Kraken

Overview

Kraken is ranked #20 of 40 in OCR software on Specifiction. It runs on API, Linux, macOS.

Compared on OCR software

Free plan

Yeskraken.re

Handwriting OCR

Yeskraken.re

Facts

Word export

Nokraken.re · 23 Sept 2026

Primary platform

desktopkraken.re · 23 Sept 2026

Supported inputs

bothkraken.re · 23 Sept 2026

Purpose

Kraken is an open-source automatic text recognition system optimized for historical documents and non-Latin scripts.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Intended users

Kraken is designed for humanities digitization, including work with low-resource languages and diverse, non-conventional scripts.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Interfaces

Kraken provides a customizable command-line interface and a Python API for custom workflows and integrations.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Trainable tasks

Its features include trainable layout analysis, reading order, and character recognition.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Script directions

Kraken supports right-to-left, bidirectional, and top-to-bottom scripts.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Output formats

Kraken can output ALTO, PageXML, abbyyXML, and hOCR, and supports word bounding boxes and character cuts.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Model repository

Kraken provides a public repository of freely available models, accessed through its command-line tools.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Integrations

The documentation lists eScriptorium, OCR4all, OCR-D, and arkindex by Teklia as applications or suites integrated with Kraken through its API or a plugin.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Python API

The Python API includes task-oriented classes for segmentation, recognition, and forced alignment.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Extensibility

Kraken’s plugin system lets developers add commands, model types, and tasks through Python entry points.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Installation

The getting-started guide says Kraken runs on Linux and macOS on x64 and ARM, and supports Python 3.10 through 3.13.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Optional input support

Direct PDF and multi-image TIFF/JPEG2000 support requires installing the PDF extras package.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Model requirement

Kraken requires a model for document processing, and the documentation says a model trained on similar material performs best.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Support

The project invites bug reports and feature suggestions through its GitHub repository and directs users seeking help to its community chat.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

License and development

Kraken is provided under the Apache 2.0 License and is developed at Inria and École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université PSL.kraken.re · 4 Oct 2026

Product

Kraken is an open-source, turn-key automatic text recognition system optimized for historical and non-Latin-script writing.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Use case

Kraken is designed as a universal text recognizer for humanities research, including low-resource languages and diverse scripts.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Layout and recognition

Kraken supports trainable layout analysis, reading order, and character recognition.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Script direction

Kraken supports right-to-left, bidirectional, and top-to-bottom scripts.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Recognition details

Kraken supports word bounding boxes and character cuts.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Models

Kraken provides a public repository of model files through HTRMoPo.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Configuration

Kraken supports configurable recognition through a network specification language and a plugin system.kraken.re · 5 Oct 2026

Where it ranks on Specifiction

• Best OCR Software in 2026#20 of 40
• Best OCR API Software in 2026#12 of 27

Sources

• kraken.re/6.0.0/index.html· checked 23 Sept 2026
• kraken.re/main/index.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
• kraken.re/main/getting_started.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
• kraken.re/main/user_guide/api.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
• kraken.re· checked 5 Oct 2026