ReddRadar
Agent skill
ocrmypdf-optimize
OCRmyPDF optimization skill — compress PDFs, configure PDF/A output, JBIG2 encoding, and lossless optimization. Use when the user needs to reduce PDF file size, create archival PDF/A files, or optimize OCR output.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/partme-ai/full-stack-skills/tree/main/skills/ocrmypdf-skills/ocrmypdf-optimize
SKILL.md
OCRmyPDF — Optimization Guide
Overview
OCRmyPDF provides extensive optimization options to reduce file size, create PDF/A archival documents, and configure output quality.
For core OCR functionality, see the ocrmypdf skill. For image processing (deskew, rotate, clean), see ocrmypdf-image. For batch/Docker/scripting, see ocrmypdf-batch.
Compression Levels
# Level 0 — no optimization (fastest)
ocrmypdf --optimize 0 input.pdf output.pdf
# Level 1 — lossless (default)
ocrmypdf --optimize 1 input.pdf output.pdf
# Level 2 — lossy (aggressive)
ocrmypdf --optimize 2 input.pdf output.pdf
# Level 3 — lossless, aggressive JPEG recompression
ocrmypdf --optimize 3 input.pdf output.pdf
PDF/A Output
PDF/A is an archival format with embedded fonts and colorspaces:
# PDF/A-1b (basic, default)
ocrmypdf --output-type pdfa input.pdf output.pdf
# PDF/A-2b (includes transparency)
ocrmypdf --output-type pdfa2b input.pdf output.pdf
# PDF/A-2u (Unicode)
ocrmypdf --output-type pdfa2u input.pdf output.pdf
# Standard PDF (no archival)
ocrmypdf --output-type pdf input.pdf output.pdf
JBIG2 Encoding
JBIG2 provides excellent compression for monochrome (1-bit) images:
# Enable JBIG2 (requires jbig2enc)
ocrmypdf --jbig2-lossy input.pdf output.pdf # Lossy
ocrmypdf --jbib2-lossless input.pdf output.pdf # Lossless (v17+)
Requirements:
# Debian/Ubuntu
apt install jbig2enc
# macOS
brew install jbig2enc
PNG Optimization
Optimize embedded PNG images:
# Use pngquant for lossy compression
ocrmypdf --png-lossy input.pdf output.pdf
# Lossless PNG optimization
ocrmypdf --png-lossless input.pdf output.pdf
Ghostscript Options
Fine-tune PDF processing with Ghostscript:
# Set PDF minor version
ocrmypdf --pdf-renderer hatch input.pdf output.pdf
# Use pdfimages for better image extraction
ocrmypdf --pdf-renderer img2pdf input.pdf output.pdf
Sidecar Text
Generate text file alongside PDF without modifying PDF:
# Generate sidecar only
ocrmypdf --output-type none --sidecar text.txt input.pdf output.pdf
# Typical sidecar workflow
ocrmypdf --sidecar text.txt --force-ocr input.pdf output.pdf
Combined Recipes
Maximum compression
ocrmypdf --optimize 3 --jbig2-lossy --png-lossy input.pdf small.pdf
Archival PDF/A with compression
ocrmypdf --output-type pdfa --optimize 2 input.pdf archival.pdf
Lossless output
ocrmypdf --output-type pdf --optimize 1 --png-lossless input.pdf lossless.pdf
Quick Reference
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| No optimization | --optimize 0 |
| Lossless default | --optimize 1 |
| Aggressive lossy | --optimize 2 |
| Max quality | --optimize 3 |
| PDF/A-1b (default) | --output-type pdfa |
| PDF/A-2b | --output-type pdfa2b |
| JBIG2 lossy | --jbig2-lossy |
| PNG lossy | --png-lossy |
| Sidecar text | --sidecar text.txt |
Troubleshooting
- Large file size: Try
--optimize 2or--png-lossy. - PDF/A validation fails: Use
--output-type pdfa2bfor better compatibility. - Font issues: PDF/A-2u ensures full Unicode support.
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
partme-ai/full-stack-skills
ocrmypdf-batch
OCRmyPDF batch processing skill — process multiple PDFs, Docker automation, shell scripting, and CI/CD integration. Use when the user needs to OCR many PDFs, set up automated OCR pipelines, or integrate OCR into workflows.
partme-ai/full-stack-skills
ocrmypdf-image
OCRmyPDF image processing skill — deskew, rotate, clean, despeckle, remove border from scanned documents. Use when the user needs to improve scanned PDF quality, fix skewed pages, remove noise, or clean up scanned documents before OCR.
partme-ai/full-stack-skills
ocrmypdf-api
OCRmyPDF Python API and plugin skill — use OCRmyPDF programmatically from Python, integrate with applications, and extend with plugins (EasyOCR, PaddleOCR, AppleOCR). Use when the user needs to call OCRmyPDF from Python code, build OCR pipelines, or use alternative OCR engines.
partme-ai/full-stack-skills
ocrmypdf
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partme-ai/full-stack-skills
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