Umi OCR online
If you are looking for Umi OCR online or PaddlePaddle OCR online, chunks.md is the no-install version of that workflow: drop in a PDF or image, run OCR in your browser, and get clean markdown back.
The browser-based alternative
Instead of downloading a desktop OCR app, you can open chunks.md and start immediately. Upload a PDF, JPG, PNG, or WebP file, then extract the text and layout into structured markdown on the same device you are using.
This is useful when you want the convenience of an online OCR tool without the usual account wall, upload queue, or server-side document processing.
PaddleOCR online, but local-first
chunks.md runs PaddleOCR-family models directly in the browser, including PaddleOCR 3.3.0 with PP-OCRv5 recognition improvements across 80+ languages. You get the speed and document-reading quality people want from a PaddleOCR online experience, while keeping the workflow local to your machine.
With 40,000+ stars on GitHub, UmiOCR is the most popular desktop OCR tool, and chunks.md brings that PaddlePaddle power to the browser. Choose between lightweight OCR, higher-accuracy OCR, and document-aware extraction depending on whether you care most about speed, accuracy, or markdown structure.
What you get here
Multi-page PDF support, image OCR, multilingual recognition across 80+ languages, and markdown output that is ready for RAG pipelines, vector databases, and LLM workflows. Intelligent layout analysis handles multi-column documents, preserving reading order and structure.
Extract text from scanned documents, research papers, or invoices and get markdown that is ready to paste into AI tools, note apps, or custom pipelines. After the first run, models stay cached in your browser, which makes repeat use feel much closer to an installed tool while still keeping the setup friction near zero.
Privacy and accuracy note
chunks.md is an independent browser tool, not the official Umi-OCR site. The point of this page is simple: if you want the same general idea as installing OCR software, but in a no-install online form, you can use this instead.
Your files stay on your device while processing runs in the browser. No account required, no forced uploads, no data collection workflow wrapped around a basic OCR task.
Why browser-based OCR matters
Desktop OCR tools like UmiOCR require installation, updates, and local storage. Online OCR services upload your documents to remote servers, creating privacy risks for sensitive material. Browser-based OCR gives you instant start with full privacy and no server uploads.
WebAssembly technology enables near-native OCR performance with zero installation. For GDPR and HIPAA compliance contexts, keeping data on your device matters. The trade-off is that your client hardware sets the speed limits versus cloud servers, but for most users, the combination of privacy, convenience, and no account walls makes browser-based OCR the better choice.