pdf-to-markdown

name	pdf-to-markdown
description	Extract text from a PDF as structured Markdown for analysis, RAG, or LLM context. Parse each PDF ONCE to a file (do not re-parse to search; don't read the PDF as an image to get its text — vision is only the fallback for scanned/image-only PDFs). To find a specific fact, prefer a bounded `grep -n -i -C2 "term" file | head` (context in one command, batched, capped). Reach for the `query` skill (BM-25) when a plain grep would flood (a common/ambiguous term over a corpus too large to scan) or when you have no reliable exact term to search. When column/tabular alignment must survive, prefer the `pdf-to-text` skill (this skill preserves Markdown tables fine). ALWAYS use this skill when the user has a PDF and needs its content as text or Markdown — even if they don't explicitly say "convert to markdown".
license	Proprietary

Rules for agents (read first)

• Parse once to a file — never re-parse the same PDF to search again.
• Default search = bounded grep: grep -n -i -C2 "term" file | head. Get context in one command, batch lookups, cap with head.
• Use the query skill only when grep would flood — the discriminating term is common/ambiguous AND the corpus is too large to scan (many matches to sift). query returns a bounded, ranked top-k (small -k), keeping context small. Add --language <lang> for non-English.
• Tables where column alignment must survive -> pdf-to-text (this skill preserves Markdown tables fine; prefer pdf-to-text only when whitespace/columnar alignment matters). Don't read the source PDF as an image to get its text (vision is the fallback only for scanned/image-only PDFs with no text layer).