ceven

Convertapi

Converts documents, images, and spreadsheets between formats on the fly and manages temporary file storage for your automated document pipelines.

Try Convertapi in Ceven

Ask Ceven anything
Standard

Why use Ceven?

  1. AI native Convertapi integration

    • Describe the outcome and Ceven picks the right Convertapi calls, fills the parameters, and checks the result.
    • Structured, agent friendly tool schemas so each call runs reliably instead of by guesswork.
    • Rich coverage for reading, writing, and querying your Convertapi data, across all 17 of its actions.

  2. Managed auth

    • Built in OAuth with automatic token refresh and rotation.
    • One place to manage, scope, and revoke Convertapi access.
    • Per user and per environment credentials instead of shared keys.

  3. Agent optimized design

    • Actions are tuned from real success and error rates so reliability climbs over time.
    • Full execution logs so you always know what ran in Convertapi, when, and on whose behalf.
    • The agent pauses and asks when Convertapi is unclear instead of plowing ahead.

  4. Enterprise grade security

    • Fine grained access so you control which agents and people can reach Convertapi.
    • Least privilege by default, read scopes first and only the writes a workflow needs.
    • A full audit trail of every Convertapi action to support review and sign off.

Supported tools

Every action Ceven's agents can run on Convertapi, and when to use it.

Async Convert
Use this when converting large or long running files to avoid client timeouts.
Delete Async Job
Use this to remove a previously created asynchronous conversion job to free server resources.
Delete Uploaded File
Use this when a file is no longer needed and should be removed from temporary storage.
Get Supported Input Formats For Output
Pull a list of all input formats that can be converted to a specific target output format.
Convert PDF to DOCX
Transform PDF content or a URL into an editable Word document.
Convert PDF to JPG and Store
Convert a PDF to JPG images and store them on the server for further workflow steps.
Upload File From URL
Import a file directly from a remote URL without downloading it locally first.
Upload File Multipart
Store a file on ConvertAPI servers using multipart form data to get a file ID for later use.
Upload File Octet Stream
Upload raw file data efficiently for use in multiple different conversions.
Download Uploaded File
Retrieve original file data from the server using a file ID before it expires.
Get Supported Output Formats For Input
Pull all available output formats for a specific input file type to determine conversion options.
Clear Conversion Cache
Use this to purge temporary conversion results associated with a specific job ID.

12 actions · scroll to see them all

Frequently asked questions

Files uploaded to ConvertAPI are stored temporarily to facilitate the conversion process. Generally, these files expire and are automatically deleted after three hours. If your workflow requires a longer window, you must download the resulting file to your own permanent storage like S3 or Google Drive immediately after the conversion completes. You can also use the Delete Uploaded File action to manually remove files the moment they are no longer needed to ensure data privacy. The agent is configured to handle this cleanup automatically if you specify a purge step in your workflow, ensuring no sensitive data lingers on the conversion server longer than necessary for the task.
For exceptionally large files or complex documents that take a long time to process, standard synchronous calls may result in a timeout. In these cases, you should use the Async Convert tool. This tells ConvertAPI to process the file in the background and provide a job ID. The agent then polls for the completion status or waits for a callback before proceeding to the next step in the workflow. This ensures that your automation does not fail due to network timeouts or server limits on request duration. It is the recommended path for any document over fifty pages or files with high resolution images.
No, conversion depends on the supported mappings provided by ConvertAPI. To avoid workflow errors, use the Get Supported Output Formats For Input tool. This allows the agent to check if a conversion path exists before attempting the operation. For example, while converting a PDF to DOCX is common, converting a complex spreadsheet to a specific image format might not be supported. By dynamically checking these formats first, the agent can route the file to a different tool or notify the user that the specific format shift is not possible, rather than simply failing the entire automation process mid stream.
Yes, the Upload File From URL tool allows the agent to point ConvertAPI toward a publicly accessible URL. This is significantly more efficient than downloading the file to the Ceven environment and then uploading it again. The agent simply passes the URL to the API, and ConvertAPI pulls the data directly from the source. This reduces latency and avoids memory constraints within the workflow layer. Note that the URL must be reachable by the ConvertAPI servers and cannot be behind a private firewall or require a complex authentication handshake unless those credentials are passed in the request headers.
Yes, ConvertAPI enforces rate limits based on your specific subscription tier. If a workflow triggers a massive burst of conversions, you may encounter a 429 Too Many Requests error. One specific quirk of the platform is that these limits apply per account, not per API key, meaning multiple agents sharing one account will all count toward the same quota. To mitigate this, the Ceven agent implements a retry logic with exponential backoff. If the agent hits a rate limit, it will pause for a few seconds before trying again, ensuring that large batch jobs eventually complete without failing the entire workflow.
The multipart upload is designed for standard form submissions and is generally easier for simple file transfers. The octet stream upload, however, sends the raw binary data of the file. This is more efficient for the server to process and is the preferred method when the agent is handling very large files or when the file is being streamed from another API. Use octet stream when you need maximum performance and minimum overhead. For most standard document workflows, the agent selects the best method based on the file size and source, but you can explicitly define the upload type in the advanced settings.
No, once the three hour window expires, ConvertAPI permanently deletes the file from its temporary storage. There is no recycle bin or recovery period. This is why the agent is programmed to download the converted output immediately upon a successful response. If a workflow fails after the conversion but before the download, you will need to re run the conversion process from the original source file. We strongly recommend configuring your workflows to move the final output to a persistent storage provider immediately to avoid data loss due to this strict expiration policy.
ConvertAPI uses encrypted connections for all file transfers. However, because files are processed on their servers, you should be aware that the data leaves your immediate environment. The agent minimizes risk by using the Delete Uploaded File tool to remove sources and results as soon as they are moved to your permanent storage. For highly regulated industries, we recommend using the shortest possible storage window. The combination of TLS encryption during transit and the aggressive auto delete policy on the server side ensures that your documents are not stored indefinitely, reducing the attack surface for your sensitive corporate data.

Alternatives to Convertapi

Other tools that solve a similar problem. Ceven supports these too, so you can switch or run more than one at once.

CloudConvert logoCloudConvertZamzar logoZamzarAdobe PDF Services logoAdobe PDF Services

Try Ceven on your stack

Plug Ceven on top of the tools you already run. Connect Convertapi and the rest of your stack, describe the outcome, and its agents handle the work end to end, days of it in minutes.

Get started for free