Free Chrome extension

PDF to Markdown, tables and accessibility checks in Chrome

A free Chrome extension that opens a side panel next to the PDF you're reading. It copies clean Markdown and spreadsheet-ready tables, runs a quick accessibility check, builds an outline and adds dark mode, all on your device. Nothing is uploaded.

Add extension to Chrome

The workflow gap it closes

Chrome's built-in viewer is made for reading. Reusing what you read is harder: copied text keeps a line break at the end of every line, tables paste into a spreadsheet as a single column, and nothing tells you whether the file is tagged for screen readers or is only a scan. okraPDF closes that gap with a side panel next to the viewer, and it works on the file inside your browser instead of uploading it.

Open a PDF, click okraPDF

The extension looks at a tab only when you ask it to.

Add the extension to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
Open a PDF in a tab from a link or a download. For a file on your computer, drop it into the panel.
Click the okraPDF button in the toolbar, or press its keyboard shortcut. A side panel opens next to the document.
Copy Markdown or a table, save a CSV, run the accessibility check, jump through the outline, or switch the viewer to dark mode.

What's in the panel

Every feature works on the PDF in the current tab, inside your browser.

Copy for AI: Markdown or plain text with paragraphs kept whole, page markers, and a link back to the original.
Tables: copy any detected table with one click and paste it into Excel or Google Sheets as rows and columns, or save it as CSV or Markdown.
Accessibility check: tags and structure, language, title, figure alt text, table headers, form fields, image-only pages, and text that won't extract cleanly. It's a quick check, not a PDF/UA or WCAG conformance test.
Document check: real text or a scan, pages that need OCR, word and page count, language, form fields and XFA, and whether copying is allowed.
Outline: the PDF's bookmarks, or an outline built from its printed contents when it has none, with page numbers checked against the text. Click an entry to jump there.
Dark mode: one switch darkens Chrome's viewer, and okraPDF remembers your choice.
Other pages: a list of the PDFs linked or embedded on the page, plus a drop zone for files on your computer.

Private by design

okraPDF reads the PDF inside your browser. The extension never sends the document, its text or its address to okraPDF or anyone else.

No account, no API key and no analytics in the extension.
To read a PDF from the web, it uses your browser's copy or loads the file again from the site it came from.
Settings stay in Chrome on your device. Closing the tab discards the document.
Links to okrapdf.com open only when you click them, in a new tab, and carry nothing about the document.
No permission warnings at install. It can see a tab only after you click its button or press its shortcut there, and it asks for no other access.

When you need more

Some jobs need more than a browser panel. For those, the panel links out, and you add the file there yourself.

Scanned pages: the free OCR tool on okrapdf.com runs in your browser, with no sign-in.
An .xlsx file: PDF to Excel on okrapdf.com runs in your browser, with no sign-in.
A PDF/UA preflight or an accessible HTML version: tools on okrapdf.com that ask you to sign in.
Private or batch work: Okra for Mac processes documents on your computer.

Who reaches for it

People who run into PDFs in the middle of other work. Analysts copy tables out of filings into a spreadsheet. Accessibility coordinators check a PDF before or after it goes on a website. Researchers and writers turn a paper into Markdown for their AI tools or notes without uploading it. Bookkeepers pull tables from statements they can already open in their browser.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an okraPDF account or API key?

No. The extension is free and works without an account, sign-up or API key. Everything it does runs in your browser.

Does it upload my PDF?

No. The extension reads the PDF inside your browser and sends nothing about it to okraPDF or anyone else. To read a PDF from the web, it uses your browser's copy or loads the file again from the site it came from. The Chrome extension section of our privacy policy at okrapdf.com/privacy has the details.

Does it replace Chrome's PDF viewer?

No. It adds a side panel next to Chrome's own viewer, so highlighting, signing, OCR, search and printing keep working as before.

Is the accessibility check a PDF/UA or WCAG audit?

No. It's a quick check of tags, structure, language, title, figure alt text, table headers, forms and scanned pages, so you know where to look. For a deeper PDF/UA preflight, use the checker on okrapdf.com, which asks you to sign in. For a formal result, use a validator such as veraPDF or PAC.

What permissions does it ask for?

None that show a warning at install. It can read a tab only after you click its button or press its shortcut there. It asks for no other access.

Why does the tab reload when I jump to a section?

Chrome's viewer only moves to a page when the document loads, so okraPDF reloads the tab at that page. Zoom resets, and highlights or form entries you haven't saved may be lost, so save them first. On older Chrome versions, and for addresses that may not load twice, okraPDF opens the page in a new tab instead.

Does it work with PDFs on my computer or behind a login?

For a file on your computer, drop it into the panel. PDFs behind a login you have already passed usually work, because the file is read in your own browser. If a site won't send the file again, save it and drop it into the panel.

Where do I get help?

Email hello@okrapdf.com. If the PDF is public, include its link.