PDF Generation Skill for Claude

Professional PDF generation from markdown using Pandoc with Eisvogel template and EB Garamond fonts. Use when converting markdown to PDF, creating white papers, research documents, marketing materials, or technical documentation. Supports both English and Russian documents with professional typography and color-coded themes. Mobile-optimized layout (6x9) by default for Telegram bot context, desktop/print layout (A4) for other contexts.

5k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

ships runnable scripts

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

337

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/glebis/claude-skills --skill pdf-generation

What comes with it

14 481 bytes besides the instruction

.claude-plugin/plugin.json

README.md

references/frontmatter_templates.md

references/pandoc_reference.md

scripts/fix_markdown.py

scripts/generate_pdf.py

The instruction itself

18 sections, as written by the author

PDF Generation

Overview

Generate professional PDFs from markdown files using Pandoc with Eisvogel template styling. Supports English and Russian documents with customizable themes, table of contents, and professional typography including EB Garamond font for Russian text.

Quick Start

Basic commands:

# Desktop/Print PDF (A4 format)
pandoc doc.md -o doc.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex --toc --toc-depth=2 -V geometry:margin=2.5cm -V fontsize=11pt -V documentclass=article

# Mobile-friendly PDF (6x9 phone screen optimized)
pandoc doc.md -o doc-mobile.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex --toc --toc-depth=2 -V geometry:paperwidth=6in -V geometry:paperheight=9in -V geometry:margin=0.5in -V fontsize=10pt -V linestretch=1.2

# Russian PDF with EB Garamond
pandoc doc-ru.md -o doc.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex --toc --toc-depth=2 -V geometry:margin=2.5cm -V fontsize=11pt -V documentclass=article -V mainfont="EB Garamond"

# Russian Mobile PDF
pandoc doc-ru.md -o doc-mobile.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex --toc --toc-depth=2 -V geometry:paperwidth=6in -V geometry:paperheight=9in -V geometry:margin=0.5in -V fontsize=10pt -V linestretch=1.2 -V mainfont="EB Garamond"

Document Theme Colors

White Papers - Blue (1e3a8a)
Marketing - Green (059669)
Research - Purple (7c3aed)
Technical - Gray (374151)

YAML Frontmatter Example

---
title: "Document Title"
subtitle: "Subtitle"
author: "Author"
date: "2025-11-18"
titlepage: true
titlepage-color: "1e3a8a"
titlepage-text-color: "ffffff"
book: true
---

See references/frontmatter_templates.md for complete templates.

Markdown Formatting Best Practices

For optimal PDF rendering, ensure:

Blank lines before lists - Required for proper list rendering
Blank lines after headings - Improves spacing
Nested list indentation - Use 3 spaces for sub-items

Common Claude Code Pattern

Lists after colons need blank lines:

Your data spans 9 years with complete tracking:

- Item 1
- Item 2

Without blank line after colon, renders as inline text.

Automatic Fix

Use preprocessing script:

scripts/fix_markdown.py input.md output.md

Automatically detects and fixes:

Lists after colons (Claude Code format)
Lists after headings
Nested list spacing

Layout Options

Desktop/Print Layout (A4)

Paper: 210mm x 297mm (A4)
Margins: 2.5cm
Font size: 11pt
Best for: Printing, reading on large screens, archival

Mobile Layout (Phone-optimized)

Paper: 6in x 9in (phone aspect ratio)
Margins: 0.5in (minimal for screen space)
Font size: 10pt with 1.2 line spacing
Best for: Phone/tablet reading, Telegram/messaging apps

Default for Telegram Bot: Use mobile layout for all PDFs sent via Telegram unless user explicitly requests print/desktop version.

Generation Workflows

Workflow 1: Simple PDF

Check context (Telegram = mobile, otherwise desktop)
Check if Russian (use EB Garamond if yes)
Run appropriate pandoc command
Verify output

Workflow 2: Professional Title Page

Add YAML frontmatter with theme color
Include metadata (title, author, date)
Choose layout (mobile vs desktop)
Generate with xelatex

Workflow 3: Using Script

scripts/generate_pdf.py doc.md -t white-paper
scripts/generate_pdf.py doc.md -t marketing --russian
scripts/generate_pdf.py doc.md --mobile  # Mobile layout

Resources

scripts/generate_pdf.py - Automated generation
references/frontmatter_templates.md - YAML templates
references/pandoc_reference.md - Command reference

Troubleshooting

Install pandoc: brew install pandoc

Install LaTeX: brew install --cask mactex

Mobile-Friendly PDFs

For phone and tablet reading, use the mobile layout option:

# Using script (recommended)
scripts/generate_pdf.py doc.md --mobile

# Direct pandoc command
pandoc doc.md -o doc-mobile.pdf \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  --toc --toc-depth=2 \
  -V geometry:paperwidth=6in \
  -V geometry:paperheight=9in \
  -V geometry:margin=0.5in \
  -V fontsize=10pt \
  -V linestretch=1.2 \
  -V colorlinks=true \
  -V linkcolor=blue \
  -V urlcolor=blue

Mobile layout features:

6x9 inch page size (optimal for mobile screens)
10pt font (readable on smaller screens)
0.5in margins (maximizes content area)
1.2 line spacing (improved readability)
Auto-generated -mobile.pdf filename suffix

When to use mobile layout:

Sharing research via Telegram/messaging apps
Reading on phones or tablets
Creating portable reference documents
Quick consumption on the go

Default context: Mobile layout is used by default when generating PDFs through the Telegram bot for optimal mobile reading experience.

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How to use it

Copy the folder

Take glebis/pdf-generation from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.

Install what it needs

The instructions reference brew. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.