fetch_binary
Download a binary file from a URL and return its metadata and base64 content. Use when the target is a non-HTML file such as PDF, image, or archive.
Instructions
Download a binary file and return metadata + base64 bytes as JSON.
WHEN TO USE: the URL itself is a file download — pdf, docx/xlsx/pptx, odt/epub, zip/tar/gz/7z/rar, png/jpeg/gif/webp, or similar. Also use when parse_page returned is_binary=true / hint to call fetch_binary. WHEN NOT TO USE: normal HTML pages (example.com, wiki, /abs, blogs) — use parse_page. Never switch to this tool only because parse_page failed on an HTML URL (anti-bot, timeout, empty markdown).
Download only: no text extraction, no OCR, no unzip. Bytes live only in
JSON content_base64 (last; may be large) — this server does not write
a shared filesystem path. Downstream tools that need the bytes must use
their own input contract. Prefer metadata fields kind, size, filename.
Returns JSON: success, url, status_code, media_type, kind, size, filename, truncated, error_message, used_proxy, content_base64.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | http(s) URL of a binary file to download (pdf, docx, zip, png, … — not an HTML page). | |
| timeout | No | Request timeout in seconds (server may clamp). |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| result | Yes |