---

name: pdf-indexing description: "Guides classic LLM-assisted PageIndex PDF tree extraction, TOC recovery, summaries, and document descriptions." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: MIT

Classic PDF Indexing

Use this sub-skill when the user wants the original PageIndex PDF pipeline: TOC detection, TOC transformation, page-number reconciliation, recursive splitting, node summaries, document descriptions, or page_index(...) usage.

Do not use it for:

• fast no-LLM PDF extraction -> use ../flash-indexing/
• Markdown heading trees -> use ../markdown-indexing/
• workspace retrieval or agent tools -> use ../retrieval-client/

Required context

Read these shared references as needed:

• ../../references/workflows.md#classic-pdf-tree-extraction for the end-to-end workflow.
• ../../references/api-reference.md#classic-pdf-tree-extraction for verified signatures.
• ../../references/cli-reference.md#bundled-pageindex-cli-wrapper for flags and examples.
• ../../references/configuration.md for model defaults and credentials.
• ../../references/data-formats.md#pdf--flash-tree-nodes for output shape.
• ../../references/troubleshooting.md#classic-pdf-extraction for common failures.

Operating flow

1. Confirm that pageindex imports with python ../../scripts/check_env.py.

2. Confirm model access. The classic PDF path uses LLM calls for TOC handling even when node summaries are disabled.

3. Use the bundled wrapper rather than a source checkout script path:

   python ../../scripts/pageindex_cli.py --pdf_path document.pdf
   

4. Tune document-size behavior with --toc-check-pages, --max-pages-per-node, and --max-tokens-per-node.

5. Tune output density with --if-add-node-summary, --if-add-doc-description, --if-add-node-text, and --if-add-node-id.

6. Inspect the resulting structure tree with 1-based inclusive start_index / end_index page ranges.

Important behavior

• The pipeline wraps and sanitizes untrusted document text before model calls and validates physical page markers.
• TOC-with-page-number, TOC-without-page-number, and no-TOC branches are all model-backed.
• The pipeline rejects reordered or modified TOC entries returned by a model and nullifies page indexes not supported by the current chunk.
• Very broad nodes can be recursively split when they exceed configured page/token thresholds.
• The pipeline applies deterministic merge logic before final formatting.

Common decisions

• If the user lacks model credentials, route to ../flash-indexing/ and use --flash --no-summary for first-pass structure.
• If the user wants every node to carry raw text, set --if-add-node-text yes, but warn about large JSON outputs.
• If the user wants a document summary, set --if-add-doc-description yes and keep summary/model access available.
• If page numbers look wrong, inspect model output stability and retry with better model settings before changing structural thresholds.