PDF: Get Answers from Any Document in 30 Seconds

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Official Anthropic skill on GitHub

PDF

Summary

You have a 47-page contract. Legal review takes two weeks. You need to know if there's an auto-renewal clause before you sign tomorrow.

Instead, just ask. Point Claude at any PDF, ask your question in plain English, and get the answer with the exact page number and quoted language.

Stop reading. Start asking.

Find any clause instantly

Ask where the termination clause is. Claude finds it, quotes the exact language, and tells you the page number.

Compare document versions

Upload two contracts. Claude shows you every difference—language changes, term modifications, new clauses added or removed.

Extract data into tables

Pull every date, dollar amount, and deliverable into a structured format ready for your spreadsheet or project tracker.

Pros

  • Find specific clauses in long contracts in 30 seconds, not 3 hours
  • Compare document versions without reading both cover-to-cover
  • Extract tables, dates, and dollar amounts into spreadsheet-ready format
  • Your files stay on your machine—nothing uploaded unless you choose
  • Ask follow-ups without re-uploading or starting over
  • Official Anthropic skill with enterprise-grade document understanding

Cons

  • Scanned PDFs need clear, high-resolution scans—blurry or skewed pages reduce accuracy
  • Password-protected files need to be unlocked first
  • Complex magazine-style layouts with multiple columns may need simpler formatting

How to Use PDF Skill

Skill command:
1

Install the Skill

Install via the plugin marketplace, or download the skill file directly. Skills auto-activate when relevant—no manual invocation needed.

Option 1: Plugin Marketplace
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills
/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
Option 2: Direct Download
curl -o .claude/skills/pdf.md https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/pdf/SKILL.md
2

Ask Your Question

Be specific. "Find the liability cap" beats "summarize this document." The more precise your question, the more useful the answer.

Example Prompt
Find the liability cap, indemnification terms, and termination notice period. Quote the exact language for each.
3

Point to Your File

Drag the PDF into your terminal or paste the file path. Your documents stay on your machine.

Example Prompt
/pdf ~/Documents/Acme-MSA-v2.pdf What changed from v1? Focus on pricing, term length, and liability.
4

Ask Follow-Ups

Claude remembers the document. Keep drilling. No need to re-upload.

Example Prompt
That indemnification clause looks broad. Is it mutual or one-sided? What triggers it?
5

Get It In the Format You Need

Email summary. Comparison table. Bullet points for your boss. Spreadsheet-ready data. Just ask.

Example Prompt
Format this as a one-page memo for legal. Flag the three terms we should push back on.

Example Prompts

Real-world scenarios showing how to use PDF effectively

Scenario: Get the lay of the land before diving in

Your Prompt

/pdf I have 10 minutes before a call about this 80-page report. What are the three things I actually need to know? And which pages should I skim if I have time?

Expected Outcome

Claude pulls the three most important points and tells you exactly which pages matter—so you walk into the call prepared, not panicked.

Scenario: Contract review on a deadline

Your Prompt

/pdf I need to sign this by end of day. Find anything that could burn us: auto-renewal, one-sided indemnification, liability caps under $1M, weird termination terms. Quote each one with page numbers.

Expected Outcome

Claude flags specific clauses with exact quotes and page references. You know exactly what to push back on or run by legal.

Scenario: Vendor comparison

Your Prompt

/pdf I have proposals from Acme, Globex, and Initech. Build me a comparison table: total cost, timeline, training hours, SLA uptime, payment terms. Flag anything concerning in each.

Expected Outcome

A side-by-side table you can paste into a deck or email. Red flags called out. Decision made easier.

Scenario: Data extraction

Your Prompt

/pdf Pull every milestone, deliverable, and deadline from this SOW. Format as a table: Item, Description, Due Date, Dependencies. I need to paste this into our project tracker.

Expected Outcome

A structured table ready for Excel, Notion, or wherever you track projects. No manual extraction.

Scenario: Board prep under pressure

Your Prompt

/pdf Board meeting in 2 hours. From this quarterly report, give me: (1) Three-bullet executive summary for the CEO's opening, (2) Five questions the board will probably ask with suggested answers, (3) One sentence on how we did vs. last quarter.

Expected Outcome

Board-ready talking points. Anticipated tough questions. The sound bite you need. All from one prompt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Ask Claude to format the data as a table and paste directly into Excel or Google Sheets. For complex tables, specify the columns you need.
Yes, if the scan has been OCR'd (converted to searchable text). Most modern scanners do this automatically. Clear scans without skewing work best.
Claude Code works with local files, handles multi-document comparison, maintains context for follow-up questions, and outputs in specific formats. It's built for document workflows, not one-off questions.
Yes—this is one of the best use cases. Point Claude at both files and ask what changed. It flags differences in language, terms, numbers, and clauses. Much faster than side-by-side reading.
Files are processed locally. Contents are sent to Claude's API for analysis but not stored. Check your organization's AI policies for sensitive documents.
Most business documents work fine. For very large files (500+ pages), ask focused questions about specific sections rather than "summarize everything." Claude will suggest how to break it up if needed.

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