pdf

name	pdf
description	Use when tasks involve reading, creating, or reviewing PDF files where rendering and layout matter; prefer visual checks by rendering pages (Poppler) and use Python tools such as `reportlab`, `pdfplumber`, and `pypdf` for generation and extraction.

PDF Skill

When to use

• Read or review PDF content where layout and visuals matter.
• Create PDFs programmatically with reliable formatting.
• Validate final rendering before delivery.

Workflow

1. Prefer visual review: render PDF pages to PNGs and inspect them.
   • Use pdftoppm if available.
   • If unavailable, install Poppler or ask the user to review the output locally.
2. Use reportlab to generate PDFs when creating new documents.
3. Use pdfplumber (or pypdf) for text extraction and quick checks; do not rely on it for layout fidelity.
4. After each meaningful update, re-render pages and verify alignment, spacing, and legibility.

Temp and output conventions

• Use tmp/pdfs/ for intermediate files; delete when done.
• Write final artifacts under output/pdf/ only when the current repo allows that path.
• Repo-local guidance wins: in Dobby workspaces and other repos that forbid top-level output/, keep scratch under tmp/pdfs/ and place the final PDF only in a user-requested external path or a repo-approved artifact location.
• Keep filenames stable and descriptive.

Environment

No required environment variables.

Rendering command

pdftoppm -png $INPUT_PDF $OUTPUT_PREFIX

Quality expectations

• Maintain polished visual design: consistent typography, spacing, margins, and section hierarchy.
• Avoid rendering issues: clipped text, overlapping elements, broken tables, black squares, or unreadable glyphs.
• Charts, tables, and images must be sharp, aligned, and clearly labeled.
• Use ASCII hyphens only. Avoid U+2011 (non-breaking hyphen) and other Unicode dashes.
• Citations and references must be human-readable; never leave tool tokens or placeholder strings.

Final checks

• Do not deliver until the latest PNG inspection shows zero visual or formatting defects.
• Confirm headers/footers, page numbering, and section transitions look polished.
• Keep intermediate files organized or remove them after final approval.