pdf

name	pdf
description	Use when the user wants to export conversation content, or an existing HTML file such as a saved Claude Artifact, to a professionally styled PDF for sharing

Export to PDF

Export summaries, research, or any content from the conversation to a professionally styled PDF for sharing. Also handles exporting an existing HTML file (for example, a saved Claude Artifact with inline SVG or custom CSS) directly to PDF.

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS - Optional: filename (without .pdf extension), "last" to export the last assistant message, or a path to an existing HTML file to export

Instructions

You are exporting content from the current conversation to a shareable PDF document.

Step 1: Identify Content to Export

First determine the content type, then what to export:

1. Markdown/conversation content (default): a summary, research, analysis, or other text from the conversation.
   • If user says "last" or no arguments: export the most recent substantive assistant response
   • If user provides a topic: find the relevant content from the conversation about that topic
   • If user provides specific text: use that text directly
   • Continue with Steps 2-4 below.
2. Existing HTML file (for example, a saved Claude Artifact with inline SVG or custom CSS): the user names or points to an .html file already on disk instead of asking to export conversation text. md_to_pdf.py only parses Markdown and cannot render arbitrary HTML, CSS, or inline SVG. Skip Steps 2-4 and follow "HTML File Export" instead.

Step 2: Prepare the Content

(Markdown path only — for an existing HTML file, see "HTML File Export" below.)

Clean up the content for PDF export:

• Keep all markdown formatting (headers, tables, bullets, code blocks)
• Remove any conversation artifacts or meta-commentary
• Ensure links are preserved
• Keep the "Sources" section if present

Step 3: Determine Filename and Title

Generate appropriate names:

• Filename: Use provided argument, or generate from content (e.g., ai-orchestration-tools-2026)
  • Use lowercase, hyphens for spaces
  • Keep under 50 characters
  • Add date suffix if relevant (e.g., -2026-02-05)
• Title: Generate a professional title from the content's main heading or topic

Step 4: Generate PDF

Write the content to a temporary markdown file using a Bash heredoc (do NOT use the Write tool — it may be sandboxed to the workspace directory and reject /tmp paths), then convert to PDF:

# Write content to temp file — MUST use Bash heredoc, not the Write tool
cat << 'CONTENT_EOF' > /tmp/export_content.md
{markdown content here}
CONTENT_EOF

# Convert to PDF using the colocated script
python ~/.claude/skills/pdf/scripts/md_to_pdf.py \
  --input /tmp/export_content.md \
  --output {output_path}/{filename}.pdf \
  --title "{title}"

Determine {output_path} using the "Output Location" section below.

Important: Always use the Bash tool with cat << 'CONTENT_EOF' > /tmp/... for the temp file. The Write tool is sandboxed in some environments (e.g., Conductor workspaces) and will refuse paths outside the workspace.

Step 5: Confirm and Offer Options

After creating the PDF:

1. Confirm the file was created with path and size
2. Offer to reveal or share it, using the commands under "Output Location" below for the current environment

HTML File Export (Claude Artifacts, saved pages)

When exporting an existing HTML file instead of conversation markdown, skip md_to_pdf.py and render directly with weasyprint, a pure-Python HTML+CSS to PDF renderer that needs no browser. This is the only reliable path for HTML, CSS, or inline-SVG content — md_to_pdf.py (mistune + fpdf2) only understands Markdown.

# weasyprint is pure-Python and needs no browser, but depends on the
# cairo, pango, gdk-pixbuf, and glib system libraries (already present via
# Homebrew on most Mac development machines; install them first if missing)
pip3 install --quiet weasyprint

python3 -c "
import weasyprint
weasyprint.HTML(filename='{input_html_path}').write_pdf('{output_path}/{filename}.pdf')
"

Determine {output_path} using the "Output Location" section below, then confirm and offer options exactly as in Step 5.

Argus Worktree Sandbox Notes

Check whether the session is running inside an Argus worktree sandbox: $PWD under ~/.argus/worktrees/, or the ARGUS_TASK_ID environment variable set. Two things change in that environment:

• Renderer choice for HTML content: do not attempt raw headless Chrome (--headless --print-to-pdf) or a Playwright-managed browser to render HTML to PDF. Both fail or hang indefinitely inside this sandbox — sandbox initialization errors, GPU process crashes, or 120+ second hangs launching the browser — regardless of --no-sandbox or a Bash tool sandbox override. Do not retry these approaches with more flags; go straight to weasyprint instead.
• Output location: ~/Downloads is not writable from inside an Argus worktree sandbox. This is a macOS TCC restriction on the sandboxed session, not something a sandbox override flag fixes. Write the output PDF to the session scratchpad directory instead, then reveal it with open -R {path} (reveals the file in Finder) rather than open {path} or a Downloads-based clipboard flow.

Output Location

• Normal session: save PDFs to ~/Downloads/ by default for easy access and sharing. Offer to open the file (open ~/Downloads/{filename}.pdf) or copy its path to the clipboard (echo ~/Downloads/{filename}.pdf | pbcopy).
• Argus worktree sandbox (see notes above): save PDFs to the session scratchpad directory instead, since ~/Downloads is not writable there. Reveal the result with open -R {scratchpad_path}/{filename}.pdf instead of opening or copying a Downloads path.

Usage Examples

• /pdf - Export the last summary/research to PDF
• /pdf last - Same as above
• /pdf ai-tools-research - Export with custom filename
• "Export that to PDF" - Natural language trigger
• "Export this HTML artifact to PDF" - Renders an existing HTML file with weasyprint instead of the markdown path

Technical Notes

• Markdown path: uses mistune + fpdf2 (pip install mistune fpdf2); supports tables, code blocks, and full GitHub-flavored markdown
• HTML file path: uses weasyprint (pip3 install weasyprint); renders arbitrary HTML, CSS, and inline SVG directly with no browser dependency, at the cost of needing cairo/pango/gdk-pixbuf/glib system libraries
• Professional styling optimized for sharing with colleagues
• Script location: scripts/md_to_pdf.py (colocated in this skill directory, markdown path only)