Route Selection

Route Trigger Route File

HTML (default) All PDF creation requests routes/html.md

LaTeX User explicitly requests LaTeX, .tex, or Tectonic routes/latex.md

Process Work with existing PDFs (extract, merge, fill forms, etc.) routes/process.md

Default to HTML. Only use LaTeX route when user explicitly requests it.

MANDATORY: Read Route File Before Implementation

Before implementation, you MUST:

• Determine the route (HTML / LaTeX / Process)

• Read the route file (routes/html.md , routes/latex.md , or routes/process.md )

• Only then proceed with implementation

This file (SKILL.md) contains constraints and principles. Route files contain how-to details.

Decision Rules

Route Selection

User Says Route

"Create a PDF", "Make a report", "Write a paper" HTML

"Use LaTeX", "Compile .tex", "Use Tectonic" LaTeX

"Extract text from PDF", "Merge these PDFs", "Fill this form" Process

Cover Style Selection (HTML Route)

Context Style

Academic paper, thesis, formal coursework Minimal (white, centered, no decoration)

Reports, proposals, professional documents Designed (choose from style reference in html.md)

Uncertain Default to Designed — plain text cover = mediocre

Key principle: Cover background separates "acceptable" from "impressive". See html.md for 11 style options.

Citation Format Selection

Document Language Format

Chinese GB/T 7714 (use [J][M][D] identifiers)

English APA

Mixed Chinese refs → GB/T 7714, English refs → APA

Quick Start

Use the unified CLI for all operations:

Check environment (JSON output, exit code 0=ok, 2=missing deps)

/app/.kimi/skills/kimi-pdf/scripts/pdf.sh check

Auto-fix missing dependencies (idempotent, safe to run multiple times)

/app/.kimi/skills/kimi-pdf/scripts/pdf.sh fix

Convert HTML to PDF

/app/.kimi/skills/kimi-pdf/scripts/pdf.sh html input.html

Compile LaTeX to PDF

/app/.kimi/skills/kimi-pdf/scripts/pdf.sh latex input.tex

Exit codes:

• 0 = success

• 1 = usage error

• 2 = dependency missing (run pdf.sh fix )

• 3 = runtime error

Dependencies by route:

• HTML route: Node.js, Playwright, Chromium

• Process route: Python 3, pikepdf, pdfplumber

• LaTeX route: Tectonic

Core Constraints (Must Follow)

1. Output Language

Output language must match user's query language.

• User writes in Chinese → PDF content in Chinese

• User writes in English → PDF content in English

• User explicitly specifies language → Follow user's specification

2. Word Count and Page Constraints

• Strictly follow user-specified word/page count requirements

• Do not arbitrarily inflate content length

3. Citation and Search Standards

CRITICAL: Search Before Writing

DO NOT fabricate information. When in doubt, SEARCH.

If content involves ANY of these, you MUST search FIRST before writing:

• Statistics, numbers, percentages, rankings

• Policies, regulations, laws, standards

• Academic research, theories, methodologies

• Current events, recent developments

• Anything you're not 100% certain about

When Search is Required

Scenario Search? Notes

Statistics, data Required e.g., "2024 employment rate"

Policies, regulations Required e.g., "startup subsidies"

Research, papers Required e.g., "effectiveness of method X"

Time-sensitive content Required Information after knowledge cutoff

Uncertain facts Required If unsure, always search

Common knowledge Not needed e.g., "water boils at 100°C"

Search workflow:

• Identify facts/data requiring verification

• Search for authentic sources

• If results insufficient, iterate search until reliable info obtained

• Include real sources in references

• If search fails repeatedly, tell the user instead of making up data

Citations Must Be Real

Fabricating references is prohibited. All citations must have:

• Correct author/institution names

• Accurate titles

• Verifiable year, journal/source

Cross-references (Must Be Clickable)

As shown in <a href="#fig-1-1">Figure 1-1</a>... From <a href="#eq-2-1">Equation (2-1)</a>... See <a href="#sec3">Section 3</a>...

Note: id must be placed at container top (see CSS Counters section in html.md).

Content Quality Constraints

1. Word/Page Count Constraints

Must strictly follow user-specified word or page count requirements:

User Request Execution Standard

Specific word count (e.g., "3000 words") Within ±20%, i.e., 2400-3600 words

Specific page count (e.g., "5 pages") Exactly equal, last page may be partial

Word count range (e.g., "2000-3000 words") Must fall within range

No explicit requirement Infer reasonably by document type; prefer thorough over superficial

Minimum specified (e.g., "more than 5000 words") No more than 2x, i.e., 5000-10000 words

Prohibited behaviors:

• Arbitrarily shortening content ("concise" is not an excuse)

• Padding pages with excessive bullet lists (maintain high information density)

• Exceeding twice the user's requested length

Special case - Resume/CV:

• Resume should be 1 page unless user specifies otherwise

• Use compact margins: margin: 1.5cm

2. Outline Adherence (Mandatory)

When user provides outline:

• Strictly follow the user-provided outline structure

• Section titles must match outline (minor wording adjustments OK, no level/order changes)

• Do not add or remove sections arbitrarily

• If outline seems problematic, ask user first before modifying

When no user outline:

• Use standard structures based on document type:

• Academic papers: IMRaD (Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion) or Introduction-Literature Review-Methods-Results-Discussion-Conclusion

• Business reports: Conclusion-first (Executive Summary → Detailed Analysis → Recommendations)

• Technical docs: Overview → Principles → Usage → Examples → FAQ

• Course assignments: Follow assignment structure requirements

• Sections must have logical progression, no disconnects

Tech Stack Overview

Route Tools Purpose

HTML Playwright + Paged.js HTML → PDF conversion

HTML KaTeX, Mermaid Math formulas, diagrams

Process pikepdf Form filling, page operations, metadata

Process pdfplumber Text and table extraction

Process LibreOffice Office → PDF conversion

LaTeX Tectonic LaTeX → PDF compilation