GhostScript PDF to text stdout

pdf-to-txt.sh

# requires ghostscript to be installed first - on mac, install with `brew install ghostscript`

# -sDEVICE=txtwrite   - text writer
# -sOutputFile=-      - use stdout instead of a file
# -q                  - quiet - prevent writing normal messages to output
# -dNOPAUSE           - disable prompt and pause at end of each page
# -dBATCH             - indicates batch operation so exits at end of processing

gs -sDEVICE=txtwrite -sOutputFile=- -q -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH to-be-processed.pdf

Via:

• Initial answer found via https://stackoverflow.com/a/26405241/4570
• GhostScript docs at https://ghostscript.com/doc/7.07/Use.htm
• GhostScript home page at https://ghostscript.com/index.html