pdf-reader

name	pdf-reader
description	Read and extract text from PDF files — documents, reports, contracts, spreadsheets. Use whenever you need to read PDF content, not just when explicitly asked. Handles local files, URLs, and WhatsApp attachments.
allowed-tools	Bash(pdf-reader:*)

PDF Reader

Quick start

pdf-reader extract report.pdf              # Extract all text
pdf-reader extract report.pdf --layout     # Preserve tables/columns
pdf-reader fetch https://example.com/doc.pdf  # Download and extract
pdf-reader info report.pdf                 # Show metadata + size
pdf-reader list                            # List all PDFs in directory tree

Commands

extract — Extract text from PDF

pdf-reader extract <file>                        # Full text to stdout
pdf-reader extract <file> --layout               # Preserve layout (tables, columns)
pdf-reader extract <file> --pages 1-5            # Pages 1 through 5
pdf-reader extract <file> --pages 3-3            # Single page (page 3)
pdf-reader extract <file> --layout --pages 2-10  # Layout + page range

Options:

• --layout — Maintains spatial positioning. Essential for tables, spreadsheets, multi-column docs.
• --pages N-M — Extract only pages N through M (1-based, inclusive).

fetch — Download and extract PDF from URL

pdf-reader fetch <url>                    # Download, verify, extract with layout
pdf-reader fetch <url> report.pdf         # Also save a local copy

Downloads the PDF, verifies it has a valid %PDF header, then extracts text with layout preservation. Temporary files are cleaned up automatically.

info — PDF metadata and file size

pdf-reader info <file>

Shows title, author, page count, page size, PDF version, and file size on disk.

list — Find all PDFs in directory tree

pdf-reader list

Recursively lists all .pdf files with page count and file size.

Scanned PDFs (OCR)

extract and fetch automatically fall back to OCR when pdftotext returns no text (e.g. scanned documents, image-only PDFs). Pages are rendered at 300 DPI via pdftoppm and processed with tesseract (English). No extra flags needed — it happens transparently.

pdf-reader extract attachments/scanned-invoice.pdf   # OCR kicks in automatically
pdf-reader extract report.pdf --pages 1-3            # OCR respects page ranges too

PDF attachments

When a user sends a PDF via WhatsApp or Telegram, it is automatically saved to the attachments/ directory. The message will include a path hint like:

[PDF: attachments/document.pdf]

To read the attached PDF:

pdf-reader extract attachments/document.pdf --layout

Example workflows

Read a contract and summarize key terms

pdf-reader info attachments/contract.pdf
pdf-reader extract attachments/contract.pdf --layout

Extract specific pages from a long report

pdf-reader info report.pdf                    # Check total pages
pdf-reader extract report.pdf --pages 1-3     # Executive summary
pdf-reader extract report.pdf --pages 15-20   # Financial tables

Fetch and analyze a public document

pdf-reader fetch https://example.com/annual-report.pdf report.pdf
pdf-reader info report.pdf