database, or chat-with-doc application.
- Office, OpenDocument, EPUB, OFD, HTML/MHTML, and CSV/TSV files use only the Flash tier; only PDF and images support all four tiers.
- Non-NVIDIA accelerated devices need a manually installed accelerated torch plus vllm or lmdeploy for best speed.
- Docker deployment for non-NVIDIA devices is pending an update.

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #124 overall, #11 in RAG, data and memory, momentum score 57
- Downloads that week: 30.8k (+20% vs 4-week average)
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: 596; Aug 16: 564; Aug 23: 545; Aug 30: 571; Sep 6: 536; Sep 13: 541; Sep 20: 455; Sep 27: 423; Oct 4: 412; Oct 11: 562; Oct 18: 542; Oct 25: 517

## MinerU alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [XERJ](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/xerj-org-xerj/) | 17.9k | – |
| #2 | [Memvid](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/memvid-memvid/) | 17.3k | – |
| #3 | [LEANN](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/startrail-org-leann/) | 13.7k | – |
| #4 | [Graphify](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/graphify-labs-graphify/) | 140k | 480.7k |
| #5 | [MarkItDown](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/markitdown/) | 193.2k | 4.7M |
| #6 | [Firecrawl](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/firecrawl/) | 197.4k | 2.9M |

## MinerU FAQ

### Is MinerU free and open source?

MinerU's code is on GitHub (opendatalab/MinerU), but the repository doesn't declare a standard open-source license. Check its license file before using it commercially.

### How do I install MinerU?

Run `uv pip install -U "mineru>=4.0,<5"`. The mineru package needs Python 3.10 or newer, below 3.15. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

### Is MinerU still maintained?

Yes. The opendatalab/MinerU repository was last updated on Oct 25, 2026, and the latest release, mineru-4.0.12-released on GitHub, came out on Oct 11, 2026.

### How popular is MinerU?

MinerU has 82.9k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 517 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 522 a week. Its main package had 30.8k downloads that week, +20% against its own 4-week average. That made it #11 among RAG, data and memory tools on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### MinerU vs Docling: how do they compare?

MinerU and Docling are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as RAG, data and memory tools. MinerU has 82.9k GitHub stars and Docling has 69.9k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, MinerU's main package had 30.8k downloads and Docling's had 904.2k. Docling is a Python SDK and CLI that parses PDF, DOCX, HTML and other formats into a unified document representation for gen AI. [Docling review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/docling/)

### MinerU vs Marker: how do they compare?

MinerU and Marker are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as RAG, data and memory tools. MinerU has 82.9k GitHub stars and Marker has 40.7k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, MinerU's main package had 30.8k downloads and Marker's had 20.6k. [Marker review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/marker/)

### What are the best alternatives to MinerU?

Other RAG, data and memory tools on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: XERJ (#1), Memvid (#2), LEANN (#3), Graphify (#4), MarkItDown (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

### How do I use MinerU in Python?

MinerU provides DoclibClient for Python. Start the server with mineru server start, call ensure_parse with a ParseRequest, poll get_parse until done, then use read_content with a locator such as doc:{short_id}/tier:standard/page:1.

### Does MinerU upload my documents to a server?

MinerU does not automatically upload documents to the official service. Remote parsing requires explicit configuration, and the agent guide says to ask before using --remote.

### Can MinerU handle long documents?

MinerU supports page and block continuation. mineru parse --json defaults to the first 10 PDF pages and returns locators and next_request for continued reads. Stateless mineru-kit parse defaults to all pages.

### Does MinerU need a GPU?

MinerU works without a GPU by default. Small models run ONNX on CPU and the VLM runs llama.cpp in Vulkan mode. NVIDIA GPU users can install mineru[full]>=4.0 for better throughput.

### Which file types does MinerU not parse?

MinerU does not parse plain-text files such as .txt, .md, .markdown, .rst, and .tex. The guide says to read those directly.

## Sources

1. [opendatalab/MinerU on GitHub](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU)
2. [MinerU README](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/blob/master/README.md)
3. [mineru on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/mineru/)
4. [MinerU website](https://opendatalab.github.io/MinerU/)
5. [Release mineru-4.0.12-released (Oct 11, 2026)](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/releases/tag/mineru-4.0.12-released)
6. [Release mineru-4.0.11-released (Oct 8, 2026)](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/releases/tag/mineru-4.0.11-released)
7. [Release mineru-4.0.10-released (Sep 29, 2026)](https://github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/releases/tag/mineru-4.0.10-released)
8. [Hacker News: Open-source tool helps you convert PDF documents, web pages, etc., into Markdown](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41274578)
9. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)