PDF Skill

Tech Stack Target / Version: PDF extraction, OCR-capable tooling, conversion scripts, and Acrobat-compatible review workflows.

• Leverage native parallel subagent dispatch and 200k+ context windows where available.

When to use

Use symptom -> action triggers: when one matches, apply this skill and verify with the protocol below.

• Read or review PDF content where layout and visuals matter.
• Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.
• Validate final rendering before delivery.

Workflow

1. Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them.
   • Use pdftoppm if available.
   • If unavailable, install Poppler or ask the user to review the output locally.
2. Use reportlab to generate PDFs when creating new documents.
3. Use pdfplumber (or pypdf) for text extraction and quick checks; do not rely on it for layout fidelity.
4. After each meaningful update, re-render pages and verify alignment, spacing, and legibility.

Temp and output conventions

• Use tmp/pdfs/ for intermediate files; delete when done.
• Write final artifacts under output/pdf/ when working in this repo.
• Keep filenames stable and descriptive.

Dependencies (install if missing)

Prefer uv for dependency management.

Python packages:

uv pip install reportlab pdfplumber pypdf

If uv is unavailable:

python3 -m pip install reportlab pdfplumber pypdf

System tools (for rendering):

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install poppler

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install -y poppler-utils

If installation isn't possible in this environment, tell the user which dependency is missing and how to install it locally.

Environment

No required environment variables.

Rendering command

pdftoppm -png $INPUT_PDF $OUTPUT_PREFIX

Quality expectations

• Maintain polished visual design: consistent typography, spacing, margins, and section hierarchy.
• Avoid rendering issues: clipped text, overlapping elements, broken tables, black squares, or unreadable glyphs.
• Charts, tables, and images must be sharp, aligned, and clearly labeled.
• Use ASCII hyphens only. Avoid U+2011 (non-breaking hyphen) and other Unicode dashes.
• Citations and references must be human-readable; never leave tool tokens or placeholder strings.

Final checks

• Do not deliver until the latest PNG inspection shows zero visual or formatting defects.
• Confirm headers/footers, page numbering, and section transitions look polished.
• Keep intermediate files organized or remove them after final approval.

Anti-Patterns

• Writing for the author instead of the reader: It bakes in unstated context and leaves the actual audience unsure what to do next.
• Skipping concrete examples or commands: Abstract guidance is easy to approve and hard to apply correctly.
• Letting links, screenshots, or versions drift: Polished formatting does not help if the instructions are no longer true.

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Verification Protocol

Before claiming the pdf workflow succeeded:

1. Pass/fail: The request matches this skill's documented activation boundary.
2. Pass/fail: Required inputs, dependencies, and safety checks were resolved or reported as blockers.
3. Pass/fail: The narrowest relevant workflow was completed without inventing unavailable tools or results.
4. Pass/fail: Output was checked with the most relevant local test, inspection, render, or source evidence.
5. Pressure test: Repeat the decision with the preferred integration unavailable and confirm the fallback remains safe and actionable.
6. Success metric: The result, evidence, and any unverified limitation are explicit enough for another agent to reproduce.

Cross-Client Portability

This skill is written to stay usable across GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Codex.

• GitHub Copilot: keep the folder in a Copilot-visible skill path or wrap the workflow in project instructions when folder discovery is unavailable.
• Claude Code: keep the folder in a local skills directory or a compatible plugin source.
• Codex: install or sync the folder into $CODEX_HOME/skills/pdf and restart Codex after major changes.

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MCP Availability And Fallback

Preferred MCP Server: None required

• Fallback prompt: "Use the PDF Skill skill without MCP. Rely on the local SKILL.md, bundled references or scripts, and manual verification. Show the exact commands, evidence, and final checks you used before concluding."
• If the current host does not expose a matching server, use the bundled references, scripts, native toolchain, and manual workflow already described in this skill.
• Treat direct local verification, rendered output, logs, tests, or screenshots as the fallback evidence path before completion.

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Related Skills

• documentation-authoring: Use it when the workflow also needs drafting structured technical or product documents.
• documentation-patterns: Use it when the workflow also needs reusable documentation structures and templates.
• documentation-quality: Use it when the workflow also needs documentation review standards and quality gates.
• documentation-verification: Use it when the workflow also needs final documentation validation before publishing.