---
title: "Integrate OCR capabilities into your iOS app | Nutrient iOS SDK"
canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ocr/getting-started/"
md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ocr/getting-started.md"
last_updated: "2026-06-09T10:22:07.675Z"
description: "Learn how to integrate the Nutrient iOS OCR library into your iOS app for accurate text extraction from PDFs and images. Follow our step-by-step guide to enable powerful OCR capabilities in your iOS application."
---

# Integrate OCR capabilities into your iOS app

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for integrating the Nutrient iOS OCR library into your project.

## Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following before integrating the Nutrient iOS OCR library:

- **Nutrient iOS SDK with OCR capabilities**
  - [`PSPDFKit`](https://my.nutrient.io/pspdfkit-ios/latest.podspec) and [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) are available as separate dynamic frameworks within the same download.
  - [Download the latest release](https://my.nutrient.io/download/binary/ios/latest) from the [Nutrient Portal](https://my.nutrient.io/users/sign_in), or start with a [free trial](https://www.nutrient.io/try/).
  - Alternatively, use Swift Package Manager for seamless integration (refer to the [integration section](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ocr/getting-started.md#swift-package-manager) below).

- **Latest stable version of Xcode**
  - The Nutrient iOS OCR library requires the latest stable version of [Xcode](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/) available at the time of release.

## Quick start with the Catalog example

To see OCR in action, run the [`OCRExample.swift`](https://github.com/PSPDFKit/pspdfkit-ios-catalog/blob/master/Catalog/Examples/Components/OCRExample.swift) code sample in the [Nutrient Catalog](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/getting-started/example-projects.md#nutrient-catalog) sample project:

1. Open `Catalog.xcodeproj`.

2. Build and run the `Catalog` scheme.

3. Search for OCR in the examples list and open the relevant example.

## Integrating the Nutrient iOS OCR library

There are three ways to integrate the Nutrient iOS OCR library into your project:

- Using Swift Package Manager

- Using CocoaPods

- Manual integration

Each of these approaches are outlined below.

### Swift Package Manager (SwiftPM)

To add [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) to your project using SwiftPM, follow the steps below:

1. [Integrate the Nutrient Swift package](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/ios/getting-started.md) into your project.

2. Add [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) using our [public repository URL](https://github.com/PSPDFKit/PSPDFKitOCR-SP).

3. [Download the latest language files](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/language_bundles/latest.zip).

4. Manually add the required language files to your project.

### CocoaPods

To integrate [`PSPDFKit`](https://my.nutrient.io/pspdfkit-ios/latest.podspec) and [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) using CocoaPods, follow the steps below.

1. Add the following dependencies to your `Podfile`:

   ```ruby

   use_frameworks!

   target :YourTargetName do
       pod 'PSPDFKit',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/pspdfkit-ios/latest.podspec'
       pod 'PSPDFKitOCR',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec'
   end

   ```

2. Install the dependencies:

   ```shell

   pod install
   ```

3. By default, [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) includes trained data models for [all supported languages](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ocr/language-support.md). To reduce app size, include only the required languages by modifying your `Podfile` as shown below:

   ```ruby

   use_frameworks!

   target :YourTargetName do
       pod 'PSPDFKit',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/pspdfkit-ios/latest.podspec'

       pod 'PSPDFKitOCR/PSPDFKitOCR',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec'

       pod 'PSPDFKitOCR/English',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec'

       pod 'PSPDFKitOCR/German',
           podspec: 'https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec'
   end

   ```

### Manual integration

To integrate [`PSPDFKitOCR`](https://my.nutrient.io/ocr/latest.podspec) manually:

1. [Integrate Nutrient](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/ios/getting-started.md) into your project.

2. Drag `PSPDFKitOCR.xcframework` into the **Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content** section of your target.

3. Add the necessary language files from `PSPDFKitOCR/Languages` to your project.

## Next steps

To learn how to perform OCR on PDFs in iOS, refer to the [performing OCR](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ocr/usage.md) guide.
---

## Related pages

- [Supported languages for the iOS OCR library](/guides/ios/ocr/language-support.md)
- [iOS OCR library](/guides/ios/ocr/overview.md)
- [How to perform OCR on a PDF in iOS](/guides/ios/ocr/usage.md)