Pdftk Server
Install and verify PDFtk Server on Windows or Linux so agents and scripts can merge, split, and manipulate PDFs from the command line.
Overview
PDFtk Server is an agent skill for the Operate phase that documents installing and verifying the PDFtk `pdftk` CLI on Windows and Linux.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill pdftk-serverWhat is this skill?
- Windows install via `winget install --id PDFLabs.PDFtk.Server` plus GUI installer steps
- Debian/Ubuntu install with `sudo apt-get install pdftk`
- Red Hat/Fedora install with `sudo dnf install pdftk`
- Post-install verification by running `pdftk` in a shell for usage text
- GPL v2 licensing and commercial redistribution rules called out explicitly
- GPL Version 2 license for PDFtk Server
Adoption & trust: 9.4k installs on skills.sh; 34.6k GitHub stars; 1/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
Your automation needs PDF merge or split at the shell but PDFtk is not installed or you are unsure of the correct package command on Windows versus Linux.
Who is it for?
Solo builders scripting PDF operations on a dev machine, server, or CI runner who want official install paths instead of guessing packages.
Skip if: Cloud-only PDF APIs with no local binary, macOS-only workflows not covered in this readme, or teams forbidden from GPL tooling in their distribution model.
When should I use this skill?
When you need PDFtk Server installed on Windows 10/11 or Linux and verified via the `pdftk` command.
What do I get? / Deliverables
PDFtk Server is installed, `pdftk` responds in the terminal with usage information, and you know the GPL versus redistribution constraints before shipping binaries.
- Installed PDFtk Server binary
- Working `pdftk` CLI invocation
- Awareness of GPL vs commercial redistribution terms
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
PDF tooling is production infrastructure—install once on the machine or CI image where document jobs run. The readme is entirely OS package install (`winget`, `apt`, `dnf`) and license notes, which maps to operate/infra setup.
How it compares
Local CLI install reference—not a hosted PDF SaaS integration or in-browser PDF library.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is pdftk-server for?
Developers and operators who need the PDFtk command-line tool on Windows or Linux for scripts, agents, or batch document jobs.
When should I use pdftk-server?
During Operate infra setup when provisioning a machine or CI image that must run `pdftk`, or right before you wire PDF merge/split into a backend or automation skill.
Is pdftk-server safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page; installing PDFtk requires shell access and pulls packages from your OS or winget sources—verify checksums and vendor trust yourself.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Pdftk Server
# Download PDFtk provides an installer for Windows. Many Linux distributions provide a PDFtk package you can download and install using their package manager. ## Microsoft Windows Download the PDFtk Server installer for Windows 10 and 11 using the following command: ```bash winget install --id PDFLabs.PDFtk.Server ``` Then run the installer: ```bash .\pdftk_server-2.02-win-setup.exe ``` After installation, open a command prompt, type `pdftk` and press Enter. PDFtk will respond by displaying brief usage information. ## Linux On Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions: ```bash sudo apt-get install pdftk ``` On Red Hat/Fedora-based distributions: ```bash sudo dnf install pdftk ``` ## PDFtk Server GPL License PDFtk Server (pdftk) is not public domain software. It can be installed and used at no charge under its [GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2](https://www.pdflabs.com/docs/pdftk-license/gnu_general_public_license_2.txt). PDFtk uses third-party libraries. The [licenses and source code for these libraries are described here](https://www.pdflabs.com/docs/pdftk-license/) under Third-Party Materials. ## PDFtk Server Redistribution License If you plan to distribute PDFtk Server as part of your own software, you will need a PDFtk Server Redistribution License. The exception to this rule is if your software is licensed to the public under the GPL or another compatible license. The commercial redistribution license allows you, subject to the terms of the license, to distribute an unlimited number of PDFtk Server binaries as part of one distinct commercial product. Please read the full license: [PDFtk Server Redistribution License (PDF)](https://pdflabs.onfastspring.com/pdftk-server) Now available for $995: [PDFtk Server Redistribution License](https://www.pdflabs.com/docs/pdftk-license/) ## Build PDFtk Server from Source PDFtk Server can be compiled from its source code. PDFtk Server is known to compile and run on [Debian](https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=pdftk), [Ubuntu Linux](https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=pdftk), [FreeBSD](https://www.freshports.org/print/pdftk/), Slackware Linux, SuSE, Solaris and [HP-UX](http://hpux.connect.org.uk/hppd/hpux/Text/pdftk-1.45/). Download and unpack the source: ```bash curl -LO https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/pdftk-2.02-src.zip unzip pdftk-2.02-src.zip ``` Review the [pdftk license information](https://www.pdflabs.com/docs/pdftk-license/) in: `license_gpl_pdftk/readme.txt`. Review the Makefile provided for your platform and confirm that `TOOLPATH` and `VERSUFF` suit your installation of gcc/gcj/libgcj. If you run `apropos gcc` and it returns something like `gcc-4.5`, then set `VERSUFF` to `-4.5`. The `TOOLPATH` probably does not need to be set. Change into the `pdftk` sub-directory and run: ```bash cd pdftk make -f Makefile.Debian ``` Substitute your platform's Makefile filename as needed. PDFtk has been built using gcc/gcj/libgcj versions 3.4.5, 4.4.1, 4.5.0, and 4.6.3. PDFtk 1.4x fails to build on gcc 3.3.5 due to missing libgcj features. If you are using gcc 3.3 or older, try building [pdftk 1.12](https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/pdftk-1.12.tar.gz) instead. # PDFtk CLI Examples PDFtk is a command-line program. Use your computer terminal or command prompt when running these examples. ## Collate Scanned Pages Interleave even and odd scanned pages into a single document: ```bash pdftk A=even.pdf B=odd.pdf shuffle A B output collated.pdf ``` If the odd pages are in reverse order: ```bash pdftk A=even.pdf B=odd.pdf shuffle A Bend-1 output collated.pdf ``` ## Decrypt a PDF Remove encryption from a PDF using its password: ```bash pdftk secured.pdf input_pw foopass output unsecured.pdf ``` ## Encrypt a PDF Using 128-Bit Strength Apply owner password encryption: ```bash pdftk 1.pdf output 1.128.pdf owner_pw foopass ``` Require a password to open the PDF as well: ```bash pdftk 1.pdf output 1.128.pdf