| name | pdf_reader |
| description | Extract text content from PDF files. Use when: user asks to read, extract, or analyze content from a PDF document. Supports multi-page extraction, page ranges, and metadata. NOT for: scanned/image PDFs (OCR), PDF editing, or creating PDFs. |
| dependencies | PyPDF2 |
| metadata | {"emoji":"📄"} |
PDF Reader Skill
Extract text and metadata from PDF files using PyPDF2.
When to Use
✅ USE this skill when:
- "Read this PDF"
- "Extract pages 2-4 from report.pdf"
- "What's in this PDF?"
- "Get PDF metadata"
- User wants to read or summarize content from a PDF
When NOT to Use
❌ DON'T use this skill when:
- Scanned/image PDFs (no embedded text) → use OCR tools
- PDF editing or creating → use PDF manipulation libraries
- Extracting images or embedded media → use specialized PDF tools
Usage/Commands
python {skill_path}/read_pdf.py PATH_TO_PDF [options]
Options:
--pages 1-5 — extract only specific pages (1-indexed, supports ranges)--metadata — include PDF metadata (author, title, creation date)--format json — output as JSON--summary — show page count and character count overview only
Examples
- "Read this PDF" →
python {skill_path}/read_pdf.py document.pdf
- "Extract pages 2-4 from report.pdf" →
python {skill_path}/read_pdf.py report.pdf --pages 2-4
- "What's in this PDF?" →
python {skill_path}/read_pdf.py file.pdf --summary
- "Get PDF metadata" →
python {skill_path}/read_pdf.py file.pdf --metadata
Notes
- Install dependency:
pip install PyPDF2
- Works best with PDFs that have embedded text (not scanned images)
