Pdf Form Filler

Fill PDF forms programmatically with text values and checkboxes. Use when you need to populate fillable PDF forms (government forms, applications, surveys, etc.) with data. Supports setting text fields and checkboxes with proper appearance states for visual rendering.

Security Scan

The skill's code and runtime instructions are coherent with its stated purpose (filling PDF form fields using pdfrw); there are no unexplained credential requests, network calls, or risky install steps baked into the skill.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (fill PDF forms) matches the included code and examples. The package implements list_pdf_fields and fill_pdf_form using pdfrw and only touches PDF files provided by the user.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md instructs only reading PDFs, inspecting fields, and writing output PDFs. The runtime instructions and CLI accept local file paths/JSON; they do not direct the agent to read unrelated system files, environment variables, or send data externally.

Install Mechanism

There is no automatic install spec in the registry metadata (instruction-only), which is low risk. The bundle includes a normal setup.py and requirements.txt (pdfrw) for optional installation — this is expected but worth noting since the skill can be installed with pip/setuptools if the user chooses.

Credentials

No environment variables, credentials, or config paths are requested. The code operates on user-supplied PDF files only, so requested access is proportionate to the task.

Persistence & Privilege

Skill flags are default (always:false, agent invocation allowed). It does not require persistent system changes, nor does it attempt to modify other skills or system-wide settings.

Assessment

This skill appears to do exactly what it says: fill PDF form fields with pdfrw. Before installing/use: 1) Review and run the code in a safe environment (it operates on local files only). 2) Confirm field names with list_pdf_fields to avoid accidental overwriting. 3) Be careful when batch-processing PDFs that contain sensitive personal data—treat outputs as you would any other sensitive file. 4) Note the package includes setup.py/requirements.txt so it can be installed with pip if desired; prefer installing from a vetted source or inspect the code first. Minor doc inconsistency: some README examples reference scripts/ paths while the package module is pdf_form_filler — this is a documentation issue, not a security problem.

Programmatically fill PDF forms with text values and checkboxes. Uses pdfrw to set form field values while preserving appearance streams for proper PDF viewer rendering.

Quick Start

Fill a PDF form with a dictionary of field names and values:

from pdf_form_filler import fill_pdf_form

fill_pdf_form(
    input_pdf="form.pdf",
    output_pdf="form_filled.pdf",
    data={
        "Name": "John Doe",
        "Email": "[e-mail]",
        "Herr": True,  # Checkbox
        "Dienstreise": True,
    }
)

Features

• Text fields: Set any text value (names, dates, addresses, etc.)
• Checkboxes: Set boolean values (True for checked, False/None for unchecked)
• Appearance states: Properly sets /On and /Off states for PDF viewer rendering
• Preserves structure: Doesn't strip form functionality—can be further edited
• No dependencies: Uses pdfrw (lightweight, pure Python)

How It Works

1. Opens the PDF template
2. Iterates through form fields
3. Sets values for matching field names
4. Handles checkboxes by setting both /V (value) and /AS (appearance state)
5. Saves the filled PDF

Field Name Matching

Field names should match exactly as they appear in the PDF form. Common patterns:

• German forms: Herr, Frau, Dienstreise, Geschäftsnummer LfF
• English forms: Full Name, Email, Agree, Submit
• Date fields: Date, DOB, Start Date

To discover field names in your PDF, use list_pdf_fields():

from pdf_form_filler import list_pdf_fields

fields = list_pdf_fields("form.pdf")
for field_name, field_type in fields:
    print(f"{field_name}: {field_type}")

Field types:

• text: Text input field
• checkbox: Boolean checkbox
• radio: Radio button
• dropdown: Dropdown select
• signature: Signature field

Example: Job Application Form

fill_pdf_form(
    input_pdf="job_application.pdf",
    output_pdf="job_application_filled.pdf",
    data={
        "Full Name": "Jane Smith",
        "Email": "[e-mail]",
        "Phone": "555-1234",
        "Position": "Software Engineer",
        "Years Experience": "5",
        
        # Checkboxes
        "Willing to relocate": True,
        "Available immediately": False,
        "Background check consent": True,
    }
)

Advanced Usage

Partial fills

Only fill specific fields, leave others blank:

data = {"Name": "Jane Doe"}  # Only Name is set
fill_pdf_form("form.pdf", "form_filled.pdf", data)

Dynamic field detection

Get all fields and prompt for values:

from pdf_form_filler import list_pdf_fields

fields = list_pdf_fields("form.pdf")
data = {}
for field_name, field_type in fields:
    if field_type == "text":
        data[field_name] = input(f"Enter {field_name}: ")
    elif field_type == "checkbox":
        data[field_name] = input(f"Check {field_name}? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'

fill_pdf_form("form.pdf", "form_filled.pdf", data)

Batch fills

Fill multiple PDFs with the same data:

import os
from pdf_form_filler import fill_pdf_form

data = {"Name": "John Doe", "Date": "2026-01-24"}

for filename in os.listdir("forms/"):
    if filename.endswith(".pdf"):
        fill_pdf_form(
            f"forms/{filename}",
            f"forms_filled/{filename}",
            data
        )

Troubleshooting

Checkboxes not showing visually

Some PDF viewers don't render checkboxes immediately. The value is set correctly (/On or /Off), but appearance isn't regenerated. Try opening in:

• Adobe Reader (will render automatically)
• Firefox (has better form support)
• evince or okular on Linux (usually works)

Field names not found

Use list_pdf_fields() to confirm exact field names. PDF forms can be tricky:

• Some use unusual names (e.g., Field_1 instead of descriptive names)
• Some have nested field structures

Text appears cut off

Some PDFs have narrow text fields. Either:

1. Use shorter values
2. Reduce font size in the PDF template itself
3. Manual editing after filling

Bundled Script

See scripts/fill_pdf_form.py for the full implementation using pdfrw.