pdf

name	pdf
description	Create, edit, and review PDFs.
catalog_id	pdf
origin	bundled
version	1.0.0
author	OK Code
tags	["docs","pdf","review"]
tools	["filesystem","terminal"]

PDF Skill

When to use this skill

• Use when the task involves creating, editing, reviewing, splitting, merging, or extracting content from PDF files.
• Use when the user needs to understand whether a PDF can be edited directly or must be converted first.
• Use when the task depends on preserving layout, images, pagination, or annotation fidelity.
• Use when OCR may be required because the PDF contains scanned pages rather than selectable text.

What this skill does

• Chooses the safest PDF workflow based on the user's goal: review, extraction, transformation, or generation.
• Distinguishes between text-based PDFs and image-only scanned PDFs before proposing edits.
• Preserves fidelity when layout matters and explicitly calls out any tradeoff when converting to another format.
• Prefers repeatable tools and scripted operations over manual one-off desktop steps.

Implementation

• Start by identifying the real goal: review content, extract data, annotate, merge, split, redact, or convert.
• Determine whether the PDF is text-based or scanned. If the content is image-only, state that OCR may be required.
• If the user needs edits that preserve layout, avoid lossy conversions unless they explicitly accept them.
• If extracting text, note whether the output should preserve reading order, tables, headings, or page boundaries.
• If generating a PDF from another source, preserve the source of truth in an editable format whenever possible.
• When tools are limited, explain the limitation clearly and offer the safest fallback rather than implying full fidelity.
• Summarize important tradeoffs before carrying out destructive or lossy transformations.

Best practices

• Never imply that all PDFs are safely editable; many require conversion or specialized tooling.
• Call out OCR accuracy risk explicitly for scanned documents.
• Preserve the original file before transformations that may alter layout or metadata.
• Prefer deterministic, scriptable workflows for extraction and generation.
• Tell the user when tables, forms, annotations, or embedded fonts may not round-trip cleanly.