Minimax PDF

Trigger: Use when creating, editing, or formatting PDF documents — generation, template application, content extraction, and validation.

minimax-pdf

Three tasks. One skill.

Read design/design.md before any CREATE or REFORMAT work.

Route table

Rule: when in doubt between CREATE and REFORMAT, ask whether the user has an existing document to start from. If yes → REFORMAT. If no → CREATE.

Route A: CREATE

Full pipeline — content → design tokens → cover → body → merged PDF.

bash scripts/make.sh run \
  --title "Q3 Strategy Review" --type proposal \
  --author "Strategy Team" --date "October 2025" \
  --accent "#2D5F8A" \
  --content content.json --out report.pdf

Doc types: report · proposal · resume · portfolio · academic · general · minimal · stripe · diagonal · frame · editorial · magazine · darkroom · terminal · poster

Cover extras (inject into tokens via --abstract, --cover-image):

• --abstract "text" — abstract text block on the cover (magazine/darkroom)
• --cover-image "url" — hero image URL/path (magazine, darkroom, poster)

Color overrides — always choose these based on document content:

• --accent "#HEX" — override the accent color; accent_lt is auto-derived by lightening toward white
• --cover-bg "#HEX" — override the cover background color

Accent color selection guidance:

You have creative authority over the accent color. Pick it from the document's semantic context — title, industry, purpose, audience — not from generic "safe" choices. The accent appears on section rules, callout bars, table headers, and the cover: it carries the document's visual identity.

Rule: choose a color that a thoughtful designer would select for this specific document — not the type's default. Muted, desaturated tones work best; avoid vivid primaries. When in doubt, go darker and more neutral.

content.json block types:

chart / flowchart schemas:

{"type":"chart","chart_type":"bar","labels":["Q1","Q2","Q3","Q4"],
 "datasets":[{"label":"Revenue","values":[120,145,132,178]}],"caption":"Q results"}

{"type":"flowchart",
 "nodes":[{"id":"s","label":"Start","shape":"oval"},
          {"id":"p","label":"Process","shape":"rect"},
          {"id":"d","label":"Valid?","shape":"diamond"},
          {"id":"e","label":"End","shape":"oval"}],
 "edges":[{"from":"s","to":"p"},{"from":"p","to":"d"},
          {"from":"d","to":"e","label":"Yes"},{"from":"d","to":"p","label":"No"}]}

{"type":"bibliography","items":[
  {"id":"1","text":"Author (Year). Title. Publisher."}]}

Route B: FILL

Fill form fields in an existing PDF without altering layout or design.

# Step 1: inspect
python3 scripts/fill_inspect.py --input form.pdf

# Step 2: fill
python3 scripts/fill_write.py --input form.pdf --out filled.pdf \
  --values '{"FirstName": "Jane", "Agree": "true", "Country": "US"}'

Always run fill_inspect.py first to get exact field names.

Route C: REFORMAT

Parse an existing document → content.json → CREATE pipeline.

bash scripts/make.sh reformat \
  --input source.md --title "My Report" --type report --out output.pdf

Supported input formats: .md .txt .pdf .json

Environment

bash scripts/make.sh check   # verify all deps
bash scripts/make.sh fix     # auto-install missing deps
bash scripts/make.sh demo    # build a sample PDF