How to handle file uploads when publishing API on RapidAPI platform

Other Questions RapidAPI
1

I built a FastAPI service that processes uploaded PDF files and extracts their text content. The API works perfectly when deployed on Heroku and I can test it successfully with my own client code.

My working API code:

import os
import uvicorn
from fastapi import FastAPI, UploadFile, File
from PyPDF2 import PdfReader
from io import BytesIO

app = FastAPI()

@app.post("/extract-text")
async def extract_text(uploaded_file: UploadFile = File(...)):
    pdf_reader = PdfReader(BytesIO(await uploaded_file.read()))
    extracted_content = []
    for page in pdf_reader.pages:
        extracted_content.append(page.extract_text())
    return '\n'.join(extracted_content)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=int(os.environ.get("PORT", 8000)))

Test client that works:

import requests

file_path = "sample_document.pdf"
file_data = {'uploaded_file': (file_path, open(file_path, 'rb'))}

api_response = requests.post('https://myapp.herokuapp.com/extract-text', files=file_data)
print(api_response.json())

Now I want to publish this API through RapidAPI marketplace but I’m stuck. When I try to configure the endpoint on RapidAPI, I only see options for JSON and form data parameters. There doesn’t seem to be any way to specify file upload functionality for the /extract-text endpoint. Can anyone help me figure out how to properly configure file uploads on RapidAPI?

2

Had this exact problem last year with my image processing API. RapidAPI’s file handling is pretty limited. Here’s what worked: create a wrapper endpoint that takes the file as multipart form data, then process it like your current code does. Set it up as “form-data” in RapidAPI’s console - not JSON. Make sure the parameter type is “file” in their config panel. Just heads up - I had issues with larger files, so test different PDF sizes before you launch. Check their dev portal docs too - there’s a section on file parameters that should help.

3

rapidapi doesn’t directly support file uploads, unfortunately. you might want to modify your endpoint to take a base64 string instead of UploadFile. then decode it back to bytes in your handler. it’s a hassle, but many users do this workaround.

4

RapidAPI does support file uploads, but their interface is confusing as hell. When you’re setting up your endpoint, create the parameter as “Body” type - don’t use “Query” or “Header”. Pick “form-data” for content type and set the parameter to “file”. Your FastAPI code should work fine once you’ve got this right. I’ve published a bunch of file processing APIs there and it’s all about nailing the parameter setup in their console. Their docs suck for this, but check the “Advanced” settings when creating parameters - that’s where you’ll find the file option. Test everything with their built-in tool before going live since file size limits can be all over the place.