Building an Image to Text Converter with Next.js and Tesseract.js 🚀

Introduction

As developers, we often encounter challenges that inspire us to build solutions. One common problem I noticed was the need to extract text from images quickly and efficiently. Whether it’s scanning printed documents, extracting text from screenshots, or working with multi-language content, I needed a simple and effective solution. That's when I decided to create an Image to Text Converter using Next.js and Tesseract.js.

🧐 The Problem

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology is widely available, but many existing solutions are either too complex, require paid services, or don’t support multiple languages effectively. I wanted to create a tool that:

• Is free and open-source
• Supports multiple languages
• Provides an easy-to-use UI
• Allows exporting text in various formats
• Works entirely in the browser without requiring backend processing

💡 The Solution

I built a Next.js application that integrates Tesseract.js, a powerful JavaScript OCR engine. The app allows users to upload images and extract text instantly, supporting multiple languages and various export options.

✨ Features

🌍 Multi-language Support

Extract text in multiple languages like English, Arabic, Spanish, French, and more.

📤 Export Options

Users can export the extracted text in .txt, .pdf, or .md formats.

🖼️ Image Upload

Supports file selection and drag-and-drop image uploads.

🔄 Image Preprocessing (Upcoming)

Enhances OCR accuracy with grayscale conversion and cropping.

🕶️ Dark Mode

A seamless light and dark theme experience.

📱 Responsive Design

Optimized for both mobile and desktop devices.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: Next.js, Tailwind CSS
• OCR Engine: Tesseract.js
• File Export: jsPDF

⚙️ How I Built It

1. Setting Up Next.js
   • Installed and configured Next.js and Tailwind CSS.
2. Integrating Tesseract.js
   • Used Tesseract.js to process images and extract text on the client-side.
3. Building the UI
   • Created a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop support.
4. Adding Export Options
   • Implemented text, PDF, and Markdown export using jsPDF.
5. Enhancing with Preprocessing (Upcoming)
   • Working on grayscale conversion and cropping for better OCR accuracy.

📦 How to Use

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Mo-Ibra/imagetxt-to-txt
cd imagetxt-to-txt

2️⃣ Install Dependencies

npm install

3️⃣ Run the Development Server

npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 to view the app.

🔗 Try It Out!

The project is available on GitHub, and I’d love your feedback and contributions!
👉 GitHub Repo

And you can check the demo from 👉 here

🏁 Conclusion

This project has been a great learning experience in working with OCR, file handling, and UI/UX improvements. If you're looking to build a similar tool or enhance your Next.js skills, give it a try! 🚀

💬 Let me know what you think in the comments, and feel free to contribute! 😃