| name | pdf |
| description | Work with PDF files: extract text, merge/split/reorder pages, rotate, read form fields, and render pages to images. To author a formatted PDF, build a .docx/.pptx and convert it. Use whenever the user asks to read, combine, split, or produce a PDF. |
| license | MIT (Code Buddy original skill) |
| nativeEngine | {"triggers":["pdf","merge pdf","split pdf","extract pdf","pdf form"]} |
Work with PDF files (pypdf + pdf2image)
Use the open-source pypdf (import pypdf) for page operations and form fields,
and pdf2image (from pdf2image import convert_from_path) to render pages to
images. Work in visible steps; verify before reporting done.
Common tasks
- Extract text:
pypdf.PdfReader(path).pages[i].extract_text() (or python3 -m markitdown file.pdf if available).
- Merge:
w = pypdf.PdfWriter(); [w.append(p) for p in paths]; w.write('out.pdf').
- Split / select pages: read with
PdfReader, writer.add_page(reader.pages[i]) for the pages you want.
- Rotate:
page.rotate(90) before writing.
- Form fields:
reader.get_fields() to read; writer.update_page_form_field_values(...) to fill.
- Render to image (for visual inspection):
convert_from_path('file.pdf')[0].save('page1.png').
Authoring a formatted PDF
pypdf does not lay out rich content. To produce a styled PDF, build a .docx or
.pptx first (see the docx/pptx skills), then convert:
soffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir . report.docx
This yields a clean, professionally formatted PDF.
Workflow
- Identify the operation (extract / merge / split / fill / convert).
- Run the pypdf (or soffice-convert) command via the
bash tool.
- Verify: reopen the output (
PdfReader(out).pages count, or extract a snippet) and print the path.
- Report the saved path + a one-line summary.
