PDF Text Extraction Skill

PDF Text Extraction

Extract text from PDF files using pymupdf via uv run --with pymupdf.

Prerequisites

uv installed - see https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/
No venv or pre-installation needed - uv run --with handles caching automatically

Extract text from a single PDF

uv run --with pymupdf python3 -c "
import fitz
doc = fitz.open('/path/to/file.pdf')
for page in doc:
    text = page.get_text().strip()
    if text:
        print(text)
        print()
"

Extract and save to file

uv run --with pymupdf python3 -c "
import fitz

doc = fitz.open('/path/to/file.pdf')
pages = []
for page in doc:
    text = page.get_text().strip()
    if text:
        pages.append(text)

with open('/path/to/output.txt', 'w') as f:
    f.write('\n\n'.join(pages))

print(f'Extracted {len(pages)} pages')
"

Extract specific pages

uv run --with pymupdf python3 -c "
import fitz

doc = fitz.open('/path/to/file.pdf')
# Pages are 0-indexed
for i in range(2, 5):  # Pages 3-5
    text = doc[i].get_text().strip()
    if text:
        print(text)
"

Batch extract from multiple PDFs

uv run --with pymupdf python3 -c "
import fitz
import glob
import os

for pdf_path in glob.glob('/path/to/folder/*.pdf'):
    doc = fitz.open(pdf_path)
    text = '\n\n'.join(p.get_text().strip() for p in doc if p.get_text().strip())
    out_path = pdf_path.rsplit('.', 1)[0] + '.txt'
    with open(out_path, 'w') as f:
        f.write(text)
    print(f'{os.path.basename(pdf_path)}: {len(doc)} pages extracted')
"

Get PDF metadata

uv run --with pymupdf python3 -c "
import fitz
doc = fitz.open('/path/to/file.pdf')
meta = doc.metadata
print(f'Title: {meta.get(\"title\", \"N/A\")}')
print(f'Author: {meta.get(\"author\", \"N/A\")}')
print(f'Pages: {len(doc)}')
print(f'Creator: {meta.get(\"creator\", \"N/A\")}')
"

Key notes

pymupdf is imported as fitz (legacy naming from the MuPDF library)
Pages are 0-indexed: doc[0] is the first page
get_text() returns plain text; use get_text("blocks") for positioned blocks
get_text("html") returns HTML with formatting preserved
The package caches after the first uv run --with pymupdf invocation - subsequent runs are instant

When to use this vs pdf-processing-pro

| Use pdf-extract | Use pdf-processing-pro | |---|---| | PDF created digitally (Word, Typst, LaTeX, wkhtmltopdf, WeasyPrint) | Scanned or image-based PDF (photo, fax, scan) | | Need raw text quickly - less than a second | Need structured output: tables, headings, forms | | Bulk/batch extraction without AI cost | OCR required (scanned documents) | | Offline, no API key, no extra dependencies | Form filling, validation, batch workflows | | Simple text content, no tables needed | Tables or structured layout are important |

Agent Skills: PDF Text Extraction

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