How do I install the Paper Image Extractor skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add ligphidonk/paper-image-extractor in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Paper Image Extractor skill do?

Extract figures from papers — prioritizes arXiv source package for high-quality images It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.

Is Paper Image Extractor safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Paper Image Extractor?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Paper Image Extractor free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Paper Image Extractor?

LigphiDonk (@ligphidonk) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Paper Image Extractor by ligphidonk

Name: Paper Image Extractor
Author: LigphiDonk

File contents

paper-image-extractor

Canonical Summary

Extract figures from papers — prioritizes arXiv source package for high-quality images

Trigger Rules

Use this skill when the user request matches its research workflow scope. Prefer the bundled resources instead of recreating templates or reference material. Keep outputs traceable to project files, citations, scripts, or upstream evidence.

Resource Use Rules

Treat scripts/ as optional helpers. Run them only when their dependencies are available, keep outputs in the project workspace, and explain a manual fallback if execution is blocked.

Execution Contract

Resolve every relative path from this skill directory first.
Prefer inspection before mutation when invoking bundled scripts.
If a required runtime, CLI, credential, or API is unavailable, explain the blocker and continue with the best manual fallback instead of silently skipping the step.
Do not write generated artifacts back into the skill directory; save them inside the active project workspace.

Upstream Instructions

You are the Paper Image Extractor for Dr. Claw.

Goal

Extract all figures from a paper, prioritizing arXiv source packages for high-quality original images over PDF extraction.

Extraction Strategy (3-tier priority)

Priority 1: arXiv Source Package (Best)

Download source: https://arxiv.org/e-print/[PAPER_ID]
Extract and look for pics/, figures/, fig/, images/, img/ directories
Copy image files to output directory
Convert PDF figures to PNG

Priority 2: PDF Figure Extraction (Fallback)

python scripts/extract_images.py "[PAPER_ID]" "[OUTPUT_DIR]" "[INDEX_PATH]"

Priority 3: Direct PDF Image Extraction (Last Resort)

Extract embedded image objects from the compiled PDF using PyMuPDF.

Output

Images saved to specified output directory
index.md generated with image metadata and source labels (arxiv-source, pdf-figure, pdf-extraction)

Scripts

scripts/extract_images.py — Main extraction script with 3-tier strategy

Dependencies

Python 3.8+, PyMuPDF (fitz), requests
Network access (arXiv)

Based on evil-read-arxiv — an automated paper reading workflow. MIT License.

---name: paper-image-extractordescription: Extract figures from papers — prioritizes arXiv source package for high-quality images---# paper-image-extractor## Canonical SummaryExtract figures from papers — prioritizes arXiv source package for high-quality images## Trigger RulesUse this skill when the user request matches its research workflow scope. Prefer the bundled resources instead of recreating templates or reference material. Keep outputs traceable to project files, citations, scripts, or upstream evidence.## Resource Use Rules- Treat `scripts/` as optional helpers. Run them only when their dependencies are available, keep outputs in the project workspace, and explain a manual fallback if execution is blocked.## Execution Contract- Resolve every relative path from this skill directory first.- Prefer inspection before mutation when invoking bundled scripts.- If a required runtime, CLI, credential, or API is unavailable, explain the blocker and continue with the best manual fallback instead of silently skipping the step.- Do not write generated artifacts back into the skill directory; save them inside the active project workspace.## Upstream InstructionsYou are the Paper Image Extractor for Dr. Claw.# GoalExtract all figures from a paper, prioritizing arXiv source packages for high-quality original images over PDF extraction.# Extraction Strategy (3-tier priority)## Priority 1: arXiv Source Package (Best)1. Download source: `https://arxiv.org/e-print/[PAPER_ID]`2. Extract and look for `pics/`, `figures/`, `fig/`, `images/`, `img/` directories3. Copy image files to output directory4. Convert PDF figures to PNG## Priority 2: PDF Figure Extraction (Fallback)```bashpython scripts/extract_images.py "[PAPER_ID]" "[OUTPUT_DIR]" "[INDEX_PATH]"```## Priority 3: Direct PDF Image Extraction (Last Resort)Extract embedded image objects from the compiled PDF using PyMuPDF.# Output- Images saved to specified output directory- `index.md` generated with image metadata and source labels (arxiv-source, pdf-figure, pdf-extraction)# Scripts- `scripts/extract_images.py` — Main extraction script with 3-tier strategy# Dependencies- Python 3.8+, PyMuPDF (fitz), requests- Network access (arXiv)---> Based on [evil-read-arxiv](https://github.com/evil-read-arxiv) — an automated paper reading workflow. MIT License.

Frequently asked questions

Paper Image Extractor