Quickstart

Create a parser

A parser defines which fields to extract from one kind of document. The fastest way to get one is to start from a template:

1. Open the template library and pick the closest match, such as an invoice or receipt.
2. Click Use template. This creates a private copy in your account that you can edit.
3. On the Test Parser tab, run the sample document to see the output.

No template that fits? Create a parser from scratch and define the fields yourself. See Create a parser.

Then open the parser's Integrations tab. API Details shows its endpoint URLs. The last path segment before /parse is the parser's slug:

https://api.simplyparse.com/dapi/v1/parser/a1b2c3/parse
                                           ^^^^^^ slug

Create an API token

Go to Settings → API Tokens, click Generate Token, give it a name such as local-dev, and copy the token.

Export both values in your terminal so the examples below work as written:

export SIMPLYPARSE_API_TOKEN="paste-your-token-here"
export PARSER_SLUG="a1b2c3"

Send a document

Send the file as multipart/form-data in a field named file:

curl -X POST "https://api.simplyparse.com/dapi/v1/parser/$PARSER_SLUG/parse" \
  -H "Authorization: Token $SIMPLYPARSE_API_TOKEN" \
  -F "file=@invoice.pdf"

The request returns once the document has been processed.

Read the response

{
  "status": "success",
  "code": "document_processed",
  "message": "Document processed successfully",
  "data": [
    {
      "document_id": "8f14e45f-ceea-467f-a8e6-3c1d2f0b9a51",
      "status": "completed",
      "is_valid": true,
      "parsed_data": {
        "invoice_number": "INV-20418",
        "invoice_date": "2026-03-12",
        "vendor_name": "Northwind Supplies",
        "total_amount": 48250,
        "line_items": [
          { "description": "Steel brackets", "quantity": 50, "amount": 48250 }
        ]
      },
      "validation_errors": []
    }
  ]
}

• status is success or error. Some errors come back with HTTP 200, so always check it.
• data is a list of entries. A document usually produces one entry.
• parsed_data holds your fields, keyed by the field names in your parser.
• is_valid and validation_errors report your parser's validation rules.

The document also appears in the dashboard under the parser's View data tab, so you can compare the output against the source file.