#  `dump_annots`

Dump annotation info
## Usage
> pdftl `<input>` `dump_annots` `[<selector>...]` `[output` `<output>]`

## Details
Extracts all annotations from the PDF and dumps them in a
structured JSON format.

Unlike `dump_data_annots`, this operation provides a raw,
comprehensive view of the annotation dictionaries, including
all properties (e.g., Rect, Contents, Colors, Flags).

The output is a JSON list where each entry represents an
annotation, grouped by page. This is useful for debugging,
analysis, or processing annotation data in other tools that
consume JSON.

### Filtering

Annotations can be filtered using the same selector syntax as
`modify_annots`. Selectors are optional; without them, all
annotations are dumped.

The syntax is `selector` or `selector(Key=Value, ...)`, where:
  - `selector` is a page range (e.g., `1-5`, `odd`, see [[`page_specs`]]) and/or an
    annotation type (e.g., `/Link`, `/Highlight`).
  - `Key=Value` pairs filter annotations by property value.

### Value Syntax
  - PDF Names: `/Name`
  - PDF Strings: `(My String)`
  - PDF Arrays: `[0 0 1]`
  - PDF Booleans: `true` / `false`
  - Numbers: `1.5`, `10`
  - Plain strings are treated as PDF Strings: `Value` is interpreted as `(Value)`
## Examples

> Show all annotation data for a file:
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_annots
```

> Show only Link annotations on pages 1-5:
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_annots 1-5/Link
```

> Show only Highlight annotations on odd pages:
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_annots odd/Highlight
```

> Show only Link annotations with a zero border:
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_annots "/Link(Border=[0 0 0])"
```


**Tags**: in_place, annotations, info

*Source: pdftl.operations.annots_filters*

*Read online: [https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operations/dump_annots.html](https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operations/dump_annots.html)*

*Type: Operation*