| name | cleanup-pdf-names |
| description | Clean up PDF filenames by removing spaces, em dashes, and special characters |
| argument-hint | <path/to/directory> |
| disable-model-invocation | false |
Cleanup PDF Names Command
Clean up PDF filenames for filesystem compatibility and consistency.
Input
$ARGUMENTS
Instructions
Step 1: Determine Target Path
If $ARGUMENTS empty: Ask user for path (e.g., lit_review/papers/ or lit_review/papers/00-background/).
If $ARGUMENTS provided: Use path; resolve relative paths from project root.
Step 2: Validate Directory
- Verify the directory exists
- Count PDF files recursively in the directory
- If zero PDFs found, inform user and stop
Step 3: Preview Changes
- Find all PDF files recursively
- For each file, compute the new filename after applying transformations:
- Spaces → underscores (
_)
- Em dash (
—) → hyphen (-)
- En dash (
–) → hyphen (-)
- Smart quotes (
' ' " ") → regular quotes (' ")
- Accented characters → ASCII equivalents
- Show a preview table of files that will be renamed (skip files that won't change)
Example preview:
Files to be renamed:
1. Biswas - 2023 - Role of Chat GPT.pdf
→ Biswas_-_2023_-_Role_of_Chat_GPT.pdf
2. Mello — 2024 — Denial.pdf
→ Mello_-_2024_-_Denial.pdf
Total: 2 files will be renamed
Step 4: Execute Cleanup
Run the cleanup script:
.claude/skills/cleanup-pdf-names/scripts/cleanup_pdf_names.sh "{directory_path}"
Step 5: Report Results
Report the summary from the script output:
- Number of files renamed
- Number of files skipped (target already exists)
- Any errors encountered
Transformations Reference
| Character | Replacement |
|---|
Space ( ) | Underscore (_) |
Em dash (—) | Hyphen (-) |
En dash (–) | Hyphen (-) |
Left single quote (') | Single quote (') |
Right single quote (') | Single quote (') |
Left double quote (") | Double quote (") |
Right double quote (") | Double quote (") |
| Accented chars (á, é, ñ, ü, etc.) | ASCII equivalents (a, e, n, u) |
Edge Cases
Target File Already Exists
Skip the file and report it. Do not overwrite existing files.
Empty Directory
Report "No PDF files found in directory" and stop.
Permission Errors
Report the specific file that failed and continue with remaining files.
