feat(vision): process pages separately and make Qwen3-VL vision extraction more robust; add per-page parsing, safer JSON handling, reduced token usage, and multi-query invoice extraction

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2026-01-18 - 1.11.0 - feat(vision)
+process pages separately and make Qwen3-VL vision extraction more robust; add per-page parsing, safer JSON handling, reduced token usage, and multi-query invoice extraction
+
+- Bank statements: split extraction into extractTransactionsFromPage and sequentially process pages to avoid thinking-token exhaustion
+- Bank statements: reduced num_predict from 8000 to 4000, send single image per request, added per-page logging and non-throwing handling for empty or non-JSON responses
+- Bank statements: catch JSON.parse errors and return empty array instead of throwing
+- Invoices: introduced queryField to request single values and perform multiple simple queries (reduces model thinking usage)
+- Invoices: reduced num_predict for invoice queries from 4000 to 500 and parse amounts robustly (handles European formats like 1.234,56)
+- Invoices: normalize currency to uppercase 3-letter code, return safe defaults (empty strings / 0) instead of nulls, and parse net/vat/total with fallbacks
+- General: simplified Ollama API error messages to avoid including response body content in thrown errors
+
 ## 2026-01-18 - 1.10.1 - fix(tests)
 improve Qwen3-VL invoice extraction test by switching to non-stream API, adding model availability/pull checks, simplifying response parsing, and tightening model options
 

test/test.bankstatements.qwen3vl.ts

@@ -53,23 +53,14 @@ function convertPdfToImages(pdfPath: string): string[] {
 }
 
 /**
- * Extract transactions using Qwen3-VL vision
+ * Extract transactions from a single page
+ * Processes one page at a time to minimize thinking tokens
  */
-async function extractTransactions(images: string[]): Promise<ITransaction[]> {
+async function extractTransactionsFromPage(image: string, pageNum: number): Promise<ITransaction[]> {
-  console.log(`    [Vision] Processing ${images.length} page(s) with Qwen3-VL`);
-
   const prompt = `/no_think
-Extract ALL transactions from this bank statement.
+Extract transactions from this bank statement page.
-
+Amount: "- 21,47 €" = -21.47, "+ 1.000,00 €" = 1000.00 (European format)
-Amount format:
+Return JSON array only: [{"date":"YYYY-MM-DD","counterparty":"NAME","amount":-21.47},...]`;
-- "- 21,47 €" = DEBIT = -21.47
-- "+ 1.000,00 €" = CREDIT = 1000.00
-- European format: comma is decimal separator
-
-For each transaction: {"date":"YYYY-MM-DD","counterparty":"NAME","amount":-21.47}
-
-Return ONLY a JSON array, no explanation:
-[{"date":"...","counterparty":"...","amount":0},...]`;
 
   const response = await fetch(`${OLLAMA_URL}/api/chat`, {
     method: 'POST',
@@ -79,26 +70,28 @@ Return ONLY a JSON array, no explanation:
       messages: [{
         role: 'user',
         content: prompt,
-        images: images,
+        images: [image],
       }],
       stream: false,
       think: false,
       options: {
-        num_predict: 8000,
+        num_predict: 4000,
         temperature: 0.1,
       },
     }),
   });
 
   if (!response.ok) {
-    const err = await response.text();
+    throw new Error(`Ollama API error: ${response.status}`);
-    throw new Error(`Ollama API error: ${response.status} - ${err}`);
   }
 
   const data = await response.json();
   let content = data.message?.content || '';
 
-  console.log(`    [Vision] Got ${content.length} chars`);
+  if (!content) {
+    console.log(`    [Page ${pageNum}] Empty response`);
+    return [];
+  }
 
   // Parse JSON array
   if (content.startsWith('```json')) content = content.slice(7);
@@ -110,10 +103,37 @@ Return ONLY a JSON array, no explanation:
   const endIdx = content.lastIndexOf(']') + 1;
 
   if (startIdx < 0 || endIdx <= startIdx) {
-    throw new Error(`No JSON array found: ${content.substring(0, 300)}`);
+    console.log(`    [Page ${pageNum}] No JSON array found`);
+    return [];
   }
 
-  return JSON.parse(content.substring(startIdx, endIdx));
+  try {
+    const transactions = JSON.parse(content.substring(startIdx, endIdx));
+    console.log(`    [Page ${pageNum}] Found ${transactions.length} transactions`);
+    return transactions;
+  } catch {
+    console.log(`    [Page ${pageNum}] JSON parse error`);
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extract transactions using Qwen3-VL vision
+ * Processes each page separately to avoid thinking token exhaustion
+ */
+async function extractTransactions(images: string[]): Promise<ITransaction[]> {
+  console.log(`    [Vision] Processing ${images.length} page(s) with Qwen3-VL`);
+
+  const allTransactions: ITransaction[] = [];
+
+  // Process pages sequentially to avoid overwhelming the model
+  for (let i = 0; i < images.length; i++) {
+    const pageTransactions = await extractTransactionsFromPage(images[i], i + 1);
+    allTransactions.push(...pageTransactions);
+  }
+
+  console.log(`    [Vision] Total: ${allTransactions.length} transactions`);
+  return allTransactions;
 }
 
 /**

test/test.invoices.qwen3vl.ts

@@ -56,26 +56,10 @@ function convertPdfToImages(pdfPath: string): string[] {
 }
 
 /**
- * Extract invoice data directly from images using Qwen3-VL Vision
+ * Query Qwen3-VL for a single field
- * Uses /no_think to disable reasoning mode for fast, direct JSON output
+ * Uses simple prompts to minimize thinking tokens
  */
-async function extractInvoiceFromImages(images: string[]): Promise<IInvoice> {
+async function queryField(images: string[], question: string): Promise<string> {
-  console.log(`    [Vision] Processing ${images.length} page(s) with Qwen3-VL`);
-
-  // /no_think disables Qwen3's reasoning mode - crucial for getting direct output
-  const prompt = `/no_think
-Look at this invoice and extract these fields. Reply with ONLY JSON, no explanation.
-
-- invoice_number
-- invoice_date (format: YYYY-MM-DD)
-- vendor_name
-- currency (EUR, USD, or GBP)
-- net_amount
-- vat_amount
-- total_amount
-
-JSON: {"invoice_number":"...","invoice_date":"YYYY-MM-DD","vendor_name":"...","currency":"EUR","net_amount":0,"vat_amount":0,"total_amount":0}`;
-
   const response = await fetch(`${OLLAMA_URL}/api/chat`, {
     method: 'POST',
     headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
@@ -83,51 +67,64 @@ JSON: {"invoice_number":"...","invoice_date":"YYYY-MM-DD","vendor_name":"...","c
       model: VISION_MODEL,
       messages: [{
         role: 'user',
-        content: prompt,
+        content: `/no_think\n${question} Reply with just the value, nothing else.`,
-        images: images, // Pass all pages
+        images: images,
       }],
       stream: false,
-      think: false, // Disable thinking mode via API
+      think: false,
       options: {
-        num_predict: 4000, // Need enough tokens for model to finish thinking + output
+        num_predict: 500,
         temperature: 0.1,
       },
     }),
   });
 
   if (!response.ok) {
-    const err = await response.text();
+    throw new Error(`Ollama API error: ${response.status}`);
-    throw new Error(`Ollama API error: ${response.status} - ${err}`);
   }
 
   const data = await response.json();
-  let content = data.message?.content || '';
+  return (data.message?.content || '').trim();
+}
 
-  console.log(`    [Vision] Response (${content.length} chars): ${content.substring(0, 200)}...`);
+/**
+ * Extract invoice data using multiple simple queries
+ * Each query asks for 1-2 fields to minimize thinking tokens
+ * (Qwen3's thinking mode uses all tokens on complex prompts)
+ */
+async function extractInvoiceFromImages(images: string[]): Promise<IInvoice> {
+  console.log(`    [Vision] Processing ${images.length} page(s) with Qwen3-VL (multi-query)`);
 
-  // Parse JSON from response
+  // Query each field separately to avoid excessive thinking tokens
-  if (content.startsWith('```json')) content = content.slice(7);
+  const [invoiceNum, invoiceDate, vendor, currency, amounts] = await Promise.all([
-  else if (content.startsWith('```')) content = content.slice(3);
+    queryField(images, 'What is the invoice number on this document?'),
-  if (content.endsWith('```')) content = content.slice(0, -3);
+    queryField(images, 'What is the invoice date? Format as YYYY-MM-DD.'),
-  content = content.trim();
+    queryField(images, 'What company issued this invoice?'),
+    queryField(images, 'What currency is used? Answer EUR, USD, or GBP.'),
+    queryField(images, 'What are the net amount, VAT amount, and total amount? Format: net,vat,total'),
+  ]);
 
-  const startIdx = content.indexOf('{');
+  console.log(`    [Vision] Got: ${invoiceNum} | ${invoiceDate} | ${vendor} | ${currency}`);
-  const endIdx = content.lastIndexOf('}') + 1;
 
-  if (startIdx < 0 || endIdx <= startIdx) {
+  // Parse amounts (format: "net,vat,total" or similar)
-    throw new Error(`No JSON found: ${content.substring(0, 300)}`);
+  const amountMatch = amounts.match(/([\d.,]+)/g) || [];
-  }
+  const parseAmount = (s: string): number => {
-
+    if (!s) return 0;
-  const parsed = JSON.parse(content.substring(startIdx, endIdx));
+    // Handle European format: 1.234,56 → 1234.56
+    const normalized = s.includes(',') && s.indexOf(',') > s.lastIndexOf('.')
+      ? s.replace(/\./g, '').replace(',', '.')
+      : s.replace(/,/g, '');
+    return parseFloat(normalized) || 0;
+  };
 
   return {
-    invoice_number: parsed.invoice_number || null,
+    invoice_number: invoiceNum || '',
-    invoice_date: parsed.invoice_date || null,
+    invoice_date: invoiceDate || '',
-    vendor_name: parsed.vendor_name || null,
+    vendor_name: vendor || '',
-    currency: parsed.currency || 'EUR',
+    currency: (currency || 'EUR').toUpperCase().replace(/[^A-Z]/g, '').slice(0, 3) || 'EUR',
-    net_amount: parseFloat(parsed.net_amount) || 0,
+    net_amount: parseAmount(amountMatch[0] || ''),
-    vat_amount: parseFloat(parsed.vat_amount) || 0,
+    vat_amount: parseAmount(amountMatch[1] || ''),
-    total_amount: parseFloat(parsed.total_amount) || 0,
+    total_amount: parseAmount(amountMatch[2] || amountMatch[0] || ''),
   };
 }