How do I install the PDF skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add nota-america/pdf-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.

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 PDF?

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.

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

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

PDF by nota-america — Agent Skill

Name: PDF
Author: nota-america

PDF

Use when tasks involve reading, creating, or reviewing PDF files where rendering and layout matter; prefer visual checks by rendering pages (Poppler) and use Python tools such as `reportlab`, `pdfplumber`, and `pypdf` for generation and extraction.

nota-america Updated Sep 21, 2026

File contents

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.

---name: pdf-3description: Use when tasks involve reading, creating, or reviewing PDF files where rendering and layout matter; prefer visual checks by rendering pages (Poppler) and use Python tools such as `reportlab`, `pdfplumber`, and `pypdf` for generation and extraction.---# 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.## Workflow1. 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.2. Use `reportlab` to generate PDFs when creating new documents.3. Use `pdfplumber` (or `pypdf`) for text extraction and quick checks; do not rely on it for layout fidelity.4. 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/Debiansudo 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.## EnvironmentNo 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.

Frequently asked questions

PDF