Can an AI agent build PDFMonkey templates?

Yes. The PDFMonkey agent skill is a SKILL.md file that teaches a coding agent such as Claude Code how to write Code templates (Liquid and Tailwind CSS) and Builder templates, then preview and publish them with the PDFMonkey CLI.

Which agents can use the PDFMonkey skill?

Any agent that reads SKILL.md files, such as Claude Code. For other tools such as Cursor, paste the file's content into your project rules or give it to the agent as context.

Does the skill need the MCP server?

No. The skill drives the PDFMonkey CLI, which can create and edit templates. The MCP server cannot, so the two are complementary: the skill builds templates, the MCP server generates documents from them.

Agent Skill: Build PDFMonkey Templates With AI

Last updated November 14, 2026

The PDFMonkey agent skill is a single file, SKILL.md, that teaches a coding agent how to build PDFMonkey templates: the Liquid filters it can use, the Builder blocks and their styling rules, how to write realistic test data, and how to preview and publish with the CLI.

Once it’s installed, you can ask your agent for “an invoice template with a logo and a line-items table” and get a template you can open and keep editing in the dashboard.

What you need #

An agent that reads SKILL.md files, such as Claude Code.
Node.js 22.12 or later, for the PDFMonkey CLI (npm install -g @pdfmonkey/cli).
Your API key in the PDFMONKEY_API_KEY environment variable. You’ll find it on your account page.

Install the skill #

Claude Code #

Download the file into your personal skills folder to use it in every project:

$ mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/pdfmonkey-templates
$ curl -o ~/.claude/skills/pdfmonkey-templates/SKILL.md https://pdfmonkey.io/doc-assets/skills/pdfmonkey-templates/SKILL.md

To share it with your team instead, use .claude/skills/pdfmonkey-templates/ inside your repository.

Cursor and other agents #

Copy the content of SKILL.md into your project rules (for example a .cursor/rules file), or paste it at the start of your conversation.

What you can ask #

“Create a Code template for a French invoice with a logo, a line-items table and VAT.”
“Build a landscape certificate in Builder mode and publish it.”
“Generate a test document from the template you just created and show me the result.”

The agent writes the template files, creates the template with the CLI, watches it for a live preview, and generates a test document from your sample data.

Good to know #

Templates are created as drafts. The agent publishes only when documents need to be generated, and it should ask before publishing a template that is already live.
Paper format and margins are template settings. They aren’t part of the local files, so change them in the Settings tab of the template if the default doesn’t fit.
Builder templates need a preamble that the dashboard normally adds when you save. The skill knows about it; if a Builder document comes out blank, that is the first thing to check.
Generating documents from existing templates? Use the MCP server instead.
Your API key gives full access to your account. Keep it out of shared configuration files.

Frequently asked questions

Can an AI agent build PDFMonkey templates?: Yes. The PDFMonkey agent skill is a SKILL.md file that teaches a coding agent such as Claude Code how to write Code templates (Liquid and Tailwind CSS) and Builder templates, then preview and publish them with the PDFMonkey CLI.
Which agents can use the PDFMonkey skill?: Any agent that reads SKILL.md files, such as Claude Code. For other tools such as Cursor, paste the file's content into your project rules or give it to the agent as context.
Does the skill need the MCP server?: No. The skill drives the PDFMonkey CLI, which can create and edit templates. The MCP server cannot, so the two are complementary: the skill builds templates, the MCP server generates documents from them.