Agent skill

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation

by HKUDS in HKUDS/OpenSpace

Generate complex multi-page PDFs by running reportlab Python code directly via runshell when shellagent fails on document creation

MITAuto-check passedDocuments & Office

Install Direct Reportlab PDF Generation

skills CLI
$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill direct-reportlab-pdf-generation -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace direct-reportlab-pdf-generation --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation .claude/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
direct-reportlab-pdf-generation
GitHub stars
7.8k
Token cost
~1.6k tokens
SKILL.md length
302 words
Files
2
Skills in repo
199
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Generate complex multi-page PDFs by running reportlab Python code directly via runshell when shellagent fails on document creation

  • Works in 5 steps: Prepare Your PDF Content → Write the ReportLab Python Script → Execute via run_shell → …
  • Tasks that involve PDF
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, Core Technique, Step-by-Step Instructions and Common Patterns, plus 2 more sections
  • Calls python3 and pip

What it does

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace. Generate complex multi-page PDFs by running reportlab Python code directly via runshell when shellagent fails on document creation

Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 1 other file.

It sits in Documents & Office, covering PDF. It works with pypdf and Python. The repository describes itself as: "OpenSpace: The Skill Management Layer for AI Agents" -- https://open-space.cloud/. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve PDF

Example prompts

  • “/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Prepare Your PDF Content
  2. Write the ReportLab Python Script
  3. Execute via run_shell
  4. Handle Complex Content
  5. Verify Output

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3827781. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python3
    • pip

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 41 tokens; SKILL.md has 302 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~41
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.6k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from HKUDS/OpenSpace at commit 3827781, republished under its MIT licence (© HKUDS). 302 words, ~1,558 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
direct-reportlab-pdf-generation
description
Generate complex multi-page PDFs by running reportlab Python code directly via run_shell when shell_agent fails on document creation

Direct ReportLab PDF Generation via run_shell

When to Use This Skill

Use this pattern when:

  • You need to create a complex, multi-page PDF document with structured content
  • Delegating PDF generation to shell_agent fails or produces unreliable results
  • You need fine-grained control over PDF layout, styling, and pagination

Core Technique

Instead of asking shell_agent to handle PDF creation, write inline Python code using the reportlab library and execute it directly via run_shell. This gives you deterministic control over the document structure.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Your PDF Content

Organize your content into logical sections that will become pages or page groups:

  • Title page
  • Table of contents (optional)
  • Main content sections
  • Appendices or references
Step 2: Write the ReportLab Python Script

Create a Python script that uses these key reportlab components:

python
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, Table, TableStyle, PageBreak, Image
from reportlab.lib.enums import TA_CENTER, TA_LEFT, TA_JUSTIFY

def create_pdf(filename, content_data):
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(filename, pagesize=letter,
                           rightMargin=72, leftMargin=72,
                           topMargin=72, bottomMargin=72)
    
    story = []
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()
    
    # Custom styles
    title_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'CustomTitle',
        parent=styles['Heading1'],
        fontSize=24,
        textColor=colors.HexColor('#1a1a1a'),
        spaceAfter=30,
        alignment=TA_CENTER
    )
    
    heading_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'CustomHeading',
        parent=styles['Heading2'],
        fontSize=16,
        textColor=colors.HexColor('#2c3e50'),
        spaceBefore=20,
        spaceAfter=12
    )
    
    body_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'CustomBody',
        parent=styles['Normal'],
        fontSize=11,
        leading=16,
        alignment=TA_JUSTIFY
    )
    
    # Build document content
    for section in content_data:
        if section['type'] == 'title':
            story.append(Paragraph(section['text'], title_style))
        elif section['type'] == 'heading':
            story.append(Paragraph(section['text'], heading_style))
        elif section['type'] == 'paragraph':
            story.append(Paragraph(section['text'], body_style))
            story.append(Spacer(1, 12))
        elif section['type'] == 'table':
            table = Table(section['data'], colWidths=section.get('col_widths'))
            table.setStyle(TableStyle([
                ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.grey),
                ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.whitesmoke),
                ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 'CENTER'),
                ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
                ('FONTSIZE', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),
                ('BOTTOMPADDING', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 12),
                ('BACKGROUND', (0, 1), (-1, -1), colors.beige),
                ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 1, colors.black),
            ]))
            story.append(table)
            story.append(Spacer(1, 20))
        elif section['type'] == 'pagebreak':
            story.append(PageBreak())
    
    doc.build(story)
Step 3: Execute via run_shell

Run the Python script directly using run_shell:

bash
python3 << 'EOF'
# Your complete reportlab script here
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, Table, TableStyle, PageBreak

# ... rest of your script
EOF

Or save to a file and execute:

bash
cat > generate_pdf.py << 'SCRIPT'
# Your complete script
SCRIPT

python3 generate_pdf.py
Step 4: Handle Complex Content

For lengthy documents, structure content as a data structure:

python
document_sections = [
    {'type': 'title', 'text': 'Document Title'},
    {'type': 'pagebreak'},
    {'type': 'heading', 'text': 'Section 1'},
    {'type': 'paragraph', 'text': 'Content here...'},
    {'type': 'heading', 'text': 'Section 2'},
    {'type': 'table', 'data': [['Header1', 'Header2'], ['Row1-Col1', 'Row1-Col2']]},
    {'type': 'pagebreak'},
    # Continue for all sections
]
Step 5: Verify Output

Check that the PDF was created successfully:

bash
ls -la your_document.pdf
# Optionally check page count
pdfinfo your_document.pdf 2>/dev/null || echo "PDF created, pdfinfo not available"

Common Patterns

Multi-Section Documents

Use PageBreak() between major sections to ensure clean pagination.

Tables with Data

Structure tabular data as nested lists:

python
table_data = [
    ['Column 1', 'Column 2', 'Column 3'],
    ['Value 1', 'Value 2', 'Value 3'],
    ['Value 4', 'Value 5', 'Value 6'],
]
Styled Text

Create custom ParagraphStyle objects for consistent formatting across sections.

Long Paragraphs

ReportLab automatically handles text wrapping. For very long content, consider breaking into multiple paragraphs.

Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
Import errorsEnsure reportlab is installed: pip install reportlab
Layout issuesAdjust margins in SimpleDocTemplate constructor
Text overflowUse Spacer elements to add vertical space
Table width problemsSet explicit colWidths parameter
Page breaks in wrong placesInsert PageBreak() explicitly before new sections

Advantages Over shell_agent

  • Deterministic: Code executes exactly as written
  • Debuggable: Errors are immediate and clear
  • Controllable: Full access to reportlab's API
  • Reliable: No intermediate agent interpretation layer
  • Efficient: Single execution, no retry loops

© HKUDS, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in benchmarks/gdpval/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation of HKUDS/OpenSpace.

  • SKILL.md
  • .skill_id

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3827781

Compare with similar skills

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Direct Reportlab PDF Generation this skillHKUDS/OpenSpace7.8k—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
PDF ToolkitXiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code14k—~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
PDF Generation, Forms and Extractionpipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai3.8k—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
PDFNousResearch/hermes-agent252k—~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
PDF ExploreHughYau/AcademicForge2.6k—~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
PDF ExploreJimLiu/science-skills2282 repos~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

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Works with

Questions about Direct Reportlab PDF Generation

What does Direct Reportlab PDF Generation do?

Generate complex multi-page PDFs by running reportlab Python code directly via runshell when shellagent fails on document creation. Direct Reportlab PDF Generation is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace.

When should I use Direct Reportlab PDF Generation?

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation fits situations like: tasks that involve PDF.

How do I install Direct Reportlab PDF Generation in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill direct-reportlab-pdf-generation -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (benchmarks/gdpval/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation in HKUDS/OpenSpace) into .claude/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Direct Reportlab PDF Generation in Codex?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill direct-reportlab-pdf-generation -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (benchmarks/gdpval/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation in HKUDS/OpenSpace) into .agents/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Direct Reportlab PDF Generation in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill direct-reportlab-pdf-generation -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation, .gemini/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation, .github/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation and .opencode/skills/direct-reportlab-pdf-generation in your project.

What does Direct Reportlab PDF Generation need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Direct Reportlab PDF Generation needs the command-line tools its instructions call (python3 and pip). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Direct Reportlab PDF Generation access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Direct Reportlab PDF Generation safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Direct Reportlab PDF Generation use?

Direct Reportlab PDF Generation is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Direct Reportlab PDF Generation use?

About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Direct Reportlab PDF Generation?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Direct Reportlab PDF Generation: PDF Toolkit (XiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code, 14k stars), PDF Generation, Forms and Extraction (pipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai, 3.8k stars), PDF (NousResearch/hermes-agent, 252k stars) and PDF Explore (HughYau/AcademicForge, 2.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Direct Reportlab PDF Generation?

HKUDS (a GitHub organization) maintains it in HKUDS/OpenSpace, which has 7,754 GitHub stars. The repository holds 199 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 12, 2026.

Source: HKUDS/OpenSpace on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.