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Pdf

  • 11k installs
  • 24.4k repo stars
  • Updated July 14, 2026
  • openai/skills

pdf is an agent skill that Use when tasks involve reading, creating, or reviewing PDF files where rendering and layout matter; prefer visual checks by rendering pages (Poppler) and use Py.

About

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. --- name: "pdf" description: "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. Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them. - 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.

  • Read or review PDF content where layout and visuals matter.
  • Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.
  • Validate final rendering before delivery.
  • Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them.
  • Use `pdftoppm` if available.

Pdf by the numbers

  • 11,015 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +504 installs in the week ending Aug 2, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #73 of 2,155 Testing & QA skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: HIGH risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Aug 3, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

pdf capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
read or review pdf content where layout and visu · create pdfs programmatically with reliable forma · validate final rendering before delivery. · prefer visual review: render pdf pages to pngs a · use `pdftoppm` if available.
Use cases
documentation
From the docs

What pdf says it does

- Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.
SKILL.md
- Validate final rendering before delivery.
SKILL.md
Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them.
SKILL.md
- If unavailable, install Poppler or ask the user to review the output locally.
SKILL.md
npx skills add https://github.com/openai/skills --skill pdf

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs11k
repo stars24.4k
Security audit1 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedJuly 14, 2026
Repositoryopenai/skills

What problem does pdf solve for developers using this skill?

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`, `pdfplum

Who is it for?

Developers who need pdf patterns described in the cached skill documentation.

Skip if: Skip when docs are empty or the task is outside the skill's documented scope.

When should I use this skill?

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`, `pdfplum

What you get

Actionable workflows and conventions from SKILL.md for pdf.

  • PDF files and PNG page renders for visual verification

By the numbers

  • Names 3 Python PDF libraries: reportlab, pdfplumber, and pypdf
  • Uses Poppler pdftoppm as the preferred visual validation renderer

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

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

1. 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/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.

Related skills

Forks & variants (2)

Pdf has 2 known copies in the catalog totaling 249 installs. They canonicalize to this original listing.

How it compares

Use pdf when layout fidelity matters; use plain text extraction tools when you only need raw strings without visual QA.

FAQ

What does pdf do?

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` fo

When should I use 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` fo

Is pdf safe to install?

Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

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