How do I install the Reportlab skill?

Run npx skillmds add majiayu000/reportlab-3 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 Reportlab skill do?

Python library for programmatic PDF generation and creation. Use when user wants to generate PDFs from scratch, create invoices, reports, certificates, labels, or custom documents with precise control over layout, fonts, graphics, tables, and charts. Supports both low-level drawing (Canvas) and high-level documents (Platypus). It is listed under Docs & Writing on SkillMD.

Is Reportlab safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Reportlab?

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 Reportlab free to use?

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

Who published Reportlab?

majiayu000 (@majiayu000) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Reportlab by majiayu000 — Agent Skill

Name: Reportlab
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: majiayu000

ReportLab

Overview

ReportLab is a powerful open-source Python library for creating PDF documents programmatically. Generate professional PDFs with precise control over layout, typography, graphics, tables, and charts. Perfect for automated report generation, invoices, certificates, and custom documents.

When to Use This Skill

Activate when the user:

Wants to generate PDF documents programmatically
Needs to create invoices, reports, or receipts
Asks to create certificates, labels, or forms
Mentions ReportLab explicitly
Wants custom PDF layouts with tables, charts, or graphics
Needs to automate document generation
Wants precise control over PDF layout and styling

Installation

Check if ReportLab is installed:

python3 -c "import reportlab; print(reportlab.Version)"

If not installed:

pip3 install reportlab

For additional fonts and features:

pip3 install reportlab[renderPM,rlPyCairo]

Two Approaches: Canvas vs Platypus

ReportLab provides two APIs:

Canvas API (Low-Level)

Direct drawing on PDF pages
Precise positioning with x, y coordinates
Like painting on a canvas
Best for: Simple documents, custom layouts, graphics-heavy PDFs

Platypus API (High-Level)

Flowable document elements
Automatic layout and pagination
Easier for complex multi-page documents
Best for: Reports, articles, documents with lots of text

Canvas API (Low-Level Drawing)

Basic Canvas Usage

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter, A4
from reportlab.lib.units import inch

# Create PDF
c = canvas.Canvas("output.pdf", pagesize=letter)
width, height = letter

# Draw text
c.drawString(100, height - 100, "Hello, World!")

# Set font
c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 24)
c.drawString(100, height - 150, "Large Bold Text")

# Save PDF
c.save()

Drawing Shapes and Lines

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib import colors

c = canvas.Canvas("shapes.pdf", pagesize=letter)
width, height = letter

# Line
c.line(50, height - 50, width - 50, height - 50)

# Rectangle
c.rect(50, height - 200, 200, 100, stroke=1, fill=0)

# Filled rectangle with color
c.setFillColor(colors.lightblue)
c.setStrokeColor(colors.blue)
c.rect(300, height - 200, 200, 100, stroke=1, fill=1)

# Circle
c.circle(150, height - 350, 50, stroke=1, fill=0)

# Rounded rectangle
c.roundRect(300, height - 400, 200, 100, 10, stroke=1, fill=0)

c.save()

Working with Text

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib import colors

c = canvas.Canvas("text.pdf", pagesize=letter)
width, height = letter

# Different fonts and sizes
c.setFont("Helvetica", 12)
c.drawString(50, height - 50, "Helvetica 12pt")

c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 16)
c.drawString(50, height - 80, "Helvetica Bold 16pt")

c.setFont("Times-Roman", 14)
c.drawString(50, height - 110, "Times Roman 14pt")

# Colored text
c.setFillColor(colors.red)
c.drawString(50, height - 140, "Red text")

c.setFillColor(colors.blue)
c.drawString(50, height - 170, "Blue text")

# Text alignment
text = "Right-aligned text"
text_width = c.stringWidth(text, "Helvetica", 12)
c.setFont("Helvetica", 12)
c.setFillColor(colors.black)
c.drawString(width - text_width - 50, height - 200, text)

# Multi-line text with textobject
textobject = c.beginText(50, height - 250)
textobject.setFont("Helvetica", 12)
textobject.textLines("""This is multi-line text.
Each line will be rendered separately.
Great for paragraphs!""")
c.drawText(textobject)

c.save()

Adding Images

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.units import inch

c = canvas.Canvas("images.pdf", pagesize=letter)
width, height = letter

# Draw image
c.drawImage("logo.png", 50, height - 200, width=2*inch, height=1*inch)

# Image with preserved aspect ratio
c.drawImage("photo.jpg", 50, height - 400, width=3*inch, preserveAspectRatio=True)

c.save()

Platypus API (High-Level Documents)

Basic Document Structure

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
from reportlab.lib.units import inch

# Create document
doc = SimpleDocTemplate("document.pdf", pagesize=letter)
story = []  # Container for flowable elements

# Get styles
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

# Add content
story.append(Paragraph("Document Title", styles['Title']))
story.append(Spacer(1, 0.2*inch))
story.append(Paragraph("This is a paragraph of text.", styles['Normal']))
story.append(Paragraph("This is another paragraph.", styles['Normal']))

# Build PDF
doc.build(story)

Working with Paragraphs and Styles

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.enums import TA_CENTER, TA_JUSTIFY
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.lib import colors

doc = SimpleDocTemplate("styled_doc.pdf", pagesize=letter)
story = []
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

# Built-in styles
story.append(Paragraph("Title Style", styles['Title']))
story.append(Paragraph("Heading 1", styles['Heading1']))
story.append(Paragraph("Heading 2", styles['Heading2']))
story.append(Paragraph("Normal paragraph text.", styles['Normal']))
story.append(Spacer(1, 0.2*inch))

# Custom style
custom_style = ParagraphStyle(
    'CustomStyle',
    parent=styles['Normal'],
    fontSize=14,
    textColor=colors.blue,
    alignment=TA_CENTER,
    spaceAfter=10,
)
story.append(Paragraph("Centered blue text", custom_style))

# Justified paragraph
justified_style = ParagraphStyle(
    'Justified',
    parent=styles['Normal'],
    alignment=TA_JUSTIFY,
)
long_text = "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. " * 10
story.append(Paragraph(long_text, justified_style))

doc.build(story)

Creating Tables

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Table, TableStyle, Paragraph
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet

doc = SimpleDocTemplate("table.pdf", pagesize=letter)
story = []
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

story.append(Paragraph("Sales Report", styles['Title']))

# Table data
data = [
    ['Product', 'Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4'],
    ['Widget A', '$1,000', '$1,200', '$1,100', '$1,300'],
    ['Widget B', '$800', '$900', '$950', '$1,000'],
    ['Widget C', '$1,500', '$1,600', '$1,700', '$1,800'],
    ['Total', '$3,300', '$3,700', '$3,750', '$4,100'],
]

# Create table
table = Table(data)

# Style table
table.setStyle(TableStyle([
    # Header row
    ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.grey),
    ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.whitesmoke),
    ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'CENTER'),
    ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
    ('FONTSIZE', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),
    ('BOTTOMPADDING', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),

    # Data rows
    ('BACKGROUND', (0, 1), (-1, -2), colors.beige),
    ('ALIGN', (1, 1), (-1, -1), 'RIGHT'),
    ('FONTNAME', (0, 1), (-1, -1), 'Helvetica'),
    ('FONTSIZE', (0, 1), (-1, -1), 10),
    ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 1, colors.black),

    # Total row
    ('BACKGROUND', (0, -1), (-1, -1), colors.lightgrey),
    ('FONTNAME', (0, -1), (-1, -1), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
]))

story.append(table)
doc.build(story)

Adding Charts

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
from reportlab.graphics.shapes import Drawing
from reportlab.graphics.charts.barcharts import VerticalBarChart
from reportlab.graphics.charts.piecharts import Pie
from reportlab.lib import colors

doc = SimpleDocTemplate("charts.pdf", pagesize=letter)
story = []
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

story.append(Paragraph("Sales Charts", styles['Title']))

# Bar chart
drawing = Drawing(400, 200)
bar_chart = VerticalBarChart()
bar_chart.x = 50
bar_chart.y = 50
bar_chart.height = 125
bar_chart.width = 300
bar_chart.data = [[100, 150, 200, 175, 225]]
bar_chart.categoryAxis.categoryNames = ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4', 'Q5']
bar_chart.bars[0].fillColor = colors.blue
drawing.add(bar_chart)
story.append(drawing)

# Pie chart
drawing2 = Drawing(400, 200)
pie = Pie()
pie.x = 150
pie.y = 50
pie.width = 100
pie.height = 100
pie.data = [30, 25, 20, 15, 10]
pie.labels = ['Product A', 'Product B', 'Product C', 'Product D', 'Other']
pie.slices.strokeWidth = 0.5
drawing2.add(pie)
story.append(drawing2)

doc.build(story)

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Invoice Generator

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Table, TableStyle, Paragraph, Spacer
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.enums import TA_RIGHT
from datetime import datetime

def create_invoice(invoice_number, customer_name, items, output_file="invoice.pdf"):
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(output_file, pagesize=letter)
    story = []
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

    # Header
    story.append(Paragraph("INVOICE", styles['Title']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.2*inch))

    # Invoice details
    invoice_info = [
        ['Invoice Number:', invoice_number],
        ['Date:', datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')],
        ['Customer:', customer_name],
    ]
    info_table = Table(invoice_info, colWidths=[2*inch, 3*inch])
    info_table.setStyle(TableStyle([
        ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (0, -1), 'RIGHT'),
        ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (0, -1), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
    ]))
    story.append(info_table)
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.3*inch))

    # Items table
    table_data = [['Description', 'Quantity', 'Unit Price', 'Total']]
    subtotal = 0

    for item in items:
        total = item['quantity'] * item['price']
        subtotal += total
        table_data.append([
            item['description'],
            str(item['quantity']),
            f"${item['price']:.2f}",
            f"${total:.2f}"
        ])

    # Add totals
    tax = subtotal * 0.1  # 10% tax
    total = subtotal + tax

    table_data.append(['', '', 'Subtotal:', f"${subtotal:.2f}"])
    table_data.append(['', '', 'Tax (10%):', f"${tax:.2f}"])
    table_data.append(['', '', 'Total:', f"${total:.2f}"])

    items_table = Table(table_data, colWidths=[3*inch, 1*inch, 1.5*inch, 1.5*inch])
    items_table.setStyle(TableStyle([
        # Header
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.grey),
        ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.whitesmoke),
        ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'CENTER'),
        ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),

        # Data
        ('ALIGN', (1, 1), (-1, -1), 'RIGHT'),
        ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -4), 1, colors.black),

        # Totals
        ('FONTNAME', (2, -3), (-1, -1), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
        ('LINEABOVE', (2, -3), (-1, -3), 1, colors.black),
        ('LINEABOVE', (2, -1), (-1, -1), 2, colors.black),
    ]))

    story.append(items_table)
    doc.build(story)

# Usage
items = [
    {'description': 'Widget A', 'quantity': 5, 'price': 29.99},
    {'description': 'Widget B', 'quantity': 2, 'price': 49.99},
    {'description': 'Service Fee', 'quantity': 1, 'price': 100.00},
]
create_invoice("INV-2025-001", "Acme Corporation", items)

Pattern 2: Certificate Generator

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import landscape, A4
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.pdfbase import pdfmetrics
from reportlab.pdfbase.ttfonts import TTFont

def create_certificate(name, course, date, output_file="certificate.pdf"):
    c = canvas.Canvas(output_file, pagesize=landscape(A4))
    width, height = landscape(A4)

    # Border
    c.setStrokeColor(colors.gold)
    c.setLineWidth(5)
    c.rect(0.5*inch, 0.5*inch, width - inch, height - inch)

    # Decorative inner border
    c.setStrokeColor(colors.darkgoldenrod)
    c.setLineWidth(2)
    c.rect(0.75*inch, 0.75*inch, width - 1.5*inch, height - 1.5*inch)

    # Title
    c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 48)
    c.setFillColor(colors.darkblue)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 2*inch, "Certificate of Completion")

    # Body text
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 20)
    c.setFillColor(colors.black)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 3*inch, "This is to certify that")

    # Name (large and prominent)
    c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 36)
    c.setFillColor(colors.darkblue)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 4*inch, name)

    # Course info
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 18)
    c.setFillColor(colors.black)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 5*inch, "has successfully completed the course")

    c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 24)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 5.75*inch, course)

    # Date
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 14)
    c.drawCentredString(width/2, height - 6.5*inch, f"Date: {date}")

    c.save()

# Usage
create_certificate("John Doe", "Advanced Python Programming", "2025-10-27")

Pattern 3: Multi-Page Report

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, PageBreak, Table, TableStyle
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.lib import colors

def header_footer(canvas, doc):
    """Add header and footer to each page"""
    canvas.saveState()

    # Header
    canvas.setFont('Helvetica-Bold', 10)
    canvas.drawString(inch, letter[1] - 0.5*inch, "Company Report - Confidential")

    # Footer
    canvas.setFont('Helvetica', 9)
    canvas.drawString(inch, 0.5*inch, f"Page {doc.page}")
    canvas.drawRightString(letter[0] - inch, 0.5*inch, "© 2025 Company Name")

    canvas.restoreState()

def create_report(output_file="report.pdf"):
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(output_file, pagesize=letter)
    story = []
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

    # Cover page
    story.append(Spacer(1, 2*inch))
    story.append(Paragraph("Annual Report 2025", styles['Title']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.5*inch))
    story.append(Paragraph("Company Performance Analysis", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(PageBreak())

    # Executive Summary
    story.append(Paragraph("Executive Summary", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.2*inch))
    summary_text = "This report provides a comprehensive analysis of company performance..." * 5
    story.append(Paragraph(summary_text, styles['Normal']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.3*inch))

    # Financial Data
    story.append(Paragraph("Financial Performance", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.2*inch))

    financial_data = [
        ['Metric', 'Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4'],
        ['Revenue', '$2.5M', '$2.8M', '$3.1M', '$3.5M'],
        ['Expenses', '$1.8M', '$1.9M', '$2.0M', '$2.1M'],
        ['Profit', '$0.7M', '$0.9M', '$1.1M', '$1.4M'],
    ]

    table = Table(financial_data)
    table.setStyle(TableStyle([
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.grey),
        ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.whitesmoke),
        ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 'CENTER'),
        ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
        ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 1, colors.black),
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 1), (-1, -1), colors.beige),
    ]))
    story.append(table)

    # Build with header/footer
    doc.build(story,

create_report()

Pattern 4: Data-Driven PDF from DataFrame

from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Table, TableStyle, Paragraph
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
import pandas as pd

def dataframe_to_pdf(df, title, output_file="data_report.pdf"):
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(output_file, pagesize=letter)
    story = []
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

    # Title
    story.append(Paragraph(title, styles['Title']))

    # Convert DataFrame to list
    data = [df.columns.tolist()] + df.values.tolist()

    # Create table
    table = Table(data)
    table.setStyle(TableStyle([
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.grey),
        ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.whitesmoke),
        ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 'CENTER'),
        ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
        ('FONTSIZE', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),
        ('BOTTOMPADDING', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 1), (-1, -1), colors.beige),
        ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 1, colors.black),
    ]))

    story.append(table)
    doc.build(story)

# Usage
df = pd.DataFrame({
    'Product': ['A', 'B', 'C'],
    'Sales': [100, 150, 200],
    'Revenue': [1000, 1500, 2000]
})
dataframe_to_pdf(df, "Sales Report", "sales_report.pdf")

Best Practices

Choose the right API - Use Canvas for simple layouts, Platypus for complex documents
Use constants for measurements - Use inch, cm from reportlab.lib.units
Define styles once - Create custom styles and reuse them
Test page sizes - Verify output on different page sizes (letter, A4, etc.)
Handle images carefully - Check image paths exist before adding to PDF
Use tables for layouts - Tables are great for structured layouts
Cache fonts - Register custom fonts once at module level

Common Issues

Issue: Text going off page

Calculate available space before drawing:

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter

width, height = letter
margin = 50  # pixels
usable_width = width - 2 * margin
usable_height = height - 2 * margin

Issue: Images not found

Use absolute paths or verify file existence:

import os

image_path = "logo.png"
if os.path.exists(image_path):
    c.drawImage(image_path, x, y, width=w, height=h)

Issue: Unicode characters not displaying

from reportlab.pdfbase import pdfmetrics
from reportlab.pdfbase.ttfonts import TTFont

pdfmetrics.registerFont(TTFont('Arial', 'Arial.ttf'))
c.setFont('Arial', 12)

Resources

references/api_reference.md: Quick reference for common ReportLab operations
Official docs: https://docs.reportlab.com/
User guide (PDF): https://www.reportlab.com/docs/reportlab-userguide.pdf
PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/reportlab/

Reportlab

File contents

ReportLab

Overview

When to Use This Skill

Installation

Two Approaches: Canvas vs Platypus

Canvas API (Low-Level Drawing)

Basic Canvas Usage

Drawing Shapes and Lines

Working with Text

Adding Images

Platypus API (High-Level Documents)

Basic Document Structure

Working with Paragraphs and Styles

Creating Tables

Adding Charts

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Invoice Generator

Pattern 2: Certificate Generator

Pattern 3: Multi-Page Report

Pattern 4: Data-Driven PDF from DataFrame

Best Practices

Common Issues

Issue: Text going off page

Issue: Images not found

Issue: Unicode characters not displaying

Resources

Frequently asked questions

Reportlab

File contents

ReportLab

Overview

When to Use This Skill

Installation

Two Approaches: Canvas vs Platypus

Canvas API (Low-Level Drawing)

Basic Canvas Usage

Drawing Shapes and Lines

Working with Text

Adding Images

Platypus API (High-Level Documents)

Basic Document Structure

Working with Paragraphs and Styles

Creating Tables

Adding Charts

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Invoice Generator

Pattern 2: Certificate Generator

Pattern 3: Multi-Page Report

Pattern 4: Data-Driven PDF from DataFrame

Best Practices

Common Issues

Issue: Text going off page

Issue: Images not found

Issue: Unicode characters not displaying

Resources

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Reportlab skill?

What does the Reportlab skill do?

Is Reportlab safe to use?

Which AI agents work with Reportlab?

Is Reportlab free to use?

Who published Reportlab?