// [Document Processing] Use when you need to convert PDF files to Markdown with support for native text PDFs and scanned documents (OCR).
[HINT] Download the complete skill directory including SKILL.md and all related files
| name | pdf-to-markdown |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| description | [Document Processing] Use when you need to convert PDF files to Markdown with support for native text PDFs and scanned documents (OCR). |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
Goal: Convert PDF files to well-formatted Markdown with auto-detection of native text vs scanned documents.
Workflow:
scripts/convert.cjs with input path and optional mode/output flagsKey Rules:
--mode auto (default) to let the tool decide native vs OCRtesseract.js setupBe skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).
Convert PDF files to Markdown format with automatic detection of native text vs scanned documents.
This skill requires npm dependencies. Run one of the following:
# Option 1: Install via ClaudeKit CLI (recommended)
ck init # Runs install.sh which handles all skills
# Option 2: Manual installation
cd .claude/skills/pdf-to-markdown
npm install
Dependencies: @opendocsg/pdf2md (native PDFs), pdfjs-dist (PDF parsing)
Note: OCR for scanned PDFs requires additional setup (see OCR section).
# Basic conversion (auto-detect native vs scanned)
node .claude/skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./document.pdf
# Specify output path
node .claude/skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert.cjs -i ./doc.pdf -o ./output.md
# Force native mode (skip OCR detection)
node .claude/skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert.cjs -i ./doc.pdf --mode native
| Option | Short | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
--input | -i | Input PDF file path | (required) |
--output | -o | Output markdown file path | {input}.md |
--mode | -m | Conversion mode: auto, native, ocr | auto |
--help | -h | Show help message |
Checks if PDF has extractable text on first page. Uses native extraction if text found, otherwise falls back to OCR warning.
Fast direct text extraction. Best for PDFs with selectable text (not scanned images).
For scanned documents. Currently not implemented - the skill will notify you if a PDF appears to be scanned.
Returns JSON on success:
{
"success": true,
"input": "/path/to/input.pdf",
"output": "/path/to/output.md",
"stats": {
"pages": 5,
"mode": "native"
}
}
For scanned PDF support, install additional dependencies:
npm install tesseract.js pdfjs-dist canvas
Note: The canvas package may require build tools on some systems.
[IMPORTANT] Use
TaskCreateto break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.
AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task: Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.
Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.
MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.
MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act)
IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality
[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.