Pdf-parse v1.1 Error in Node Default Data Loader

Questions
1

I’m getting the message: NodeOperationError: Failed to load pdf-parse. This loader currently supports pdf-parse v1 only. Please install v1, e.g. npm install pdf-parse@^1 (v2 is not yet supported) in the Node Data Loader. Apparently a symlink from v. 1.1.1 to the latest version of pdf-parse@2.x.x was installed. I reset the symlink back to 1.1.1, and then the error message was gone. After an update to the very latest version, the error appeared again. So I overrode the symlink. Is an update of the Data Loader planned? Thanks for ideas, best regards, Thomas

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2

hello @musicanera

What is the “pdf-parse”? I do not see such a node in n8n. Can you share a screenshot?


This section means you have to fill the information, not just copy the template…

3

Hello, this is about the Default Data Loader node, n8n version 2.21.5, running on a Synology in Docker, Supabase database, managed on an Apple system.

Screenshot 2026-05-20 at 15.30.55
Screenshot 2026-05-20 at 15.30.551086×562 52.9 KB

Screenshot 2026-05-20 at 15.37.26
Screenshot 2026-05-20 at 15.37.261042×740 54.2 KB

4

@musicanera If you would like to use api to parse PDF you can use PDF API Hub Approved Node.

It has Free Tier as well.

5

hi @musicanera, good morning!
I would avoid relying on manual symlinks in production. As a more stable workaround, use a custom Docker image installing/pinning pdf-parse@^1, or extract the text from the PDF before the Data Loader using another step/node and send text/JSON to the embeddings flow.

6

There is an open issue for it:
Error while working with pdf · Issue #30841 · n8n-io/n8n

7

Thank you!!

8

I am also facing the same issue on n8n version 2.21.7.

The Document Loader fails with:

Failed to load pdf-parse. This loader currently supports pdf-parse v1 only.

I tested with a normal text PDF (~2.4 MB) and confirmed the Google Drive download node is returning valid binary data.