ComPDF Conversion CLI Skill
Purpose
- Wraps the
ComPDFKitConversion Python SDK into a reusable local conversion workflow, supporting PDF / image to Word, PPT, Excel, HTML, RTF, Image, TXT, JSON, Markdown, and CSV (10 output formats in total).
Agent Skills Standard Compatibility
- This Skill uses an Anthropic Agent Skills-compatible directory structure:
compdf-conversion-cli/. - The entry point is
SKILL.md; helper scripts are placed in scripts/. - The document uses
$ARGUMENTS and ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} conventions for distribution and execution in Claude Code / Agent Skills-compatible environments.
Input / Output
- Input: The target format (
word/excel/ppt/html/rtf/image/txt/json/markdown/csv), the PDF or image path, and the output path are passed via Skill arguments or the command line. An optional PDF password and conversion parameters may also be provided. - Supported input file types:
- PDF files (.pdf) - Image files (.jpg/.jpeg/.png/.bmp/.tif/.tiff/.webp/.jp2/.gif/.tga)
- Output: A file in the corresponding format (
.docx, .pptx, .xlsx, .html, .rtf, image, .txt, .json, .md, .csv), or a clear error message.
Prerequisites
- Supports Windows and macOS.
- The conversion SDK must be installed first:
pip install ComPDFKitConversion - On first run, the script automatically downloads
license.xml from the ComPDF server and caches it in the scripts/ directory: https://download.compdf.com/skills/license/license.xml - The script reads the
<key>...</key> field from license.xml and uses that key for LibraryManager.license_verify(...) authentication — it does not pass the XML file path directly to the SDK. - To use a custom license, place your own
license.xml in the scripts/ directory; the script will use it directly without downloading. - During SDK initialization, the
resource directory is always set to the directory containing compdf_conversion_cli.py, i.e., the scripts/ directory itself. - When
--enable-ocr or --enable-ai-layout (enabled by default) is used, the Skill also requires scripts/documentai.model. If the file does not exist, the script will automatically download it from: https://download.compdf.com/skills/model/documentai.model - To reuse an existing model file, you can override the default model path via an environment variable:
export COMPDF_DOCUMENT_AI_MODEL="/path/to/documentai.model"
Workflow
- Confirm the Python package is installed:
python -m pip show ComPDFKitConversion - The script automatically downloads
license.xml on first run; the scripts/ directory is used directly as the SDK resource path. - In Agent Skills / Claude Code environments, prefer using the Skill's built-in script path variable:
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" ppt input.pdf output.pptx python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" excel input.pdf output.xlsx - For more control, append common parameters:
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" excel input.pdf output.xlsx --page-ranges "1-3,5" --excel-all-content --excel-worksheet-option for-page python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx --enable-ocr --page-layout-mode flow - On startup, the script ensures
scripts/license.xml exists (downloading it automatically from the ComPDF server if missing), reads the <key> field for SDK authentication, and uses the scripts/ directory as the resource path. - If
--enable-ocr or --enable-ai-layout (enabled by default) is active, the script checks whether scripts/documentai.model exists; if not, it downloads the file automatically before initializing the Document AI model. - Check the return code; if it is not
SUCCESS, handle license, password, resource, model, or input file issues according to the error name.
documentai.model Download Optimization
- The script preferentially uses the model file pointed to by
COMPDF_DOCUMENT_AI_MODEL. - The default model path is
scripts/documentai.model. - During automatic download, the file is first written to
documentai.model.part and then atomically renamed to the final file upon success, preventing partial file corruption. - On download failure, the script retries automatically with back-off intervals of
2s / 5s / 10s.
Invoking Directly as a Skill
- In environments that support Agent Skills, the Skill can be called directly:
/compdf-conversion-cli word input.pdf output.docx /compdf-conversion-cli excel input.pdf output.xlsx --excel-worksheet-option for-page - When the Skill receives arguments, it passes them through to the script as-is:
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" $ARGUMENTS - If the environment does not support direct Skill invocation, fall back to a regular command-line call.
Supported Output Formats
word → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_wordexcel → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_excelppt → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_ppthtml → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_htmlrtf → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_rtfimage → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_imagetxt → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_txtjson → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_jsonmarkdown → calls CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_markdowncsv → reuses CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_excel with table/Excel parameters to produce CSV-friendly output
Input Source Types
- The script supports PDF and image as input sources. The SDK's
start_pdf_to_* interfaces natively accept image files with no pre-processing required. - By default, the script auto-detects the input type from the file extension:
- .pdf → pdf - .png/.jpg/.jpeg/.bmp/.tif/.tiff/.gif/.webp/.tga → image
- You can also specify the source type explicitly:
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.png output.docx --source-type image image -> * and pdf -> * share the same set of CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_* interfaces; only the input file type differs.
Smart Defaults
The script automatically adjusts certain parameters based on the input source and output format to reduce manual configuration:
| Trigger | Automatic Behavior | User-Overridable | Description |
|---|
Input source is an image (auto-detected or explicit --source-type image) | Automatically enables --enable-ocr | No (--enable-ocr uses store_true; there is no --no-enable-ocr) | Text in images must be extracted via OCR; without OCR, output will contain only images and no text |
Output format is HTML (format = html) | Automatically sets --page-layout-mode to box (box layout) | Yes — passing --page-layout-mode flow explicitly overrides this | Box layout better preserves the original formatting in HTML; specify flow explicitly if flow layout is needed |
When triggered, the script prints a notice to stderr, for example:
Auto-enabled OCR for image input.
Auto-set page layout mode to BOX for HTML output.
All Parameters
Positional Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
format | Target format: word/excel/ppt/html/rtf/image/txt/json/markdown/csv |
input_pdf | Input file path (PDF or image) |
output_path | Output file path |
General Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--source-type | Option | auto | Input source type: auto/pdf/image |
--password | String | "" | PDF open password |
--page-ranges | String | None | Page range, e.g. 1-3,5 |
--font-name | String | "" | Output font name |
Layout Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--enable-ai-layout | Boolean | True | AI layout analysis (disable with --no-enable-ai-layout) |
--page-layout-mode | Option | SDK default flow (auto-switched to box for HTML output) | Page layout: box (box layout) / flow (flow layout) |
Content Retention Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--contain-image | Boolean | True | Retain images (disable with --no-contain-image) |
--contain-annotation | Boolean | True | Retain annotations (disable with --no-contain-annotation) |
--contain-page-background-image | Boolean | True | Retain page background images (disable with --no-contain-page-background-image) |
--formula-to-image | Boolean | False | Convert formulas to image output |
--transparent-text | Boolean | False | Preserve transparent text |
Output Control Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--output-document-per-page | Boolean | False | Split output into one document per page |
--auto-create-folder | Boolean | True | Automatically create output directory (disable with --no-auto-create-folder) |
OCR Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--enable-ocr | Boolean | False (auto-enabled for image input) | Enable OCR |
--ocr-option | Option | SDK default all | OCR scope: invalid-character/scan-page/invalid-character-and-scan-page/all |
--ocr-language | Multi-select | auto | OCR language(s); multiple languages can be specified simultaneously. Options: auto/chinese/chinese-tra/english/korean/japanese/latin/devanagari/cyrillic/arabic/tamil/telugu/kannada/thai/greek/eslav |
Excel-Specific Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--excel-all-content | Boolean | False | Include all content in Excel output |
--excel-csv-format | Boolean | False | Output Excel result in CSV format |
--excel-worksheet-option | Option | SDK default for-table | Worksheet split strategy: for-table/for-page/for-document |
JSON-Specific Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--json-contain-table | Boolean | True | Include table data in JSON output (disable with --no-json-contain-table) |
TXT-Specific Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--txt-table-format | Boolean | True | Enable table formatting in TXT output (disable with --no-txt-table-format) |
HTML-Specific Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--html-option | Option | SDK default single-page | HTML output mode: single-page/single-page-with-bookmark/multiple-page/multiple-page-with-bookmark |
Image-Specific Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
--image-type | Option | SDK default jpg | Image output format: jpg/jpeg/jpeg2000/png/bmp/tiff/tga/gif/webp |
--image-color-mode | Option | SDK default color | Image color mode: color/gray/binary |
--image-scaling | Float | 1.0 | Image scaling factor |
--image-path-enhance | Boolean | False | Enable image path enhancement |
Parameter Default Value Rules
- Parameters that default to True (
--enable-ai-layout/--contain-image/--contain-annotation/--contain-page-background-image/--auto-create-folder/--json-contain-table/--txt-table-format) use BooleanOptionalAction; pass --no-xxx to disable. - Parameters that default to False (
--enable-ocr/--formula-to-image/--transparent-text/--output-document-per-page/--excel-all-content/--excel-csv-format/--image-path-enhance) use store_true; passing the flag enables them. - All CLI parameter defaults are fully consistent with the SDK's
ConvertOptions() defaults — omitting a parameter is equivalent to using the SDK's original default value.
Recommended Command Examples
PDF to Word (default parameters, AI layout analysis enabled)
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx
PDF to Word, box layout, no images, no AI layout analysis
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx --no-enable-ai-layout --no-contain-image --page-layout-mode box
PDF to Word, retain annotations and background images, one document per page
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx --output-document-per-page
PDF to Excel, include all content and split worksheets by page
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" excel input.pdf output.xlsx --excel-all-content --excel-worksheet-option for-page
PDF to TXT, with table formatting enabled
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" txt input.pdf output.txt
PDF to HTML, multi-page with bookmarks mode
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" html input.pdf output_dir --html-option multiple-page-with-bookmark
PDF to Image, PNG format, grayscale, 2x scaling
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" image input.pdf output.png --image-type png --image-color-mode gray --image-scaling 2.0
Image to Word (OCR auto-enabled, specify Chinese language)
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.png output.docx --ocr-language chinese
Note: For image input, the script automatically enables OCR — there is no need to pass --enable-ocr manually. To specify an OCR language, --ocr-language can still be used.
PDF with OCR enabled (multiple languages)
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" word input.pdf output.docx --enable-ocr --ocr-language chinese english japanese
Trial License and Usage Limits
- The
scripts/license.xml auto-downloaded from the ComPDF server is a Trial License, allowing a maximum of 200 conversions. - The script uses a SHA-256 fingerprint to detect whether the current License is the default trial key; no usage limit applies when using any other License.
- After each successful conversion using the trial License, the script prints the current used/remaining count to
stderr, for example: Trial license: 5/200 conversions used, 195 remaining. - When the trial limit is reached (200 conversions), the script refuses to convert and prompts the user to purchase a full License:
Error: Trial license usage limit reached (200 conversions). Please purchase a license at: https://www.compdf.com/contact-sales - When the trial License has expired (SDK authentication fails), the error message also includes a purchase link.
- After purchasing a full License, place a custom
license.xml containing the new <key> in scripts/ (overwriting the auto-downloaded trial file) — no script modifications or counter file cleanup are required.
Confirmed Facts
ComPDFKitConversion 3.9.0 has been successfully installed on the local machine.- The installed package provides 10 conversion methods including
CPDFConversion.start_pdf_to_word/start_pdf_to_ppt/start_pdf_to_excel. LibraryManager provides initialize, license_verify, release, set_document_ai_model, and set_ocr_language.- Official documentation confirms support for PDF to Word / Excel / PPT / HTML / RTF / Image / TXT / JSON / Markdown.
- The SDK's
start_pdf_to_* interfaces natively accept image file input (PNG → Word has been verified successfully). enable_ai_layout defaults to True in the SDK; set_document_ai_model() must be called first to load the model before use, otherwise a 0xC0000005 crash will occur.--ocr-language supports specifying multiple languages simultaneously (e.g. --ocr-language chinese english).
Risks / Notes
- The official requirements page states Python
>=3.6, while the demo page states <3.11, but PyPI currently provides a cp314 wheel in practice; treat the locally installable wheel as the source of truth, but always verify installation in a new environment first. - If the script cannot download
license.xml from the server (network issue) and no manual file exists in scripts/, or the <key> field is empty, the script cannot complete SDK authentication and cannot perform any real conversions. documentai.model is a large file (approximately 525 MB); there will be a noticeable download delay the first time OCR / AI layout is enabled. Because --enable-ai-layout defaults to True, the model download will be triggered on the very first run.- If the runtime environment cannot access
https://download.compdf.com/skills/model/documentai.model, place documentai.model in the scripts/ directory in advance. - Do not directly apply the initialization patterns from ComPDF SDKs for other languages to the Python package; this Skill is based on the locally verified
LibraryManager / CPDFConversion API.
Resource Navigation
- License file:
License.txt - Script:
scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py - SDK authentication file:
scripts/license.xml (auto-downloaded from https://download.compdf.com/skills/license/license.xml if missing) - SDK authentication source: the
<key> field in license.xml - SDK resource path:
scripts/ - OCR / AI layout model:
scripts/documentai.model (auto-downloaded if missing) - Purchase a full License:
https://www.compdf.com/contact-sales - Official documentation:
- https://www.compdf.com/guides/conversion-sdk/python/overview - https://www.compdf.com/guides/conversion-sdk/python/pdf-to-word - https://www.compdf.com/guides/conversion-sdk/python/pdf-to-excel - https://www.compdf.com/guides/conversion-sdk/python/pdf-to-ppt - https://www.compdf.com/guides/conversion-sdk/python/apply-license
Acceptance Checklist
python -m pip show ComPDFKitConversion shows the installed package- Running
python "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/compdf_conversion_cli.py" --help or an equivalent local command produces normal output - The script auto-downloads
scripts/license.xml if missing, then extracts the license key from the <key> field for authentication - The script uses the
scripts/ directory as the SDK resource path - The script recognizes all 10 target formats:
word/excel/ppt/html/rtf/image/txt/json/markdown/csv - The script accepts both PDF and image files (
.png/.jpg/.jpeg/.bmp/.tif/.tiff/.gif/.webp/.tga) as input - When
--enable-ocr or --enable-ai-layout (enabled by default) is active and documentai.model is missing, the script auto-downloads the model - When
license.xml cannot be obtained (download fails and no manual file exists) or authentication fails, a clear error is output rather than a silent failure - The 7 parameters that default to True can be disabled with
--no-xxx --ocr-language supports specifying multiple languages simultaneously- After a conversion using the trial License, the usage count increments
- When the trial License reaches 200 conversions, the script refuses to convert and outputs a purchase link
- When using a non-trial License, no usage limit applies
- For image input, even if
--enable-ocr is not passed, the script automatically enables OCR and prints a notice to stderr - For HTML output, even if
--page-layout-mode is not passed, the script automatically uses box (box layout) and prints a notice to stderr - For HTML output, explicitly passing
--page-layout-mode flow overrides the automatic box layout behavior
Distribution Notes
- This Skill does not depend on any machine-specific absolute paths.
- When distributing to other users, the following directory structure is sufficient:
compdf-conversion-cli/ ├── SKILL.md ├── License.txt └── scripts/ └── compdf_conversion_cli.py - Users place this directory under their own skills root directory and the Skill is ready to use.
license.xml is auto-downloaded at runtime; no need to include it in the distribution package.
Common Pitfalls
scripts/license.xml is missing and cannot be auto-downloaded (network unavailable or server error): the script will error out before authentication. If you are in an offline environment, place license.xml manually in the scripts/ directory.scripts/license.xml is missing the <key> field or its value is empty: the script will error out before authentication.- SDK resource files required by the SDK are absent from the
scripts/ directory: conversion may fail after LibraryManager.initialize(). - A password-protected PDF is provided without
--password: this will trigger PDF_PASSWORD_ERROR. - OCR / AI layout is enabled but
documentai.model is not present locally and the network is unavailable: the model download will fail; place the file in the scripts/ directory manually in advance. - When the Excel output strategy is unclear, prefer passing
--excel-worksheet-option explicitly to avoid unexpected result structures. - When converting images to other formats, the script already enables OCR automatically; if the output still contains no text, check whether
documentai.model is complete and whether the OCR language matches. - Once the trial License usage limit is exhausted, a full License must be purchased to continue; purchase link:
https://www.compdf.com/contact-sales.
Copyright
This Skill is built on top of the ComPDFKit Conversion SDK.
© 2014-2026 PDF Technologies, Inc., a KDAN Company. All Rights Reserved.
Important: Under the ComPDFKit Terms of Service, distributing the documentation, sample code, or source code of the ComPDFKit Conversion SDK to third parties is prohibited. Please ensure you have obtained a valid ComPDFKit License before using this Skill.