# inspect

Inspect PDF form fields

Canonical URL: https://docs.paradoc.dev/cli/commands/inspect/

Inspects PDF form fields to aid in bindings configuration.

## Usage

```bash
paradoc inspect <pdf> [options]
```

## Arguments

| Argument | Description                               |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `pdf`    | PDF template file (path or `-` for stdin) |

## Options

| Option                 | Description                                          |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `--format <format>`    | Output format: `table` or `json` (default: table)    |
| `--filter <pattern>`   | Filter field names by glob pattern (e.g., `party_*`) |
| `--summary`            | Show totals only (no field listing)                  |
| `--include-buttons`    | Include button fields in the output                  |
| `--include-signatures` | Include signature fields in the output               |
| `--out <file>`         | Write inspection result to JSON file                 |

## Description

The `inspect` command extracts and displays all AcroForm fields from a PDF file. This helps you understand the PDF's field structure when configuring form bindings.

## Examples

Inspect a PDF:

```bash
paradoc inspect form-template.pdf
```

Filter fields by pattern:

```bash
paradoc inspect form-template.pdf --filter "address_*"
```

Output as JSON:

```bash
paradoc inspect form-template.pdf --format json
```

Get summary only:

```bash
paradoc inspect form-template.pdf --summary
```

Save to file:

```bash
paradoc inspect form-template.pdf --out fields.json
```

## Output

Table format:

```
Fields from /Users/you/my-project/form-template.pdf:
┌──────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬─────────┐
│ Name             │ Type     │ Required │ Value   │
├──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼─────────┤
│ full_name        │ text     │ yes      │         │
│ address_line1    │ text     │ yes      │         │
│ address_city     │ text     │ yes      │         │
│ agree_terms      │ checkbox │ no       │ false   │
└──────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴─────────┘
```

Summary format:

```json
{
  "source": "/Users/you/my-project/form-template.pdf",
  "total": 15,
  "breakdown": {
    "text": 10,
    "checkbox": 3,
    "dropdown": 2
  }
}
```

## See also

* [render](/cli/commands/render) - Render artifact layers
* [attach](/cli/commands/attach) - Attach PDF files to artifacts