Agent skill

PDF Extraction Fallback

Multi-stage fallback strategy for PDF/document extraction using sequential tool alternatives

Install PDF Extraction Fallback

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback --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/pdf-extraction-fallback .claude/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && 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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .claude/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback .agents/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .agents/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback .cursor/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .cursor/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git --path benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback .gemini/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .gemini/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback .github/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .github/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill pdf-extraction-fallback -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace pdf-extraction-fallback --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback .opencode/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "pdf-extraction-fallback" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback into .opencode/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-extraction-fallback", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: pdf-extraction-fallback
GitHub stars: 7.7k
Token cost: ~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 282 words
Files: 2
Skills in repo: 199
Repo updated: Aug 12, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Multi-stage fallback strategy for PDF/document extraction using sequential tool alternatives

Works in 4 steps: Direct PDF Reading → Shell-based Extraction (pdftotext) → Alternative Python Parsers → …
Tasks that involve PDF
SKILL.md covers Core Principle, Fallback Hierarchy, Implementation Pattern and Success Criteria, plus 3 more sections
Calls pdftotext and tesseract

What it does

PDF Extraction Fallback is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace. Multi-stage fallback strategy for PDF/document extraction using sequential tool alternatives

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k 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. 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

“/pdf-extraction-fallback”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

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

Direct PDF Reading
Shell-based Extraction (pdftotext)
Alternative Python Parsers
OCR Fallback

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:
- pdftotext
- tesseract
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
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

PDF Extraction Fallback loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 29 tokens; SKILL.md has 282 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~29
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.2k

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). 282 words, ~1,224 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: pdf-extraction-fallback
description: Multi-stage fallback strategy for PDF/document extraction using sequential tool alternatives

PDF Extraction Fallback Strategy

When processing documents (especially PDFs), initial extraction attempts may fail due to formatting, encryption, or tool limitations. This skill provides a systematic fallback approach that tries multiple extraction methods before declaring failure.

Core Principle

Never declare completion after a single tool failure. Instead, iterate through a hierarchy of extraction methods, each with different capabilities and limitations.

Fallback Hierarchy

Attempt extraction methods in this order:

Stage 1: Direct PDF Reading

Try native PDF libraries first (fastest, preserves structure):

python

import PyPDF2
from pypdf import PdfReader

def extract_with_pypdf(pdf_path):
    reader = PdfReader(pdf_path)
    text = ""
    for page in reader.pages:
        text += page.extract_text() or ""
    return text

Stage 2: Shell-based Extraction (pdftotext)

If Stage 1 fails, use system tools:

bash

# Install if needed: apt-get install poppler-utils
pdftotext -layout input.pdf output.txt
pdftotext -raw input.pdf output.txt  # Alternative layout

python

import subprocess

def extract_with_pdftotext(pdf_path):
    result = subprocess.run(
        ['pdftotext', '-layout', pdf_path, '-'],
        capture_output=True, text=True
    )
    if result.returncode == 0:
        return result.stdout
    raise Exception("pdftotext failed")

Stage 3: Alternative Python Parsers

Try different Python libraries with varying capabilities:

python

# pdfplumber - better for tables
import pdfplumber
def extract_with_pdfplumber(pdf_path):
    text = ""
    with pdfplumber.open(pdf_path) as pdf:
        for page in pdf.pages:
            text += page.extract_text() or ""
    return text

# pdfminer - handles complex layouts
from pdfminer.high_level import extract_text
def extract_with_pdfminer(pdf_path):
    return extract_text(pdf_path)

Stage 4: OCR Fallback

For scanned images or when text extraction fails:

bash

# Using tesseract
convert input.pdf output-%d.png  # Convert to images first
tesseract output-0.png result --psm 6

python

# Using pytesseract
from pdf2image import convert_from_path
import pytesseract

def extract_with_ocr(pdf_path):
    images = convert_from_path(pdf_path, dpi=300)
    text = ""
    for image in images:
        text += pytesseract.image_to_string(image)
    return text

Implementation Pattern

python

def robust_pdf_extraction(pdf_path):
    """Try multiple extraction methods until one succeeds."""
    
    extraction_methods = [
        ("PyPDF2", extract_with_pypdf),
        ("pdftotext", extract_with_pdftotext),
        ("pdfplumber", extract_with_pdfplumber),
        ("pdfminer", extract_with_pdfminer),
        ("OCR", extract_with_ocr),
    ]
    
    errors = []
    for method_name, method_func in extraction_methods:
        try:
            print(f"Trying {method_name}...")
            text = method_func(pdf_path)
            if text and text.strip():
                print(f"Success with {method_name}")
                return text
            else:
                errors.append(f"{method_name}: empty result")
        except Exception as e:
            errors.append(f"{method_name}: {str(e)}")
            print(f"{method_name} failed: {e}")
            continue
    
    # All methods failed
    raise Exception(f"All extraction methods failed:\n" + "\n".join(errors))

Success Criteria

A method is considered successful when:

No exceptions are raised during execution
Non-empty text is returned (text.strip() has content)
Content quality meets task requirements (check for expected keywords/patterns)

Best Practices

Log each attempt - Record which methods were tried and why they failed
Validate output - Check extracted text contains expected content markers
Graceful degradation - Proceed with partial data if full extraction isn't possible
Cache successful method - Remember which method worked for similar files
Set timeouts - Prevent OCR or complex parsing from hanging indefinitely

Common Failure Modes

Symptom	Likely Cause	Best Fallback
Empty pages	Image-based PDF	OCR (Stage 4)
Garbled text	Encoding issues	pdftotext (Stage 2)
Missing tables	Simple parser	pdfplumber (Stage 3)
Permission errors	Encrypted PDF	Check password/permissions first
Layout lost	Complex formatting	pdftotext -layout or pdfplumber

When to Use

Processing unknown/untrusted PDF sources
Batch processing diverse document types
Critical tasks where extraction failure is not acceptable
Documents with mixed content (text + images + tables)

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback of HKUDS/OpenSpace.

SKILL.md
.skill_id

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3827781

Compare with similar skills

PDF Extraction Fallback 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.

PDF Extraction Fallback compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
PDF Extraction Fallback this skillHKUDS/OpenSpace	7.7k	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
MarkitdownImCa0/just-laws	781	14 repos	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	8 days ago
Gzh Designisjiamu/gzh-design-skill	3.9k	1 repos	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	AGPL-3.0	4 days ago
GenOffice Document CLIgenspark-ai/genoffice	8.8k	—	~19k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Harness Book Best Practicewquguru/harness-books	3.2k	—	~4.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	5 mo ago
Bookforge Korean Ebook PDF Makergongnyang/bookforge	314	1 repos	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago

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Questions about PDF Extraction Fallback

What does PDF Extraction Fallback do?

Multi-stage fallback strategy for PDF/document extraction using sequential tool alternatives. PDF Extraction Fallback is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace.

When should I use PDF Extraction Fallback?

PDF Extraction Fallback fits situations like: tasks that involve PDF.

How do I install PDF Extraction Fallback in Claude Code?

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

How do I install PDF Extraction Fallback in Codex?

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

Can I use PDF Extraction Fallback 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 pdf-extraction-fallback -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback, .gemini/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback, .github/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback and .opencode/skills/pdf-extraction-fallback in your project.

What does PDF Extraction Fallback need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, PDF Extraction Fallback needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pdftotext and tesseract). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does PDF Extraction Fallback access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is PDF Extraction Fallback 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 PDF Extraction Fallback use?

PDF Extraction Fallback 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 PDF Extraction Fallback use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.9k 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 PDF Extraction Fallback?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with PDF Extraction Fallback: Markitdown (ImCa0/just-laws, 781 stars), Gzh Design (isjiamu/gzh-design-skill, 3.9k stars), GenOffice Document CLI (genspark-ai/genoffice, 8.8k stars) and Harness Book Best Practice (wquguru/harness-books, 3.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains PDF Extraction Fallback?

HKUDS (a GitHub organization) maintains it in HKUDS/OpenSpace, which has 7,743 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.

Install PDF Extraction Fallback

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

PDF Extraction Fallback Strategy

Core Principle

Fallback Hierarchy

Stage 1: Direct PDF Reading

Stage 2: Shell-based Extraction (pdftotext)

Stage 3: Alternative Python Parsers

Stage 4: OCR Fallback

Implementation Pattern

Success Criteria

Best Practices

Common Failure Modes

When to Use

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from HKUDS/OpenSpace

Related

Questions about PDF Extraction Fallback