Localized reading guide

pdfPurpose, usage and source

Use this skill whenever the user wants to do anything with PDF files. This includes reading or extracting text/tables from PDFs, combining or merging multiple PDFs into one, splitting PDFs apart, rotating pages, adding watermarks, creating new PDFs, filling PDF forms, encrypting/decrypting PDFs, extracting images, and OCR on scanned PDFs to make them searchable. If the user mentions a .pdf file or asks to produce one, use this skill.

Source retrieved: 2026-10-29

Source repository: anthropics/skills
SKILL.md: skills/pdf/SKILL.md
Repository stars: 185,373
Repository updated: 2026-10-29
Categories: Documents
Last collected: 2026-10-31 10:38 UTC+08:00

License: License file needs review

Source SKILL.md

Workflow excerpts are reading aids, not executable instructions from Codez. No third-party Skill was run to produce this page.

The purpose and workflow passages below are upstream material, organized and translated for reading. They are distinct from the separately labeled Codez editorial analysis.

What this Skill does

How the upstream workflow works

Overview

This guide covers essential PDF processing operations using Python libraries and command-line tools. For advanced features, JavaScript libraries, and detailed examples, see REFERENCE.md. If you need to fill out a PDF form, read FORMS.md and follow its instructions.

Upstream passage · L9 ↗

Next Steps

For advanced pypdfium2 usage, see REFERENCE.md For JavaScript libraries (pdf-lib), see REFERENCE.md If you need to fill out a PDF form, follow the instructions in FORMS.md For troubleshooting guides, see REFERENCE.md

Upstream passage · L309 ↗

Upstream passage · python ↗

from pypdf import PdfReader, PdfWriter

# Read a PDF
reader = PdfReader("document.pdf")
print(f"Pages: {len(reader.pages)}")

# Extract text
text = ""
for page in reader.pages:
    text += page.extract_text()

Requirements and setup

No short requirements passage was selected from this file. This does not mean the Skill has no dependencies. Check the repository setup instructions and referenced files.

Limits and quality checks

Subscripts and Superscripts

IMPORTANT: Never use Unicode subscript/superscript characters (₀₁₂₃₄₅₆₇₈₉, ⁰¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹) in ReportLab PDFs. The built-in fonts do not include these glyphs, causing them to render as solid black boxes. Instead, use ReportLab's XML markup tags in Paragraph objects:

Upstream passage · L169 ↗

Start with a safe trial

Check the supported host and the repository installation instructions. Keep the Skill directory and its referenced scripts, assets and documentation together; SKILL.md alone may omit dependencies.
Give the agent your real input, desired output and acceptance criteria. Invocation syntax and available tools depend on the host; this site does not assume a universal install command.
Try the source workflow in a disposable project or on a copy. Review operations that change files, remote services or billable resources before allowing them.
Validate the output against the source quality checks and your own requirements. A successful trigger or a high repository Star count does not establish a correct result.

Skill format and directory specification ↗

Read further in the source

Translation and scope

This reading guide selects passages from the pinned upstream SKILL.md. Translation is assisted. It is not a complete manual or a claim of tested compatibility. Read the original and its referenced files before use.

This introduction refers to the pinned version below; current repository activity and collection time are shown separately.

Pinned source: Read the original ↗
Source retrieved: 2026-10-29T09:32:23Z
Source commit: ca45fc496a3436251f191354091d557da31c15b5
Source SHA-256: 9f78b8359fbd4943ad260a7a1e436e5a96503406d6c34e99f69223d647d85b9c

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