create-table
Create PDF tables using ReportLab Table class for proper structure detection. Creates tables that Marker and other extractors can parse. Use when you need detectable tables in PDFs.
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- Repository
- grahama1970/agent-stack-public
- Last source activity
- September 24, 2026 at 15:51
- Detected SKILL.md language
- English
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Source instructions · Read-only preview- name
- create-table
- description
- Create PDF tables using ReportLab Table class for proper structure detection. Creates tables that Marker and other extractors can parse. Use when you need detectable tables in PDFs.
- allowed-tools
- Bash, Read, Write
- triggers
- ["create table","create pdf table","generate table","make table","reportlab table","detectable table","table for extraction"]
- metadata
- {"short-description":"Create detectable PDF tables (ReportLab)"}
- provides
- ["create-table"]
- composes
- ["task-monitor","agentic-evals"]
- disciplines
- ["extraction","evaluation-quality"]
# create-table
Create PDF tables using ReportLab's `Table` class that extractors (Marker, Camelot) can detect.
## Why This Exists
PyMuPDF raw drawing commands (`draw_line`, `insert_text`) create visual tables but **not** proper PDF table structures. Marker and other extractors cannot detect these as tables.
ReportLab's `Table` class creates proper PDF table structures with cell boundaries that extraction tools recognize.
## Quick Start
```bash
cd .pi/skills/create-table
# Generate from preset (simple, medium, complex)
uv run generate.py preset simple
uv run generate.py preset complex --output my_table.pdf
# Generate with custom data
uv run generate.py generate --output custom.pdf \
--columns "ID,Name,Status" \
--rows '[["1","Alice","Active"],["2","Bob","Pending"]]'
# Borderless table
uv run generate.py generate --no-border --output borderless.pdf
# Thick borders (3pt)
uv run generate.py generate --line-width 3 --output thick.pdf
# Render as image (for scanned document testing)
uv run generate.py preset medium --as-image --dpi 200
# Generate all examples
uv run generate.py example
```
## Commands
### `preset` - Generate from preset complexity
```bash
uv run generate.py preset <name> [options]
```
| Preset | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `simple` | 3x3 basic table |
| `medium` | 8-row requirements matrix with 6 columns |
| `complex` | Multi-index headers with column spans |
### `generate` - Create custom table
```bash
uv run generate.py generate [options]
```
**Options:**
| Option | Short | Description | Default |
|--------|-------|-------------|---------|
| `--output` | `-o` | Output PDF/PNG path | `table_fixture.pdf` |
| `--columns` | `-c` | Comma-separated column headers | `ID,Name,Value` |
| `--rows` | `-r` | JSON array of row data | 3 sample rows |
| `--spec` | `-s` | JSON spec file path | - |
| `--title` | `-t` | Table title text | - |
| `--style` | | `grid`, `plain`, `colored` | `grid` |
| `--border/--no-border` | | Enable or disable borders | `--border` |
| `--line-width` | `-w` | Border thickness in points | `1.0` |
| `--multi-index` | `-m` | JSON multi-index headers | - |
| `--as-image` | `-i` | Render as PNG image | `False` |
| `--dpi` | | Image resolution | `150` |
### `example` - Generate all examples
```bash
uv run generate.py example
```
Creates `examples/` directory with all presets, styles, and border variations.
## Multi-Index Tables
For hierarchical headers that span columns:
```bash
uv run generate.py generate \
--columns "ID,Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4,Total" \
--rows '[["A","10","20","30","40","100"]]' \
--multi-index '[[{"text":"","span":1},{"text":"2024 Quarters","span":4},{"text":"","span":1}]]'
```
## Scanned Document Simulation
Generate table as a rasterized PNG image (for testing OCR/VLM extraction):
```bash
# 150 DPI (default)
uv run generate.py preset medium --as-image
# Higher quality (300 DPI)
uv run generate.py preset complex --as-image --dpi 300 --output scanned_table.png
```
## Verification
Test that Camelot detects the table:
```bash
uv run generate.py preset simple --output test.pdf
python -c "
import camelot
tables = camelot.read_pdf('test.pdf', pages='1', flavor='lattice')
print(f'Tables found: {len(tables)}')
if tables:
print(tables[0].df)
"
```
## Dependencies
Self-contained via `uv run` - no pre-installation needed.
```toml
[project]
dependencies = [
"reportlab>=4.0.0",
"typer>=0.9.0",
"pymupdf>=1.23.0",
]
```
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