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