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pdftotext-fallback
Recover PDF text extraction when read_file returns binary data by using pdftotext via shell
benchmarks/gdpval/skills/pdftotext-fallback/SKILL.md
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# pdftotext Fallback for PDF Text Extraction
## When to Use
Apply this pattern when:
- `read_file` on a PDF returns binary/image data instead of readable text
- Python-based PDF extraction (PyMuPDF, pdfplumber, etc.) in `execute_code_sandbox` fails or returns garbled content
- You need reliable text extraction from PDF files as a recovery strategy
## Why This Works
The `pdftotext` utility (from poppler-utils) is a mature, command-line tool that handles many PDF edge cases that confuse Python libraries or the `read_file` tool. It's pre-installed on most Linux systems and provides consistent, reliable text extraction.
## Steps