minimax-pdf

SKILL.md

minimax-pdf

Three tasks. One skill.

Read design/design.md before any CREATE or REFORMAT work.

Route table

User intent
Route
Scripts used

Generate a new PDF from scratch
CREATE
palette.py → cover.py → render_cover.js → render_body.py → merge.py

Fill / complete form fields in an existing PDF
FILL
fill_inspect.py → fill_write.py

Reformat / re-style an existing document
REFORMAT
reformat_parse.py → then full CREATE pipeline

Rule: when in doubt between CREATE and REFORMAT, ask whether the user has an existing document to start from. If yes → REFORMAT. If no → CREATE.

Route A: CREATE

Full pipeline — content → design tokens → cover → body → merged PDF.

bash scripts/make.sh run \
  --title "Q3 Strategy Review" --type proposal \
  --author "Strategy Team" --date "October 2025" \
  --accent "#2D5F8A" \
  --content content.json --out report.pdf

Doc types: report · proposal · resume · portfolio · academic · general · minimal · stripe · diagonal · frame · editorial · magazine · darkroom · terminal · poster

Type
Cover pattern
Visual identity

report
fullbleed
Dark bg, dot grid, Playfair Display

proposal
split
Left panel + right geometric, Syne

resume
typographic
Oversized first-word, DM Serif Display

portfolio
atmospheric
Near-black, radial glow, Fraunces

academic
typographic
Light bg, classical serif, EB Garamond

general
fullbleed
Dark slate, Outfit

minimal
minimal
White + single 8px accent bar, Cormorant Garamond

stripe
stripe
3 bold horizontal color bands, Barlow Condensed

diagonal
diagonal
SVG angled cut, dark/light halves, Montserrat

frame
frame
Inset border, corner ornaments, Cormorant

editorial
editorial
Ghost letter, all-caps title, Bebas Neue

magazine
magazine
Warm cream bg, centered stack, hero image, Playfair Display

darkroom
darkroom
Navy bg, centered stack, grayscale image, Playfair Display

terminal
terminal
Near-black, grid lines, monospace, neon green

poster
poster
White bg, thick sidebar, oversized title, Barlow Condensed

Cover extras (inject into tokens via --abstract, --cover-image):

--abstract "text" — abstract text block on the cover (magazine/darkroom)

--cover-image "url" — hero image URL/path (magazine, darkroom, poster)

Color overrides — always choose these based on document content:

--accent "#HEX" — override the accent color; accent_lt is auto-derived by lightening toward white

--cover-bg "#HEX" — override the cover background color

Accent color selection guidance:

You have creative authority over the accent color. Pick it from the document's semantic context — title, industry, purpose, audience — not from generic "safe" choices. The accent appears on section rules, callout bars, table headers, and the cover: it carries the document's visual identity.

Context
Suggested accent range

Legal / compliance / finance
Deep navy #1C3A5E, charcoal #2E3440, slate #3D4C5E

Healthcare / medical
Teal-green #2A6B5A, cool green #3A7D6A

Technology / engineering
Steel blue #2D5F8A, indigo #3D4F8A

Environmental / sustainability
Forest #2E5E3A, olive #4A5E2A

Creative / arts / culture
Burgundy #6B2A35, plum #5A2A6B, terracotta #8A3A2A

Academic / research
Deep teal #2A5A6B, library blue #2A4A6B

Corporate / neutral
Slate #3D4A5A, graphite #444C56

Luxury / premium
Warm black #1A1208, deep bronze #4A3820

Rule: choose a color that a thoughtful designer would select for this specific document — not the type's default. Muted, desaturated tones work best; avoid vivid primaries. When in doubt, go darker and more neutral.

content.json block types:

Block
Usage
Key fields

h1
Section heading + accent rule
text

h2
Subsection heading
text

h3
Sub-subsection (bold)
text

body
Justified paragraph; supports <b> <i> markup
text

bullet
Unordered list item (• prefix)
text

numbered
Ordered list item — counter auto-resets on non-numbered blocks
text

callout
Highlighted insight box with accent left bar
text

table
Data table — accent header, alternating row tints
headers, rows, col_widths?, caption?

image
Embedded image scaled to column width
path/src, caption?

figure
Image with auto-numbered "Figure N:" caption
path/src, caption?

code
Monospace code block with accent left border
text, language?

math
Display math — LaTeX syntax via matplotlib mathtext
text, label?, caption?

chart
Bar / line / pie chart rendered with matplotlib
chart_type, labels, datasets, title?, x_label?, y_label?, caption?, figure?

flowchart
Process diagram with nodes + edges via matplotlib
nodes, edges, caption?, figure?

bibliography
Numbered reference list with hanging indent
items [{id, text}], title?

divider
Accent-colored full-width rule
—

caption
Small muted label
text

pagebreak
Force a new page
—

spacer
Vertical whitespace
pt (default 12)

chart / flowchart schemas:

{"type":"chart","chart_type":"bar","labels":["Q1","Q2","Q3","Q4"],
 "datasets":[{"label":"Revenue","values":[120,145,132,178]}],"caption":"Q results"}

{"type":"flowchart",
 "nodes":[{"id":"s","label":"Start","shape":"oval"},
          {"id":"p","label":"Process","shape":"rect"},
          {"id":"d","label":"Valid?","shape":"diamond"},
          {"id":"e","label":"End","shape":"oval"}],
 "edges":[{"from":"s","to":"p"},{"from":"p","to":"d"},
          {"from":"d","to":"e","label":"Yes"},{"from":"d","to":"p","label":"No"}]}

{"type":"bibliography","items":[
  {"id":"1","text":"Author (Year). Title. Publisher."}]}

Route B: FILL

Fill form fields in an existing PDF without altering layout or design.

# Step 1: inspect
python3 scripts/fill_inspect.py --input form.pdf

# Step 2: fill
python3 scripts/fill_write.py --input form.pdf --out filled.pdf \
  --values '{"FirstName": "Jane", "Agree": "true", "Country": "US"}'

Field type
Value format

text
Any string

checkbox
"true" or "false"

dropdown
Must match a choice value from inspect output

radio
Must match a radio value (often starts with /)

Always run fill_inspect.py first to get exact field names.

Route C: REFORMAT

Parse an existing document → content.json → CREATE pipeline.

bash scripts/make.sh reformat \
  --input source.md --title "My Report" --type report --out output.pdf

Supported input formats: .md .txt .pdf .json

Environment

bash scripts/make.sh check   # verify all deps
bash scripts/make.sh fix     # auto-install missing deps
bash scripts/make.sh demo    # build a sample PDF

Tool
Used by
Install

Python 3.9+
all .py scripts
system

reportlab
render_body.py
pip install reportlab

pypdf
fill, merge, reformat
pip install pypdf

Node.js 18+
render_cover.js
system

playwright + Chromium
render_cover.js
npm install -g playwright && npx playwright install chromium