---
name: "pdf123-update-metadata"
description: "View and edit a PDF's title, author, and other document properties. Runs the PDF123 \"Edit Metadata\" tool (pdf123.xyz) over its REST API with curl, no account needed. Use when the user wants this done to their file. Also known as: 编辑元数据, Editar metadatos, मेटाडेटा संपादित करें, تحرير البيانات الوصفية, Editar metadados, Sunting metadata, Modifier les métadonnées, Изменить метаданные, メタデータの編集, Metadaten bearbeiten, 메타데이터 편집, Sửa siêu dữ liệu, Meta verileri düzenle, 編輯中繼資料, Modifica metadati, แก้ไขเมตาดาต้า, Edytuj metadane, Метадані, Metadata bewerken, Redigera metadata, Επεξεργασία μεταδεδομένων, Редактиране на метаданни, Edita metadades, Hariri taarifa za hati."
compatibility: "Needs curl 7.76+ and outbound HTTPS to pdf123.xyz, or PDFX_API_BASE pointing at a self-hosted pdfx-server."
---

# Edit Metadata (PDF123)

View and edit a PDF's title, author, and other document properties.

Web version: https://pdf123.xyz/update-metadata · All tools: https://pdf123.xyz/skills/pdf123.md

## When to use

- Put a real title on an office export before filing
- Set Author on a packet you produced
- API-set Producer when you need that Info key

## Run it

Replace the sample file names and values with the user's, then run:

```bash
API="${PDFX_API_BASE:-https://pdf123.xyz}"
curl -sS --fail-with-body -X POST "$API/api/v1/misc/update-metadata" \
  -F "fileInput=@input.pdf" \
  --output-dir "pdf123-output/$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)" --create-dirs -OJ -w '%{filename_effective} %{content_type}\n'
```

## Inputs

Everything is `multipart/form-data`. The command above already sends each field with its default; keep them all and change only the values the user asked for, since some endpoints reject a missing optional field.

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `fileInput` | file | yes | | .pdf (one file) |
| `title` | text | no |  | Title |
| `author` | text | no |  | Author |

## Result

curl saves the result in a new `pdf123-output/<timestamp>/` directory under the server's file name and prints its path and content type. Several output files come back as one ZIP. Tell the user where the file is.

## Limits

- Info dict only, not XMP
- No date fields on the website
- Password-protected files need the password; API callers run Unlock first
- Upload limit on this website: 500 MB per file, sent in chunks above about 95 MB. A single direct API request body is capped at 100 MB.

## Errors

- A non-zero curl exit means the request failed. The saved file then holds `application/problem+json`; read it and report its `detail` to the user instead of retrying blindly.
- `413`: the upload exceeds 100 MiB. `429`: wait for `Retry-After` seconds, then retry once.
- Send `X-API-KEY: $PDFX_API_KEY` only if the user has a PDF123 API key; anonymous calls work without it.

## Privacy

Files are uploaded to the API host, processed, and deleted once the response is sent. For confidential files, ask before uploading, or use a self-hosted server via `PDFX_API_BASE`.