Configure Pretext typography settings for PDF export — font stacks, sizing, line height, page geometry, and disposition-driven typography mapping. Use when defaults need tuning for specific content types or audiences.
Configure Pretext typography settings for PDF export — font stacks, sizing, line height, page geometry, and disposition-driven typography mapping. Use when defaults need tuning for specific content types or audiences.
model
sonnet
category
pdf
triggers
["configure pretext typography","tune PDF typography settings","adjust font stack for PDF export","set PDF page geometry"]
tier
1
agents
["primary"]
tool_dependencies
["file_system"]
inputs
[{"name":"content_type","type":"string","description":"Content type to tune typography for — prose, code, chat, or structured","required":true},{"name":"typography_overrides","type":"object","description":"Typography settings to override (font_stack, body_size, line_height, page_size, margins)","required":false}]
outputs
[{"name":"typography_config","type":"object","description":"Resolved Pretext typography configuration object ready for use in pdf-export"}]
PDF Typography Skill
Version: 0.1.0
Created: 2026-04-08
Author: Dojo Genesis
Purpose: Fine-tune the Pretext typography engine for optimal PDF output across different content types, audiences, and aesthetic goals.
I. The Philosophy: Measure Twice, Render Once
Pretext does one thing exceptionally well: it measures text on a real Canvas surface, then reports exact dimensions. This means every line break, every paragraph spacing, every margin is computed from actual glyph metrics — not CSS approximations. Typography configuration is the lever that controls how this precision manifests in the final PDF.
II. When to Use This Skill
Content-specific tuning: Code needs different settings than prose. Chat needs different settings than reports.
Audience adaptation: A client-facing PDF needs different typography than an internal code review.
Brand alignment: Match typography to organization design tokens or brand guidelines.
Disposition mapping: Map ADA agent personality traits to typographic choices (DojoChat export).
III. Steps
Step 1: Identify Content Type
Each content type has an optimal typography profile:
Content Type
Body Font
Code Font
Size
Line Height
Max Width
Prose (default)
Inter
Recursive
11pt
1.5
468pt (6.5in)
Code review
Inter
Recursive MONO=1
9pt
1.3
504pt (7in)
Chat export
Inter Variable
Recursive
13pt
1.45
420pt (5.8in)
Presentation
Inter
Recursive
14pt
1.6
432pt (6in)
Reference manual
Inter
Recursive
10pt
1.4
468pt (6.5in)
Step 2: Configure Font Stack
The Pretext bridge supports three font families with variable axes:
A TypographyConfig object ready for consumption by the Pretext prepare()/layout() pipeline, plus page geometry settings for the PDF renderer. Concretely: validated font descriptors, line height values per content zone (body/code/headings), page margins in points, and column count. When used with pdf-export, the output becomes embedded in the rendered PDF — font choices and spacing are baked into the byte stream, not post-processable.
Examples
Scenario 1 — Client-facing Go spec PDF (mixed prose + code):
Content type: prose primary, code secondary. Audience: non-technical client.
Body: Inter 12pt, opsz=16, line height 1.6
Code: Recursive MONO=1, 10pt, line height 1.35
Headings: Fraunces 700, SOFT=30, WONK=1
Page: Letter, 72pt margins, single column
Validate: body line ~58 chars (within 45-75 target)
Code: Recursive MONO=1, 9pt, line height 1.3 (same size as body — intentional)
Headings: Inter 700, no Fraunces
Page: Letter, 54pt margins, potentially 2-column
Validate: code blocks fit within 504pt max width without overflow
Edge Cases
Canvas vs. DOM font resolution on macOS:system-ui resolves to different faces in Canvas and DOM contexts. Always pass explicit family names (Inter, Recursive, Fraunces) to fontDescriptor.
Optical sizing mismatches at large scales:Inter at 48pt (heading) with opsz=16 (body default) produces thin, fragile letterforms. Set opsz to match intended display size.
Mixed content with extremely long code lines: If source code has 120+ char lines and the page is letter-width, either reduce font size or switch to landscape. The layout engine will not auto-truncate — overflow is clipped.
Recursive CASL axis in monospace mode: Setting MONO=1, CASL=1 simultaneously produces undefined intermediate rendering on some PDF engines. Use CASL=0 when MONO=1.
Two-column layout with tall code blocks: Page-break logic does not split code blocks across columns. A single tall block will overflow into the gutter.
Anti-Patterns
Specifying system-ui in any Pretext context. Breaks cross-machine reproducibility and causes Canvas/DOM measurement drift. Use explicit font family names.
Ignoring opsz at heading sizes. Using body opsz (14-16) for large headings (24-48pt) produces optically incorrect letterforms. Set opsz to match render size.
Setting line height below 1.3 for code. At 1.0-1.2, indentation guides and leading dots between columns become invisible. Minimum 1.3 for monospace content.
Double-converting pt/px units. Pretext measures in CSS pixels internally; the bridge converts to PDF points. Manually converting before passing to the API results in double-scaling (typically 72/96 = 0.75x error).
Applying a single TypographyConfig across all zones. Body, code, captions, and headings each need separate configuration. A one-size config either makes code unreadable or body text too large.
