PDF Skill
When to use
- Read or review PDF content where layout and visuals matter.
- Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.
- Validate final rendering before delivery.
Workflow
- 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.
- Use
reportlab to generate PDFs when creating new documents.
- Use
pdfplumber (or pypdf) for text extraction and quick checks; do not rely on it for layout fidelity.
- 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.
1---2name: pdf3description: PDF Skill4---5# PDF Skill67## When to use8- Read or review PDF content where layout and visuals matter.9- Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.10- Validate final rendering before delivery.1112## Workflow131. Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them.14 - Use `pdftoppm` if available.15 - If unavailable, install Poppler or ask the user to review the output locally.162. Use `reportlab` to generate PDFs when creating new documents.173. Use `pdfplumber` (or `pypdf`) for text extraction and quick checks; do not rely on it for layout fidelity.184. After each meaningful update, re-render pages and verify alignment, spacing, and legibility.1920## Temp and output conventions21- Use `tmp/pdfs/` for intermediate files; delete when done.22- Write final artifacts under `output/pdf/` when working in this repo.23- Keep filenames stable and descriptive.2425## Dependencies (install if missing)26Prefer `uv` for dependency management.2728Python packages:29```30uv pip install reportlab pdfplumber pypdf31```32If `uv` is unavailable:33```34python3 -m pip install reportlab pdfplumber pypdf35```36System tools (for rendering):37```38# macOS (Homebrew)39brew install poppler4041# Ubuntu/Debian42sudo apt-get install -y poppler-utils43```4445If installation isn't possible in this environment, tell the user which dependency is missing and how to install it locally.4647## Environment48No required environment variables.4950## Rendering command51```52pdftoppm -png $INPUT_PDF $OUTPUT_PREFIX53```5455## Quality expectations56- Maintain polished visual design: consistent typography, spacing, margins, and section hierarchy.57- Avoid rendering issues: clipped text, overlapping elements, broken tables, black squares, or unreadable glyphs.58- Charts, tables, and images must be sharp, aligned, and clearly labeled.59- Use ASCII hyphens only. Avoid U+2011 (non-breaking hyphen) and other Unicode dashes.60- Citations and references must be human-readable; never leave tool tokens or placeholder strings.6162## Final checks63- Do not deliver until the latest PNG inspection shows zero visual or formatting defects.64- Confirm headers/footers, page numbering, and section transitions look polished.65- Keep intermediate files organized or remove them after final approval.
Haohao-end