Skills Guide

PDF Reading and Analysis

VerifiedSafe

Extracts and analyzes text and visual content from PDF files. Supports summarizing, extracting specific information (tables, code, references), and comparing multiple PDFs. Includes a Python utility for batch operations. Best used when the user provides a PDF file path or requests PDF content analysis.

Download and use
Sby Skills Guide Bot
ProductivityBeginner
6/2/2026
Claude Code
#pdf#text-extraction#document-summarization#file-reading

Recommended for

Claude CodeProduct managerBeginnerProductivitySolo / indie hacker

Automated summary

This skill enables reading, extracting, and analyzing PDF documents directly within Claude Code.

Strengths

  • Native PDF reading without external tools
  • Extraction of both text and visual content
  • Ability to summarize and compare multiple PDFs

Limitations

  • No OCR for scanned PDFs
  • Issues with copy-protected PDFs
  • Large PDFs (100+ pages) may require pagination
When to use it

Use this skill when you need to extract or analyze text content from a PDF file.

When not to use it

Avoid this skill if the PDF is a scanned image or encrypted, as extraction will be limited.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score90/100

The skill instructs the agent to read PDF files using a native Read tool and optionally run a Python utility with uv. There are no destructive commands, no exfiltration, and no obfuscation. The utility is a local tool for PDF operations, posing no inherent security risk.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Summarize a PDF
Summarize the key points from /path/to/report.pdf
Extract tables
Extract all tables from /path/to/data.pdf and format them as markdown
Compare two PDFs
Compare /path/to/v1.pdf and /path/to/v2.pdf and list the differences

name: pdf description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "read pdf", "view pdf", "extract text from pdf", "summarize pdf", or shares a PDF file path.

/pdf

Read, extract, and analyze PDF documents.

Instructions

When the user provides a PDF path or asks about PDF content:

1. Reading PDFs

Use the Read tool directly on the PDF file. Claude Code supports reading PDF files natively:

Read: /path/to/document.pdf

This extracts both text and visual content for analysis.

2. Common Tasks

Summarize: Provide a concise summary of the document

  • Key points and main arguments
  • Document structure overview
  • Important figures, tables, or data

Extract specific info: Find and extract:

  • Tables (convert to markdown format)
  • Code snippets
  • Citations/references
  • Contact information
  • Dates and deadlines

Compare PDFs: When given multiple PDFs:

  • Identify differences
  • Highlight common themes
  • Cross-reference information

3. Python Utility

For batch operations or programmatic access:

uv run tools/pdf_util.py extract /path/to/file.pdf
uv run tools/pdf_util.py info /path/to/file.pdf
uv run tools/pdf_util.py search /path/to/file.pdf "search term"

4. Output Format

When presenting PDF content:

  • Use markdown headers for document sections
  • Convert tables to markdown tables
  • Note page numbers for reference: (p. 5)
  • Flag any extraction issues (scanned images, encrypted content)

5. Limitations

  • Scanned PDFs may have limited text extraction (OCR not included)
  • Some PDFs have copy-protection that prevents text extraction
  • Very large PDFs (100+ pages) may need pagination

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/download' --output '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/pdf' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j' '.claude/skills/pdf'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j'

openskills read 'pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/pdf-reading-and-analysis-mma3js4j/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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