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Split PDFs

Split a PDF into one file per page with the split directive — the inverse of merge. It takes the input PDF and an output template, separated by >:

split "report.pdf" > "pages/page-{n}.pdf"

{n} in the template is replaced by the page number, producing pages/page-1.pdf, pages/page-2.pdf, and so on.

Output naming

  • With a {n} placeholder, it's replaced by the page number anywhere in the path: "out/{n}.pdf", "chapter-{n}.pdf", …
  • Without {n}, the page number is inserted before the extension: "out.pdf" → out-1.pdf, out-2.pdf, …

Multiple splits

You can declare more than one split line; each runs independently:

split "a.pdf" > "a/{n}.pdf"
split "b.pdf" > "b/{n}.pdf"

When it runs

split runs after downloads and merge, so a freshly downloaded or merged PDF can be split:

path "downloads/"

downloads {
    https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.08877 as "paper.pdf"
}

split "downloads/paper.pdf" > "downloads/pages/page-{n}.pdf"

Notes

  • Paths are resolved relative to the directory you run Scimon from.
  • Each output keeps the page's own resources (fonts, images), so pages render on their own.
  • The source PDF is left untouched.
  • A missing or unreadable input reports an error and the rest of the list keeps going.