Add Container OCR to Your App using Cursor in 5 Minutes

The problem: AI coding assistants can't read vertical text on rusted steel

Tools like Cursor are remarkable at writing code — but they stop at the boundary of complex vision tasks. You can instruct Cursor to build a beautiful freight tracking interface in minutes, yet the actual extraction of an 11-character container number from vertically stacked text on corrugated steel doors requires a dedicated Container OCR API. Standard vision models routinely fail to read text split across metal ridges or stacked top-to-bottom.

The solution: ISO 6346 precision, instantly

StructOCR's /v1/container endpoint accepts a photo and returns a clean JSON object with the validated ISO 6346 container number, instantly decoding the owner prefix, category, and check digit. Because it speaks plain HTTP, Cursor can easily generate the client or server-side fetch logic to wire it up.

Integrate StructOCR using Cursor (3 Steps)

1. 1

   Open your project in Cursor and use Composer

   Open your web or mobile logistics project in Cursor. Hit Cmd+I (or Ctrl+I) to open the Composer. Describe the yard management UI you want to build.

   💬Try this prompt: "Build a mobile-friendly yard management UI component using shadcn. Users can upload a photo of shipping container doors, and the app will display the extracted container number, owner code, and check digit in a clean card."
2. 2

   Tell Cursor to call the StructOCR API

   Once Cursor scaffolds the component, paste the follow-up prompt below. Cursor will write the fetch call, handle the form data, and wire the response to your state variables.

   💬Follow-up prompt: "When a user uploads an image, send it as a multipart/form-data POST to https://api.structocr.com/v1/container with an Authorization header containing my API key. Display the returned JSON fields in the UI."

   // Cursor generates something like this in your frontend framework const response = await fetch('https://api.structocr.com/v1/container', { method: 'POST', headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_STRUCTOCR_KEY}` }, body: formData, });
3. 3

   Add your StructOCR API key to your .env file

   Open your local .env or .env.local file in Cursor and securely add your StructOCR key. Restart your development server to see the live scanner.

   💬Variable name: NEXT_PUBLIC_STRUCTOCR_KEY — get your free key at structocr.com/dashboard

   NEXT_PUBLIC_STRUCTOCR_KEY=sk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What you can build in Cursor with this integration

• Gate automation app: Let truck drivers or gate inspectors snap a photo of the container to automatically log the entry/exit time and verify the container number against the manifest.
• Yard management system (YMS): Build a mobile app for yard jockeys to scan container numbers and update parking slot locations in real-time. A core feature of modern logistics automation.
• Freight forwarding tracker: Create a tool where warehouse staff scan containers during loading/unloading to generate instant status updates for end-customers.
• Damage inspection portal: Add an upload step to a container inspection flow: extract the container number automatically from the damage photos to link the evidence to the correct asset.

The prompt and the code

Copy the follow-up prompt into Cursor's Composer (Cmd+I) to generate the integration. The code block shows the standard fetch logic Cursor will likely produce.

Prerequisite: A free StructOCR account — get your API key at structocr.com/dashboard (no credit card required)

I need to add shipping container OCR to this app.

When a user uploads an image:
1. Send it as multipart/form-data to: POST https://api.structocr.com/v1/container
2. Include the header: Authorization: Bearer ${NEXT_PUBLIC_STRUCTOCR_KEY}
3. The response is JSON with fields: data.container_number, data.is_valid, data.parsed.owner_code, data.parsed.check_digit
4. Display the extracted container number and the decoded parts in the results panel
5. Show a loading spinner while the request is in flight
6. Show an error message if the upload fails

Use the environment variable NEXT_PUBLIC_STRUCTOCR_KEY for the API key.

What the API returns

Not just the raw string—the API automatically validates the check digit and breaks down the components. Your UI built via Cursor can bind this directly components.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "container_number": "ZCSU8921655",
    "is_valid": true,
    "confidence": "High",
    "parsed": {
      "owner_code": "ZCS",
      "category": "U",
      "serial_number": "892165",
      "check_digit": "5"
    }
  }
}