pdfly CLI Skill
A pure-python CLI for PDF manipulation built on pypdf, fpdf2, and endesive.
Installation
pip install pdfly
# or with uv
uvx pdfly --help
Quick Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
pdfly compress IN OUT |
Lossless compression |
pdfly cat IN [PAGES]... -o OUT |
Merge/split pages |
pdfly rm IN [PAGES]... -o OUT |
Remove pages |
pdfly rotate -o OUT IN DEG [PGRGS] |
Rotate pages |
pdfly sign IN --p12 CERT [-o OUT] |
Sign PDF |
pdfly check-sign IN --pem CERT |
Verify signature |
pdfly meta IN [-o FORMAT] |
Show metadata |
pdfly pagemeta IN IDX [-o FORMAT] |
Page details (0-based) |
pdfly extract-images IN |
Extract images |
pdfly extract-text IN |
Extract text |
pdfly extract-annotated-pages IN [-o OUT] |
Extract annotated |
pdfly uncompress IN OUT |
Decompress streams |
pdfly update-offsets IN [-o OUT] |
Fix offsets |
pdfly 2-up IN OUT |
2-up layout |
pdfly booklet IN OUT [-b FILE] [-c FILE] |
Booklet layout |
pdfly x2pdf [FILES]... -o OUT |
Convert to PDF |
Output Formats (meta/pagemeta)
-o text # Default
-o json
-o yaml
Page Range Syntax
See references/page-ranges.md for full syntax including negative indices and strides.
PDF Signing
See references/sign.md for complete signing/verification workflow.
Rotate Command
The -o/--output option is required and must come before positional arguments:
pdfly rotate -o output.pdf input.pdf 90 "1-3"
See references/rotate.md for full examples.
Extract/Merge (cat)
See references/cat.md for complex merge/split operations.
Key Libraries
| Library | Purpose |
|---|---|
pypdf |
PDF reading/writing, page manipulation |
fpdf2 |
Creating PDFs from images/text |
endesive |
PDF signing with PKCS12 |
pillow |
Image processing |
cryptography |
Cryptographic operations |
Exit Codes
0= Success1= Error (file not found, invalid input, etc.)