Evals / pdf / Organize pages

Merge two real forms

Combine fw9.pdf and f1040.pdf, in that order, into tax-forms.pdf.

easysinglesmokedeft pdf merge

The task

The reference answer shows the job can be done with deft. It is not an agent run.

deft pdf merge fw9.pdf f1040.pdf -o tax-forms.pdf

Input

f1040.pdf 215.1 KB · 2 pages
Page 1Page 2
fw9.pdf 137.5 KB · 6 pages
Page 1Page 2Page 3

Reference output

tax-forms.pdf 191.3 KB · 8 pages
Page 1Page 2Page 3
How a result is judged (2 checks)
  • pdf_pages: file = "tax-forms.pdf", pages = 8
  • pdf_text: file = "tax-forms.pdf", contains = ["W-9", "1040"]

Runs

CodexWithout deftPassed2026-11-07

Time
14s
New tokens
6.4k
Total input
67.3k
Output tokens
0.4k
Commands
4
Failed
2

Trace

  1. I’ll check that both PDFs are in the current directory, then combine them in the requested order.

  2. pwd && rg --files -g 'fw9.pdf' -g 'f1040.pdf' -g 'tax-forms.pdf'
    output
    fw9.pdf
f1040.pdf
  3. python3 -c 'import pypdf; print(\"pypdf available\")' (exit 1)
    output
    Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pypdf'
  4. command -v pdfunite; command -v qpdf; command -v gs; command -v pdftk (exit 1)
    output
    /usr/local/bin/gs

  5. Ghostscript is available, so I’ll use it to write `tax-forms.pdf` with `fw9.pdf` first and `f1040.pdf` second.

  6. gs -q -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=tax-forms.pdf fw9.pdf f1040.pdf && ls -lh tax-forms.pdf
    output
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 user  staff   100K Nov  6 17:18 tax-forms.pdf

  7. Combined `fw9.pdf` followed by `f1040.pdf` into [tax-forms.pdf](tax-forms.pdf).

Output

tax-forms.pdf 100.5 KB · 8 pages
Page 1Page 2Page 3

CodexWith deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

Time
15s
New tokens
4.3k
Total input
42.0k
Output tokens
0.4k
Commands
2
Failed
0

Trace

  1. I’ll use the `deft` skill for the PDF merge, then confirm the output file was created in the current directory.

  2. cat .agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null || cat ../.agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null || cat .codex/skills/deft/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null || true pwd rg --files -g 'fw9.pdf' -g 'f1040.pdf' -g 'AGENTS.md' -g 'SKILL.md' .
    output
    ---
name: deft
description: "Use deft instead of writing a script for file jobs: PDF merge/split/compress/watermark, image resize/convert/compress, video and audio trim/convert/compress, spreadsheets, Markdown to PDF/HTML, and YouTube downloads and subtitles."
---

# deft

One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.

Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`

Groups:
- `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
- `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, filters, montage, OCR
- `video`: Trim, crop, speed, convert, compress, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
- `audio`: Convert, trim, merge, fade, speed, tag, normalize (ffmpeg)
- `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
- `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline, PDF handout
- `data`: JSON/YAML/TOML/XML: convert, query with jq syntax, merge, diff
- `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: filter, sort, join, pivot, convert
- `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
- `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word, PDF; screenshots
- `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
- `email`: EML files: headers, text, attachments
- `contact`: VCF address books: to and from CSV
- `calendar`: ICS calendars: to and from CSV
- `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
- `youtube`: Info, download, audio, subtitles, thumbnail (yt-dlp)
- `file`: Any file: hash, duplicates, batch rename, base64, encoding
- `qr`: Cre
… 751 more characters

  3. Both PDFs are present. I’m merging them in the requested order into `tax-forms.pdf` now.

  4. deft pdf merge fw9.pdf f1040.pdf -o tax-forms.pdf
    output
    ok pdf.merge fw9.pdf f1040.pdf -> tax-forms.pdf  8 pages  0.02s

  5. Created [tax-forms.pdf](tax-forms.pdf) with `fw9.pdf` followed by `f1040.pdf` (8 pages).

Output

tax-forms.pdf 238.3 KB · 8 pages
Page 1Page 2Page 3

CodexWith deft, skill as AGENTS.mdPassed2026-11-05

Time
10s
New tokens
9.2k
Total input
45.7k
Output tokens
0.3k
Commands
2
Failed
0

Trace

  1. I’ll use the local `deft` PDF merge command and save the combined file as `tax-forms.pdf` in the current directory.

  2. deft pdf --help
    output
    deft pdf - commands (input -> output)
  info         pdf -> report      Pages, size, metadata, fonts, images
  compress     pdf -> pdf         Make a PDF smaller: --level, --target-size 2MB
  delete       pdf -> pdf         Remove pages: --pages 2,5-7
  from-images  image... -> pdf    One page per image, in the given order
  from-md      md -> pdf          Typeset a PDF with headings, tables, code, images
  merge        pdf... -> pdf      Join PDFs in the given order
  number       pdf -> pdf         Add page numbers: --format "{n} of {total}"
  rotate       pdf -> pdf         Turn pages clockwise: --angle 90, --pages
  select       pdf -> pdf         Keep and reorder pages: --pages 3,1-2
  split        pdf -> pdf...      One file per page, or --every N, --ranges 1-3,4-
  to-images    pdf -> png|jpg...  Render pages to images: --dpi, --pages
  to-text      pdf -> txt         Extract text (form feed between pages)
  watermark    pdf -> pdf         Stamp text or an image on pages: --text, --image
More: deft pdf <command> --help
  3. deft pdf merge fw9.pdf f1040.pdf -o tax-forms.pdf
    output
    ok pdf.merge fw9.pdf f1040.pdf -> tax-forms.pdf  8 pages  0.01s

  4. Done. Combined `fw9.pdf` followed by `f1040.pdf` into [tax-forms.pdf](tax-forms.pdf). The output has 8 pages.

Output

Its files were not kept in this run. The last line of the trace is its own report.

Claude Opus 5.5Without deftPassed2026-11-07

Time
37s
New tokens
12.2k
Total input
91.5k
Output tokens
1.6k
Commands
0
Failed
0

Trace

    Output

    tax-forms.pdf 353.3 KB · 8 pages
    Page 1Page 2Page 3

    Claude Opus 5.5With deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

    Time
    7s
    New tokens
    9.3k
    Total input
    43.7k
    Output tokens
    0.3k
    Commands
    0
    Failed
    0

    Trace

      Output

      .claude/skills/deft/SKILL.md 2.1 KB
      ---
name: deft
description: "Use deft first for any simple, direct operation on local files, whatever the type: convert, read, extract, edit, compress, merge, split, compare or inspect. Try it before writing a script or one-liner. If unsure, run deft find; if it says no command does this, use another tool. Not for programming work: to read, write or change source code, skip it."
---

# deft

One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.

Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`

Groups:
- `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
- `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, adjust, montage, OCR
- `video`: Trim, merge, convert, compress, subtitles, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
- `audio`: Convert, trim, normalize, denoise, cut silence (ffmpeg)
- `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
- `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline
- `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: SQL query, pivot, merge, split, convert
- `json`: JSON: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `toml`: TOML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `xml`: XML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `yaml`: YAML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
- `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word and PDF
- `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
- `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
- `qr`: Create QR codes and barcodes; read QR codes

How to use it:
1. Run `deft <group>` to list commands, or `deft find "<what you want>"` to search. If it says `no command does this`, use another tool.
2. Run `deft <group> <command> --help` for options and examples.
3. `deft convert <in> -o <out.ext>` converts between formats by extension.
4. Results are one line starting with `ok`, `partial` or `error`; add `--json` to parse them. Errors include a `hint:` with the fix.

Inputs are never overwritten; pass `--force` or `--in-place` to allow it. Globs and directories work as inputs; several inputs run in parallel.

If `deft` is not installed, ask the user, then follow https://github.com/firstprayer/deft/blob/main/docs/INSTALL.md
      tax-forms.pdf 191.3 KB · 8 pages
      Page 1Page 2Page 3

      Claude CodeWithout deftNot run yet

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