View PDF
AnthropicOfficialPublished by Anthropic
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Documents and content
- Apache-2.0
- No issues found
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
The view-pdf skill provides an interactive interface for working with PDF documents. Unlike text-based extraction tools, this skill focuses on visual collaboration, allowing users to view, annotate, and modify documents in real-time. It supports a wide range of markup types, including highlights, stamps, and image-based signatures, making it ideal for tasks that require visual confirmation or manual form completion.
What it does
- Opens local or remote PDF files in a live, interactive viewer.
- Supports visual annotations like highlights, underlines, shapes, and sticky notes.
- Enables interactive form filling with visual feedback.
- Allows for the placement of image-based signatures or stamps.
- Provides navigation, zooming, and search capabilities within the document.
- Captures screenshots to verify and share annotation progress with the user.
When to use it
- When you need to review a document visually with a user.
- When a user needs to fill out a PDF form that requires visual guidance.
- When you need to mark up a document with highlights, comments, or stamps.
- When a user needs to place a signature or initials on a specific page.
- When you want to walk a user through specific sections of a document.
Advantages
- Provides live visual feedback for all document interactions.
- Handles complex forms where field labels are visual rather than metadata-based.
- Supports batching multiple annotation commands for efficient workflows.
- Allows for precise placement of visual elements like signatures and stamps.
- Integrates seamlessly with local file systems and direct HTTPS PDF links.
Usage examples
- “Can you help me fill out this application form?”
- The agent opens the PDF, identifies the form fields, asks the user for the necessary information, fills the fields, and provides a screenshot of the completed form for verification.
- “Please review this contract and highlight the liability clauses.”
- The agent opens the contract, searches for relevant text, highlights the clauses, and presents the annotated document to the user for review.
- “I need to sign this document on the last page.”
- The agent navigates to the final page, prompts the user for their signature image path, places the image as an annotation, and confirms the placement with a screenshot.
- “Mark this document as DRAFT and add a note on page 2.”
- The agent adds a 'DRAFT' stamp to the document and inserts a sticky note annotation on the specified page, then displays the updated view.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/anthropics/view-pdf/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip view-pdf.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Anthropic
PDF Viewer — Interactive Document Workflows
You have access to a local PDF server that renders documents in a live viewer and lets you annotate, fill forms, and place signatures with real-time visual feedback.
When to use this skill
Use the PDF viewer when the user wants interactivity:
"Show me this contract" / "Open this paper"
"Highlight the key terms and let me review"
"Help me fill out this form"
"Sign this on page 3" / "Add my initials to each page"
"Stamp this CONFIDENTIAL" / "Mark this as approved"
"Walk me through this document and annotate the important parts"
Do NOT use the viewer for pure ingestion:
"Summarize this PDF" → use the native Read tool directly
"What does page 5 say?" → use Read
"Extract the table from section 3" → use Read
The viewer's value is showing the user the document and collaborating on markup — not streaming text back to you.
Tools
list_pdfs
List available local PDFs and allowed local directories. No arguments.
display_pdf
Open a PDF in the interactive viewer. Call once per document.
url— local file path or HTTPS URLpage— initial page (optional, default 1)elicit_form_inputs— iftrue, prompts the user to fill form fields before displaying (use for interactive form-filling)
Returns a viewUUID — pass this to every interact call. Calling
display_pdf again creates a separate viewer; interact calls with
the new UUID won't reach the one the user is looking at.
Also returns formFields (name, type, page, bounding box) if the PDF
has fillable fields — use these coordinates for signature placement.
interact
All follow-up actions after display_pdf. Pass viewUUID plus one or
more commands. Batch multiple commands in one call via the
commands array — they run sequentially. End batches with
get_screenshot to verify changes visually.
Annotation actions:
add_annotations— add markup (see types below)update_annotations— modify existing (id + type required)remove_annotations— delete by id arrayhighlight_text— auto-find text by query and highlight it (preferred over manual rects for text markup)
Navigation actions:
navigate(page),search(query),find(query, silent),search_navigate(matchIndex),zoom(scale 0.5–3.0)
Extraction actions:
get_text— extract text from page ranges (max 20 pages). Use for reading content to decide what to annotate, NOT for summarization.get_screenshot— capture a page as an image (verify your annotations)
Form action:
fill_form— fill named fields:fields: [{name, value}, ...]
Annotation Types
All annotations need id (unique string), type, page (1-indexed).
Coordinates are PDF points (1/72 inch), origin top-left, Y increases
downward. US Letter is 612×792pt.
| Type | Key properties | Use for |
|---|---|---|
highlight | rects, color?, content? | Mark important text |
underline | rects, color? | Emphasize terms |
strikethrough | rects, color? | Mark deletions |
note | x, y, content, color? | Sticky-note comments |
freetext | x, y, content, fontSize? | Visible text on page |
rectangle | x, y, width, height, color?, fillColor? | Box regions |
circle | x, y, width, height, color?, fillColor? | Circle regions |
line | x1, y1, x2, y2, color? | Draw lines/arrows |
stamp | x, y, label, color?, rotation? | APPROVED, DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, etc. |
image | imageUrl, x?, y?, width?, height? | Signatures, initials, logos |
Image annotations accept a local file path or HTTPS URL (no data: URIs). Dimensions auto-detected if omitted. Users can also drag & drop images directly onto the viewer.
Interactive Workflows
Collaborative annotation (AI-driven)
display_pdfto open the documentinteract→get_texton relevant page range to understand contentPropose a batch of annotations to the user (describe what you'll mark)
On approval,
interact→add_annotations+get_screenshotShow the user, ask for edits, iterate
When done, remind them they can download the annotated PDF from the viewer toolbar
Form filling (visual, not programmatic)
Unlike headless form tools, this gives the user live visual feedback and handles forms with cryptic/unnamed fields where the label is printed on the page rather than in field metadata.
display_pdf— inspect returnedformFields(name, type, page, bounding box)If field names are cryptic (
Text1,Field_7),get_screenshotthe pages and match bounding boxes to visual labelsAsk the user for values using the visual labels, or infer from context
interact→fill_form, thenget_screenshotto show the resultUser confirms or edits directly in the viewer
For simple well-labeled forms, display_pdf with
elicit_form_inputs: true prompts the user upfront instead.
Signing (visual, not certified)
Ask for the signature/initials image path
display_pdf, checkformFieldsfor signature-type fields or ask which page/positioninteract→add_annotationswithtype: "image"at the target coordinatesget_screenshotto confirm placement
Disclaimer: This places a visual signature image. It is not a certified or cryptographic digital signature.
Supported Sources
Local files (paths under client MCP roots)
arXiv (
/abs/URLs auto-convert to PDF)Any direct HTTPS PDF URL (bioRxiv, Zenodo, OSF, etc. — use the direct PDF link, not the landing page)
Out of Scope
Summarization / text extraction — use native Read instead
Certified digital signatures — image stamping only
PDF creation — this works on existing PDFs only
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer920 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer11.1 KiB
- SKILL.md6.1 KiB
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Requirements and compatibility
Written for: Claude Code, Claude apps
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Names Claude Code tools
Security
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Attribution and licence
- Published by
- Anthropic
- Publisher
- Anthropic (Official)
- Source
- anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · pdf-viewer/skills/view-pdf · commit e050c2e
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from pdf-viewer/LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic or Anthropic.
Download ZIP
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