PDF Toolkit

PDF Toolkit

Audit .pdf files for metadata, page count, encryption status, embedded JavaScript, embedded files, and PDF version — using the standard library only.

Table of Contents

• Keywords
• Quick Start
• Core Workflows
• Tools
• Reference Guides
• Templates
• Best Practices

Keywords

pdf, pdf audit, pdf metadata, pdf review, pdf leakage, pdf security, redaction, document handoff

Clarify First

Before running the audit, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• Audit purpose (pre-handoff metadata scrub, inbound security triage, or bulk outbound check) — selects which of the 3 workflows and which fields you act on
• Recipient / handling context (external party, managed laptop) — sets what counts as a leak or a threat worth quarantining
• Expected legitimate metadata (who the author/title should be) — without it you can't distinguish a leak from expected data

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Quick Start

python scripts/pdf_auditor.py contract.pdf

Outputs: PDF version, page count, file size, metadata (Author, Title, Producer, Creator, dates), encryption status, embedded JavaScript indicators, embedded file indicators.

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Pre-Handoff PDF Metadata Audit

Goal: Stop leaking author identity, prior client names, or document history when handing a PDF to an external party.

Steps:

1. Run: python scripts/pdf_auditor.py document.pdf
2. Review metadata fields:
   • Author matches the sender (not "Bob's intern" from a prior project)
   • Title matches the document, not a leftover working title
   • Producer doesn't reveal an internal-only PDF tool
   • CreationDate and ModDate are reasonable for the deal
3. If metadata leaks, re-export from source with cleaned properties (or use a redaction tool)

Time Estimate: 2-3 minutes per document.

Workflow 2: PDF Security Triage

Goal: Decide whether a received PDF can be opened safely on a managed laptop.

Steps:

1. Run audit
2. JavaScript indicator present → quarantine; review in a sandbox
3. Embedded files indicator present → list of file types; quarantine if unexpected
4. Encrypted with non-empty owner password → request password from sender via separate channel
5. Decision: open / quarantine / reject

Time Estimate: 1-2 minutes per inbound document.

Workflow 3: Bulk Audit of an Outbound Document Set

Goal: Audit every PDF in a folder before zipping for a customer or partner.

Steps:

1. Loop: for f in *.pdf; do python scripts/pdf_auditor.py "$f" --json; done > audit.jsonl
2. Parse the JSON Lines for any metadata leakage or anomalies
3. Re-export problem files from source
4. Re-run audit until clean

Time Estimate: 1-2 minutes per file.

Tools

pdf_auditor.py

Reads a PDF using stdlib parsing — no pypdf or pdfplumber required. Detects:

• PDF version (from header)
• Page count (via /Type /Page object scan)
• File size
• Document Info / XMP metadata (Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Producer, Creator, CreationDate, ModDate)
• Encryption status (/Encrypt reference present)
• JavaScript indicators (/JS, /JavaScript, /AA keys)
• Embedded files indicator (/EmbeddedFiles)

python scripts/pdf_auditor.py document.pdf
python scripts/pdf_auditor.py document.pdf --json

Limits:

• Does not extract text content — pure PDF text extraction with stdlib is unreliable. For text extraction install pdfplumber or pypdf separately.
• Cannot decrypt encrypted files.
• Detects only the presence of JavaScript/embedded files, not their behavior.

Reference Guides

• references/pdf_handoff_guide.md — What to scrub from PDFs before external send; PDF/A and PDF/UA basics; common leakage patterns

Templates

• assets/pdf_handoff_checklist.md — Pre-send PDF sign-off checklist

Best Practices

• Re-export rather than redact. Redaction tools that "remove" content can leave it recoverable. The safest path is regenerating the PDF from the source document with sensitive fields removed.
• Scrub document properties at the source. In Word: File → Inspect Document → Document Inspector. In Pages: File → Properties. Then export to PDF.
• Don't trust filenames. A file named Public-Report.pdf can carry private metadata indistinguishable to the human eye.
• Use PDF/A for archival. PDF/A removes JavaScript and external dependencies, making documents safe for long-term archive.

Integration Points

• Pairs with legal/ for redacted contract handoffs
• Pairs with c-level-advisor/board-deck-builder for board pack handoff
• Used by marketing/ for whitepaper / case-study handoff