DocuNova

Overview

DocuNova automates the handling, extraction, and processing of documents using a variety of services, including:

• OpenAI for metadata extraction and text refinement.
• Dropbox and Nextcloud for file storage and uploads.
• Paperless NGX for document indexing and management.
• Azure Document Intelligence for OCR on PDFs.
• Gotenberg for file-to-PDF conversions.
• Authentik for authentication and user management.

It is designed for flexibility and configurability through environment variables, making it easily customizable for different workflows. The system can fetch documents from multiple IMAP mailboxes, process them (OCR, metadata extraction, PDF conversion), and store them in the desired destinations.

The project includes a UI for uploading and managing files, and an API documentation page is available at /docs (powered by FastAPI).

Features

• Document Upload & Storage:
  • Manual uploads (via API or UI) to Dropbox, Nextcloud, or Paperless.
• OCR Processing (Azure):
  • Extract text from scanned PDFs using Azure Document Intelligence.
• Metadata Extraction (OpenAI):
  • Use GPT to classify, label, or otherwise enrich the text with structured metadata.
• PDF Conversion (Gotenberg):
  • Convert non-PDF attachments (e.g., Word docs, images) into PDFs.
• Document Management (Paperless NGX):
  • Store processed documents and metadata in a Paperless NGX instance.
• IMAP Integration:
  • Fetch documents from multiple mailboxes (including Gmail) and automatically enqueue them for processing.
• Authentication:
  • Secure access to the system using Authentik for OAuth2-based login.

Frameworks Used

• FastAPI: A modern, fast (high-performance) web framework for building APIs with Python.
• Celery: A distributed task queue for asynchronous processing.
• SQLAlchemy: A powerful ORM for database interactions.
• Jinja2: A templating engine for rendering HTML pages.
• Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework for styling the UI.

Environment Variables

The .env file drives all configuration. This table breaks down key variables—some are optional, depending on which services you actually use.

Core Settings

Variable	Description	Example
DATABASE_URL	Path/URL to the SQLite database (or other SQL backend).	sqlite:///./app/database.db
REDIS_URL	URL for Redis, used by Celery for broker & result store.	redis://redis:6379/0
WORKDIR	Working directory for the application.	/workdir
GOTENBERG_URL	Gotenberg PDF processing URL.	http://gotenberg:3000
EXTERNAL_HOSTNAME	The external hostname for the application.	docunova.example.com

IMAP Configuration (Multiple Mailboxes)

Variable	Description	Example
IMAP1_HOST	Hostname for first IMAP server.	mail.example.com
IMAP1_PORT	Port number (usually 993).	993
IMAP1_USERNAME	IMAP login (first mailbox).	user@example.com
IMAP1_PASSWORD	IMAP password (first mailbox).	*******
IMAP1_SSL	Use SSL (true/false).	true
IMAP1_POLL_INTERVAL_MINUTES	Frequency in minutes to poll for new mail.	5
IMAP1_DELETE_AFTER_PROCESS	Delete emails after processing (true/false).	false
IMAP2_HOST	Hostname for second IMAP server (optional).	imap.gmail.com
IMAP2_PORT	Port number for second mailbox.	993
IMAP2_USERNAME	IMAP login for second mailbox.	you@gmail.com
IMAP2_PASSWORD	IMAP password for second mailbox.	*******
IMAP2_SSL	Use SSL for second mailbox (true/false).	true
IMAP2_POLL_INTERVAL_MINUTES	Frequency in minutes to poll second mailbox.	10
IMAP2_DELETE_AFTER_PROCESS	Delete emails after processing (true/false) for mailbox.	false

OpenAI & Azure Document Intelligence

Variable	Description	How to Obtain
OPENAI_API_KEY	API key for OpenAI services (used for metadata extraction/refinement).	OpenAI platform
OPENAI_BASE_URL	Base URL for OpenAI API (optional, defaults to OpenAI's endpoint).	https://api.openai.com/v1
OPENAI_MODEL	OpenAI model to use for tasks (e.g., GPT-4).	gpt-4
AZURE_AI_KEY	Azure Document Intelligence key (for OCR).	Azure Portal
AZURE_REGION	Azure region of your Document Intelligence instance.	e.g. eastus, westeurope
AZURE_ENDPOINT	Endpoint URL for Document Intelligence.	e.g. https://<yourendpoint>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/

Authentik

Variable	Description
AUTH_ENABLED	Enable or disable authentication (true/false).
AUTHENTIK_CLIENT_ID	Client ID for Authentik OAuth2.
AUTHENTIK_CLIENT_SECRET	Client secret for Authentik OAuth2.
AUTHENTIK_CONFIG_URL	Configuration URL for Authentik OpenID Connect.

Paperless NGX

Variable	Description
PAPERLESS_NGX_API_TOKEN	API token for Paperless NGX.
PAPERLESS_HOST	Root URL for Paperless NGX (e.g. https://paperless.example.com).

Dropbox

Variable	Description	How to Obtain
DROPBOX_APP_KEY	Dropbox API app key.	Dropbox Developer Console
DROPBOX_APP_SECRET	Dropbox API app secret.	Dropbox Developer Console
DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN	OAuth2 refresh token for Dropbox.	Follow Dropbox OAuth flow to retrieve
DROPBOX_FOLDER	Default folder path for Dropbox uploads.	e.g. "/Documents/Uploads"

Nextcloud

Variable	Description
NEXTCLOUD_UPLOAD_URL	Nextcloud WebDAV URL (e.g. https://nc.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/<USERNAME>).
NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME	Nextcloud login username.
NEXTCLOUD_PASSWORD	Nextcloud login password.
NEXTCLOUD_FOLDER	Destination folder in Nextcloud (e.g. "/Documents/Uploads").

Running as a Docker Container

This project uses Celery (with Redis) for asynchronous task management and Gotenberg for PDF conversion. The docker-compose.yml file defines these services:

• API Service: Runs the FastAPI application via uvicorn.
• Worker Service: Runs the Celery worker for processing tasks (PDF conversions, OCR, etc.).
• Redis: Provides the message broker & result backend for Celery.
• Gotenberg: Offers PDF conversion capabilities.

Running the Application with Docker Compose

1. Install Docker and Docker Compose on your system.
2. Clone the repository and navigate into it:

   git clone <repository_url>
   cd <repository_name>
   

3. Create and configure the .env file:
   • Fill in the variables from the tables above.
   • (At minimum, you need DATABASE_URL, REDIS_URL, WORKDIR, plus whichever service creds you plan to use.)
4. Launch the services:

   docker-compose up -d
   

5. The API will be available at http://localhost:8000, and the API documentation is available at http://localhost:8000/docs.

Services in docker-compose.yml

Below is the default structure:

services:
  api:
    image: christianlouis/document-processor:latest
    container_name: document_api
    working_dir: /workdir
    command: ["sh", "-c", "cd /app && uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --proxy-headers"]
    environment:
      - PYTHONPATH=/app
    env_file:
      - .env
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    depends_on:
      - redis
      - worker
    volumes:
            - /var/docparse/workdir:/workdir

  worker:
    image: christianlouis/document-processor:latest
    container_name: document_worker
    working_dir: /workdir
    command: ["celery", "-A", "app.celery_worker", "worker", "-B", "--loglevel=info", "-Q", "document_processor,default,celery"]
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - PYTHONPATH=/app
    depends_on:
      - redis
      - gotenberg
    volumes:
            - /var/docparse/workdir:/workdir

  gotenberg:
    image: gotenberg/gotenberg:latest
    container_name: gotenberg

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    container_name: document_redis
    restart: always

To-Do List

• Make upload targets configurable (e.g., easily choose only Dropbox, Nextcloud, or Paperless).

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Questions or Issues?

• Feel free to open an issue or pull request.
• For local testing or development, use docker-compose up and watch the logs via docker-compose logs -f.
• Ensure your .env aligns with the environment variables listed above. If you see unexpected errors, check for typos or missing values.