Agent skill

PDF Reader

Analyze PDF files attached by the user. An agent skill from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.

Install PDF Reader

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader --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/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .claude/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .claude/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader

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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a codex

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader --agent codex

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .agents/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .agents/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a cursor

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader --agent cursor

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .cursor/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .cursor/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git --path internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader

--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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a gemini-cli

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader --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/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .gemini/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .gemini/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader

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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a github-copilot

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .github/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .github/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro pdf-reader --agent opencode

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader .opencode/skills/pdf-reader && 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-reader" agent skill from https://github.com/Kocoro-lab/Kocoro/tree/main/internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader into .opencode/skills/pdf-reader/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pdf-reader", 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-reader
GitHub stars: 414
Token cost: ~482 tokens
SKILL.md length: 180 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 4
Repo updated: Sep 5, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Analyze PDF files attached by the user. An agent skill from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.

Works in 4 steps: Read the PDF: Call file_read with the… → For multi-page PDFs: Read in batches… → Analyze the content: The rendered pages… → …
Tasks that involve PDF
SKILL.md covers How file_read handles PDFs, Workflow and Tips
Calls python3

What it does

PDF Reader is an agent skill from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro. Analyze PDF files attached by the user. Activates automatically when user uploads a PDF. Handles both text-based and scanned/image-based PDFs using fileread's built-in PDF rendering.

Its SKILL.md is about 480 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Documents & Office, covering PDF. The repository describes itself as: A Mac-native AI agent with memory, local computer access, browser control, IM channels, and MCP-native integrations. Built on Shannon. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve PDF

Example prompts

“/pdf-reader”

Requirements

Python 3
Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): file_read, bash, think

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Read the PDF: Call file_read with the PDF path. It will render pages as images automatically.
For multi-page PDFs: Read in batches using offset and limit.
Analyze the content: The rendered pages come back as images. Describe what you see — text, tables, charts, forms, signatures, stamps, etc.
Extract text if needed: For text-heavy PDFs where you need exact content, use bash with python

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2d5a221. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- file_read
- bash
- think
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- python3
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 Reader loads about 482 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 49 tokens; SKILL.md has 180 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~49
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~482

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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro at commit 2d5a221, republished under its MIT licence (© Kocoro-lab). 180 words, ~482 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/pdf-reader/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: pdf-reader
description: Analyze PDF files attached by the user. Activates automatically when user uploads a PDF. Handles both text-based and scanned/image-based PDFs using file_read's built-in PDF rendering.
allowed-tools: file_read, bash, think

PDF Reader

Analyze PDF files using the file_read tool which natively supports PDF rendering.

How file_read handles PDFs

file_read with a .pdf path renders pages as images for vision analysis
Parameters: offset = start page (0-based), limit = max pages (default 5)
Each page is rendered at 144 DPI, resized to 1568px max dimension
Returns image blocks that you can analyze with vision

Workflow

Read the PDF: Call file_read with the PDF path. It will render pages as images automatically.
json
```
{"path": "/path/to/file.pdf"}
```
For multi-page PDFs: Read in batches using offset and limit.
json
```
{"path": "/path/to/file.pdf", "offset": 5, "limit": 5}
```
Analyze the content: The rendered pages come back as images. Describe what you see — text, tables, charts, forms, signatures, stamps, etc.

Extract text if needed: For text-heavy PDFs where you need exact content, use bash with python:

bash

python3 -c "
import subprocess
subprocess.check_call(['pip3', 'install', 'pymupdf', '-q'])
import fitz
doc = fitz.open('/path/to/file.pdf')
for i, page in enumerate(doc):
    text = page.get_text()
    if text.strip():
        print(f'--- Page {i+1} ---')
        print(text)
"

Tips

Always start with file_read — it handles both scanned and text PDFs via vision
For scanned PDFs (image-based), vision analysis through file_read is the primary method
For text PDFs where exact character-level accuracy matters, supplement with python text extraction
When summarizing, note the total page count and which pages you've analyzed

Files

Just SKILL.md in internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader of Kocoro-lab/Kocoro.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2d5a221

Compare with similar skills

PDF Reader 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 Reader compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
PDF Reader this skillKocoro-lab/Kocoro	414	—	~482	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
MarkitdownImCa0/just-laws	781	14 repos	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Gzh Designisjiamu/gzh-design-skill	3.9k	1 repos	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	AGPL-3.0	5 days ago
GenOffice Document CLIgenspark-ai/genoffice	8.9k	—	~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 Reader

What does PDF Reader do?

Analyze PDF files attached by the user. An agent skill from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro. PDF Reader is an agent skill from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro. Analyze PDF files attached by the user.

When should I use PDF Reader?

PDF Reader fits situations like: tasks that involve PDF.

How do I install PDF Reader in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader in Kocoro-lab/Kocoro) into .claude/skills/pdf-reader in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install PDF Reader in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (internal/skills/bundled/skills/pdf-reader in Kocoro-lab/Kocoro) into .agents/skills/pdf-reader in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use PDF Reader 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 Kocoro-lab/Kocoro --skill pdf-reader -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-reader, .gemini/skills/pdf-reader, .github/skills/pdf-reader and .opencode/skills/pdf-reader in your project.

What does PDF Reader need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, PDF Reader needs the command-line tools its instructions call (python3). Our summary lists: Python 3. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: file_read, bash, think.

Does PDF Reader 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 Reader 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 Reader use?

PDF Reader 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 Reader use?

About 482 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.9k 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 Reader?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with PDF Reader: Markitdown (ImCa0/just-laws, 781 stars), Gzh Design (isjiamu/gzh-design-skill, 3.9k stars), GenOffice Document CLI (genspark-ai/genoffice, 8.9k 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 Reader?

Kocoro-lab (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Kocoro-lab/Kocoro, which has 414 GitHub stars. The repository holds 4 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 5, 2026.

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

PDF Reader

Install PDF Reader

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 Reader

How file_read handles PDFs

Workflow

Tips

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Markitdown

Gzh Design

GenOffice Document CLI

Harness Book Best Practice

Bookforge Korean Ebook PDF Maker

Instrument Data To Allotrope

More from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro

Claude API

Kocoro

Kocoro Generative UI

Questions about PDF Reader

Install PDF Reader

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 Reader

How file_read handles PDFs

Workflow

Tips

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from Kocoro-lab/Kocoro

Related

Questions about PDF Reader