Generate AI checklists from PDFs: web app and CLI

What it does

Creates a structured checklist based on the content of an uploaded PDF. The AI reads the whole document, interprets a user‑provided goal, and returns a numbered list of items with optional priorities, categories, and source references.

Inputs and limits

• Input file – a single PDF (other formats are accepted on the web page but the CLI only works with PDFs).
• Goal – text description of the desired checklist purpose (--topic).
• Checklist type – tasks, requirements, review, or compliance (--checklist-type).
• Detail level – low, moderate, or high (--detail-level).
• Maximum items – optional integer (--max-items).
• The CLI reads the PDF from an input folder defined by PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR and writes the result to PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR.
• Requires a Documentize license file (documentize.lic) next to the plugin DLL; without it the plugin runs in evaluation mode.

Web app

The page /ai-prod/check-list asks you to upload a PDF, enter a goal, select a checklist type (Tasks, Learning, Preparation, Analysis), choose a detail level, and optionally set a maximum number of items. After processing it returns two PDFs: an annotated copy of the original document and a clean standalone checklist.

Command line (CLI)

The Documentize.CheckList CLI plugin generates a checklist from a PDF placed in a task‑specific input folder. Provide the goal and optional parameters as flags; the runner creates a task ID folder automatically if you do not set --task-id.

Options (exact names from the README):

Typical usage steps (described in text, not as a code block):

1. Set PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR and PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR environment variables to directories you control.
2. Create a subfolder in the input directory for your task, e.g., job1.
3. Copy the PDF you want to process into that subfolder.
4. Run the plugin with dotnet Documentize.CheckList.dll --topic "Your goal" --checklist-type tasks.
5. The plugin writes the checklist (as markdown) and a JSON handoff file to the corresponding output subfolder.

# Linux / macOS (needs the .NET 10 runtime and documentize.lic next to the DLL)
export PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR=./work/input
export PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR=./work/output
mkdir -p "$PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR/job1"
cp sample.pdf "$PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR/job1/"
dotnet Documentize.CheckList.dll --task-id job1 --topic Test --checklist-type tasks
ls "$PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR/job1"

# Windows PowerShell
$env:PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR  = "$PWD\work\input"
$env:PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR = "$PWD\work\output"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$env:PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR\job1" | Out-Null
Copy-Item sample.pdf "$env:PLUGIN_INPUT_DIR\job1\"
dotnet Documentize.CheckList.dll --task-id job1 --topic Test --checklist-type tasks
Get-ChildItem "$env:PLUGIN_OUTPUT_DIR\job1"

Verified

Every code sample on this page was run on 2026-11-03 and its result was checked:

• Generate checklist via CLI (CLI plugin): passed in 26 s