# pdf-reading

Skill for reading PDF files from disk: text extraction, page rasterization, table parsing, image and attachment retrieval.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 116
- Author: SeifBenayed
- License: LicenseRef-Proprietary · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/SeifBenayed/cloclo/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-04-05
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/pdf-reading

## What it does

The skill gives the agent a set of strategies for working with PDFs: quick diagnostics with `pdfinfo` and `pdftotext`, text parsing with pypdf and pdfplumber, per-page rasterization to JPEG via `pdftoppm`, embedded image and file extraction with `pdfimages` and `pdfdetach`. For each document type — text report, scan, slide deck, form, table — it suggests an approach: when text suffices, when visual page inspection is needed, when to render and read the raster.

Inside: Python code samples (pypdf, PyMuPDF, pdfplumber) and Poppler utility commands. The skill does not create PDFs or fill forms — reading only. For multi-page documents cost matters: text runs 200–400 tokens per page, raster around 1,600; the skill teaches the agent what to render and what to skip.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SeifBenayed/cloclo --skill pdf-reading -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/pdf-reading/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SeifBenayed/cloclo --skill pdf-reading -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SeifBenayed/cloclo --skill pdf-reading -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install SeifBenayed/cloclo pdf-reading
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SeifBenayed/cloclo --skill pdf-reading -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/SeifBenayed/cloclo --path .claude/skills/pdf-reading
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SeifBenayed/cloclo --skill pdf-reading -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/SeifBenayed/cloclo/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/pdf-reading/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- pull text from a PDF preserving columns and layout
- detect whether a PDF is text-based or scanned
- extract all images, charts, and embedded files
- visually inspect a page with charts and equations
- pick the right reading strategy for each document type

## Example prompts
- Read the first page of `report.pdf` and tell me if it's text or a scan
- Extract all tables from `data.pdf` using pdfplumber
- Rasterize page 3 of `slides.pdf` at 150 DPI and show what's on it

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From the same set: [seifbenayed/cloclo](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/seifbenayed/cloclo.md) — 10 cards

---
NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md