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What is Shelv?

Shelv converts documents into structured Markdown filesystems your AI agents can actually use. Upload a PDF, get back a browsable file tree — chapters, sections, clauses — that your agent navigates with standard Unix tools like ls, cat, and grep.

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Why agent developers use it

Every agent that works with documents reinvents the same plumbing — parsing PDFs, chunking content, figuring out structure, building retrieval. Shelv eliminates all of it. Your agent gets deterministic file paths instead of probabilistic retrieval. Standard file tools instead of custom parsing code. The document’s own hierarchy instead of arbitrary chunks.

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How it works

1

Upload a document

Send any PDF to the Shelv API — contracts, regulations, books, whatever.
2

We structure it

Shelv parses, chunks by semantic structure, and builds a Markdown filesystem.
3

Your agent hydrates it

Browse with ls, read with cat, search with grep. Use the MCP server, OpenClaw skill, sandbox adapters, archive download, or direct REST reads.

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Example output

my-contract/
├── README.md
├── definitions.md
├── article-01-parties.md
├── article-05-laytime/
│   ├── 5.1-calculation.md
│   └── 5.2-exceptions.md
└── clauses/
    ├── force-majeure.md
    └── arbitration.md

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Core capabilities

  • Async processing — your agent gets a webhook when it’s ready
  • Optional templates (book, legal-contract, charter-party, academic-paper)
  • Optional review mode before finalization
  • Signed webhook notifications for lifecycle events
  • Multiple access modes — MCP server, OpenClaw skill, sandbox adapters, archive download, REST API, or full JSON tree
  • API-first — every operation is a single curl call

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Next steps

Quickstart

Upload a document and retrieve structured files in minutes.

API Reference

Explore endpoint schemas and status-specific behavior.

MCP Server

Connect Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client to Shelv.