> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.unstructured.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

<Note>
  The following information applies to the legacy Unstructured Partition Endpoint.

  Unstructured recommends that you use the
  [on-demand jobs](/api-reference/workflow/overview#run-an-on-demand-job) functionality in the
  [Unstructured API](/api-reference/overview) instead. Unstructured's on-demand jobs provide
  many benefits over the legacy Unstructured Partition Endpoint, including support for:

  * Production-level usage.
  * Multiple local input files in batches.
  * The latest and highest-performing models.
  * Post-transform enrichments.
  * All of Unstructured's chunking strategies.
  * The generation of vector embeddings.

  The Unstructured API also provides support for processing files and data in remote locations.
</Note>

<Tip>
  To start using the Unstructured Partition Endpoint right away, skip ahead to the [quickstart](/api-reference/legacy-api/partition/quickstart) now!
</Tip>

The Unstructured Partition Endpoint, part of the [Unstructured API](/api-reference/overview), is intended for rapid prototyping of Unstructured's
various partitioning strategies, with limited support for chunking. It is designed to work only with processing of local files, one file
at a time. Use the [Unstructured API's workflow operations](/api-reference/workflow/overview) for production-level scenarios, file processing in
batches, files and data in remote locations, generating embeddings, applying post-transform enrichments, using the latest and
highest-performing models, and for the highest quality results at the lowest cost.

## Get started

To call the Unstructured Partition Endpoint, you need an Unstructured account and an Unstructured API key:

1. If you do not already have an Unstructured account, [sign up for free](https://unstructured.io/?modal=try-for-free).
   After you sign up, you are automatically signed in to your new Unstructured **Let's Go** account, at [https://platform.unstructured.io](https://platform.unstructured.io).

   <Note>
     To sign up for a **Business** account instead, [contact Unstructured Sales](https://unstructured.io/?modal=contact-sales), or [learn more](/api-reference/overview#pricing).
   </Note>

2. If you have an Unstructured **Let's Go**, **Pay-As-You-Go**, or **Business SaaS** account and are not already signed in, sign in to your account at [https://platform.unstructured.io](https://platform.unstructured.io).

   <Note>
     For other types of **Business** accounts, see your Unstructured account administrator for sign-in instructions,
     or email Unstructured Support at [support@unstructured.io](mailto:support@unstructured.io).
   </Note>

3. Get your Unstructured API key:<br />

   a. After you sign in to your Unstructured **Let's Go**, **Pay-As-You-Go**, or **Business** account, click **API Keys** on the sidebar.<br />

   <Note>
     For a **Business** account, before you click **API Keys**, make sure you have selected the organizational workspace you want to create an API key
     for. Each API key works with one and only one organizational workspace. [Learn more](/ui/account/workspaces#create-an-api-key-for-a-workspace).
   </Note>

   b. Click **Generate API Key**.<br />
   c. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish generating the key.<br />
   d. Click the **Copy** icon next to your new key to add the key to your system's clipboard. If you lose this key, simply return and click the **Copy** icon again.<br />

[Try the quickstart](#quickstart).

## Pricing

Unstructured offers different account types with different pricing plans:

* <Icon icon="person" />  **Let's Go** and **Pay-As-You-Go** - A single user, with a single workspace, hosted alongside other accounts on Unstructured's cloud infrastructure.
* <Icon icon="building" />  **Business** - Multiple users and workspaces, with three options:

  * <Icon icon="people-group" />  **Business SaaS** - Hosted alongside other accounts on Unstructured's cloud infrastructure.
  * <Icon icon="shield-halved" />  **Dedicated instance** - Hosted within a virtual private cloud (VPC) running inside Unstructured's cloud infrastructure. Dedicated instances are isolated from all other accounts, for additional security and control.
  * <Icon icon="shield" />  **In-VPC** - Hosted within your own VPC on your own cloud infrastructure.

  **Business** accounts also allow for robust customization of Unstructured's features for your unique needs.

For more details, see the [Unstructured Pricing](https://unstructured.io/pricing) page.

To upgrade your account from **Let's Go** or **Pay-As-You-Go** to **Business**,
email Unstructured Sales at [sales@unstructured.io](mailto:sales@unstructured.io).

Some of these plans have billing details that are determined on a per-page basis.

Unstructured calculates a page as follows:

* For these file types, a page is a page, slide, or image: `.pdf`, `.pptx`, and `.tiff`.
* For `.docx` files that have page metadata, Unstructured calculates the number of pages based on that metadata.
* For all other file types, Unstructured calculates the number of pages as the file's size divided by 100 KB.
* For non-file data, Unstructured calculates a page as 100 KB of incoming data to be processed.

## Quickstart

<Tip>
  To use the Unstructured Python SDK instead of `curl` for the following quickstart,
  [skip ahead](/api-reference/legacy-api/partition/quickstart) to the SDK version instead.
</Tip>

This example uses the [curl](https://curl.se/) utility on your local machine to call the Unstructured Partition Endpoint. It sends a source (input) file from your local machine to the Unstructured Partition Endpoint which then delivers the processed data to a destination (output) location, also on your local machine. Data is processed on Unstructured-hosted compute resources.

If you do not have a source file readily available, you could use for example a sample PDF file containing the text of the United States Constitution,
available for download from [https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf](https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Set environment variables">
    From your terminal or Command Prompt, set the following two environment variables.

    * Replace `<your-unstructured-api-url>` with the Unstructured Partition Endpoint URL. This URL was provided to you when your Unstructured account was created.
      If you do not have this URL, email Unstructured Support at [support@unstructured.io](mailto:support@unstructured.io).

      <Note>
        The default URL for the Unstructured Partition Endpoint is `https://api.unstructuredapp.io/general/v0/general`.
        However, you should always use the URL that was provided to you when your Unstructured account was created.
      </Note>

    * Replace `<your-unstructured-api-key>` with your Unstructured API key, which you generated earlier on this page.

    ```bash  theme={null}
    export UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL=<your-unstructured-api-url>
    export UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY="<your-unstructured-api-key>"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the curl command">
    Run the following `curl` command, replacing `<path/to/file>` with the path to the source file on your local machine.

    If the source file is not a PDF file, then remove `;type=application/pdf` from the final `--form` option in this command.

    ```bash  theme={null}
    curl --request 'POST' \
    "$UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL" \
    --header 'accept: application/json' \
    --header "unstructured-api-key: $UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY" \
    --header 'content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
    --form 'content_type=string' \
    --form 'strategy=vlm' \
    --form 'vlm_model_provider=openai' \
    --form 'vlm_model=gpt-4o' \
    --form 'output_format=application/json' \
    --form 'files=@<path/to/file>;type=application/pdf'
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Examine the results">
    After you run the `curl` command, the results are printed to your terminal or Command Prompt. The command might take several
    minutes to complete.

    By default, the JSON is printed without indenting or other whitespace. You can pretty-print the JSON output by using utilities such as [jq](https://jqlang.org/tutorial/) in future command runs.

    You can also pipe the JSON output to a local file by using the `curl` option [-o, --output \<file>](https://curl.se/docs/manpage.html#-o) in future command runs.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can also call the Unstructured Partition Endpoint by using the [Unstructured Python SDK](/api-reference/legacy-api/partition/sdk-python) or the [Unstructured JavaScript/TypeScript SDK](/api-reference/legacy-api/partition/sdk-jsts).