paper-rename

Paper Rename

Overview

Rename research paper PDFs from generic filenames to descriptive, meaningful names by extracting title and metadata from the document content. This skill uses pdftotext for efficient text extraction (first 50 lines only) without loading entire PDFs into context.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user needs to:

• Rename a single PDF with a non-descriptive filename (DOI, serial number, download ID)
• Batch rename multiple research papers in a directory
• Organize downloaded papers with meaningful filenames
• Extract title and metadata to create descriptive filenames
• Rename papers to include specific information (author, year, topic) based on user request

Workflow

Step 1: Identify Target Files

Determine which PDF files need renaming:

• Single file specified by user
• Multiple files in a directory (use ls or find to list PDFs)
• Files matching a pattern

Step 2: Extract Text Content

For each PDF, extract the first 50 lines using pdftotext:

pdftotext -f 1 -l 1 "input.pdf" - | head -50

Command breakdown:

• -f 1 -l 1: Extract only first page
• -: Output to stdout (not a file)
• | head -50: Limit to first 50 lines

Step 3: Analyze Extracted Content

From the extracted text, identify:

1. Title (primary focus)

   • Usually the first prominent text block
   • May span multiple lines
   • Often in larger font/bold (pdftotext shows as plain text, so use position/length heuristics)
   • Typically appears before author names

2. Authors (if requested by user)

   • Usually appears after title
   • May be formatted as "FirstName LastName" or "LastName, FirstName"
   • For filename, use first author's last name only

3. Keywords/Topic (if requested by user)

   • May appear in abstract or keywords section
   • Use user's description if they provide topic context

Step 4: Construct New Filename

Create a descriptive filename following these principles:

Default format (title only):

Clean_Title_Here.pdf

Name with prefix

Prefix_Clean_Title_Here.pdf

Filename cleaning rules:

• Replace spaces with underscores
• Remove special characters: / \ : * ? " < > |
• Limit length to 100-150 characters maximum
• Remove leading/trailing whitespace and underscores
• Preserve alphanumeric characters and basic punctuation (hyphens, underscores)
• Capitalize first letter of each word for readability

Examples:

Original: s41586-023-06824-w.pdf
New: Quantum_Error_Correction_Using_Surface_Codes.pdf

Original: 10.1038_nature12345.pdf
New: 001_Neural_Networks_for_Protein_Folding.pdf

Original: download_8472839.pdf
New: Machine_Learning_in_Climate_Modeling.pdf

Step 5: Perform Rename Operation

Execute the rename using mv command:

mv "original_filename.pdf" "New_Descriptive_Filename.pdf"

Safety checks before renaming:

• Verify new filename doesn't already exist (check with ls or test [ -f "filename" ])
• If collision exists, append suffix: _2.pdf, _3.pdf, etc.
• Confirm the extracted title makes sense (not garbled text or metadata)

Step 6: Batch Processing (Multiple Files)

For multiple PDFs in a directory:

1. List all PDF files: find . -name "*.pdf" -type f
2. Process each file sequentially
3. Handle errors gracefully (skip files that can't be processed)
4. Summarize results at the end

User Interaction Patterns

Pattern 1: Simple Rename Request

User: "Rename this PDF to something meaningful"
Action: Extract title, clean filename, rename

Pattern 2: Batch Rename with Context

User: "Organize my downloaded papers in the Downloads folder"
Action: List PDFs, extract titles for each, rename all with progress updates

Pattern 3: Custom Format Request

User: "Rename this to include the first author and year"
Action: Extract title, author, year; construct filename with requested format

Pattern 4: Targeted Information

User: "Rename these PDFs but keep the filenames short, just the main topic"
Action: Extract title, identify core topic/subject, create concise filename

Error Handling

Handle these common issues gracefully:

1. pdftotext not installed

   • Check with which pdftotext
   • Inform user to install: brew install poppler (macOS) or apt-get install poppler-utils (Linux)

2. Title not clearly identifiable

   • Extract descriptive info from first 50 lines