| name | PDF → spreadsheet — extract data into Excel (Local MCP) |
| description | Use when the user wants to pull data out of one or more PDFs (invoices, bank/credit-card statements, receipts, reports, tables) and put it into a spreadsheet. pdf_read is one of the most-used tools; this codifies the read-PDF → structure → write-Excel workflow. Powered by Local MCP, on-device. |
PDF → spreadsheet
Reading PDFs and turning them into structured data is one of the highest-volume things Local MCP
users do. This skill codifies the end-to-end flow: read the PDF(s) on the Mac, extract the rows,
and build an Excel sheet — all locally, no upload.
The flow
- Read the PDF(s) —
pdf_read(path=...). For long documents pass max_pages to bound it,
or call it per file. (Find the files first with finder_search/fs_search if the user only
describes them, e.g. "my March invoices".)
- Extract the structured rows from the text — identify the columns the user wants (e.g. for
statements: Date, Description, Amount; for invoices: Vendor, Invoice #, Date, Total). Normalize
dates and numbers. If several PDFs, combine into one consistent table.
- Write the spreadsheet — prefer one call:
excel_create(path="<out>.xlsx", headers=["Date","Description","Amount"], rows=[[...],[...]], confirm=true).
headers is required; rows is the full data. For edits to an existing sheet use
excel_write_cell(path, row, column, value, confirm=true); to read one back use excel_read(path).
Good practice
- Confirm the columns with the user before building the sheet ("I'll pull Date, Description,
Amount — want a Category column too?").
- Build the whole table in memory, then write it in a single
excel_create (one row per record) —
don't write cell-by-cell unless editing an existing file.
- Watch totals: if the PDF has a stated total, add a check row or verify your sum matches.
- Keep money as numbers (not "$1,234.50" strings) so the sheet can compute.
- Write the output next to the source or to a path the user names;
excel_create/excel_write_cell
are preview/confirm-gated (pass confirm: true once the user approves the columns).
- Multi-PDF: keep a
Source column so each row traces back to its file.
