Read, create, fill, and transform PDF files. Covers extracting text and tables, OCR of scanned pages, filling fillable and flat forms, and flattening, merging, splitting, rotating, stamping and encrypting. Use when a task takes a .pdf as input or must produce one.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/appautomaton/document-skills --skill pdf- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads pdf automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
PDF files
You already know pypdf, pdfplumber and reportlab. This skill adds what they don't give you: form-filling scripts that check their own input, a way to see pages as a reader will, and the PDF behaviours that silently put content in the wrong place.
Running scripts
<skill> is the directory containing this file. Run bundled scripts by absolute path from the user's working directory, so relative paths to their files keep working:
uv run <skill>/scripts/convert_pdf_to_images.py report.pdf pages
Run Python you write with its dependencies declared, either uv run --with pypdf script.py or a PEP 723 header. Rendering pages needs poppler (pdftoppm); OCR also needs Tesseract.
Choosing a tool
| Task | Use |
|---|---|
| Fill a form, fillable or flat | forms.md, always. It has scripts for every step. |
| Text | pdfplumber, or pdftotext -layout from the command line. Text missing from pages that visibly have it means a scan: see ocr.md. |
| Tables | pdfplumber: see tables.md |
| New PDFs | reportlab: Platypus for flowing documents, canvas for exact placement |
| Merge, split, rotate, crop, stamp, encrypt | pypdf: see reference.md for the calls that keep bookmarks, links and orientation intact |
| See what a page looks like | scripts/convert_pdf_to_images.py |
Checking the output
Whenever you create or change a PDF, render the pages you touched and look at them before delivering. Check that the text is present and readable, nothing is clipped or overlapping, and every stamp or value is where it belongs:
uv run <skill>/scripts/convert_pdf_to_images.py out.pdf check --pages 1-3
Pitfalls that fail silently
- Two coordinate systems. PDF coordinates start at the bottom-left of the page box, in points. pdfplumber and page images start at the top-left. The page box need not start at (0, 0), so read
page.cropbox.leftand.bottom. - Rotated pages.
/Rotateturns a page only for display; content and form fields keep unrotated coordinates. Anything placed with a plain scale and y-flip lands in the wrong spot. Convert boxes withscripts/pdf_coords.py, and callpage.transfer_rotation_to_content()before stamping. - Non-Latin text in new PDFs. reportlab's built-in fonts draw Chinese, Cyrillic and similar scripts as black boxes. Register and embed a TrueType font; see reference.md.
- Merging.
PdfWriter.append()keeps bookmarks and links, while copying pages withadd_page()drops them. Merged forms with matching field names become one field, so filling one fills both. - AES encryption needs
uv run --with 'pypdf[crypto]'. Without it, pypdf raisesDependencyErroron open or on encrypt.
Scripts
| Script | Does |
|---|---|
check_fillable_fields.py <pdf> | Says which form path in forms.md applies |
extract_form_field_info.py <pdf> <out.json> | Lists fillable fields, their pages, boxes and accepted values |
fill_fillable_fields.py <pdf> <values.json> <out.pdf> | Fills fields after checking every id, page and value |
convert_pdf_to_images.py <pdf> <dir> [--pages] [--fields] | Renders pages one at a time to PNG, optionally outlining each fillable field |
check_bounding_boxes.py <fields.json> [pdf] | Finds overlapping or too-short boxes before a flat form is filled |
create_validation_image.py <page> <fields.json> <png> <out.png> | Draws those boxes on a page image for checking by eye |
fill_pdf_form_with_annotations.py <pdf> <fields.json> <out.pdf> | Fills a flat form with text that renders identically everywhere |
flatten_form.py <pdf> <out.pdf> | Draws filled values into the page so they can't be edited |
pdf_coords.py <pdf> <page> <WxH> --to-pdf/--to-image <box> | Converts boxes between page-image pixels and PDF points |
FAQ
What does the pdf skill do?
Read, create, fill, and transform PDF files. Covers extracting text and tables, OCR of scanned pages, filling fillable and flat forms, and flattening, merging, splitting, rotating, stamping and encrypting. Use when a task takes a .pdf as input or must produce one.
How do I install pdf?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/appautomaton/document-skills --skill pdf in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/pdf/ (personal) or .claude/skills/pdf/ (project).
Which AI agents can use pdf?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is pdf safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains pdf?
It is published by appautomaton in appautomaton/document-skills. It has 704 recorded installs.
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