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Claude Code can’t use that PDF until it’s clean Markdown

The agent can read a file in the repo. It cannot see a scanned pin table the way you can. Put the datasheet in Markdown first.

Parse PDF to MarkdownPDF parsing API
  1. 01

    Upload the spec PDF

    Datasheet, protocol, mechanical drawing excerpt — the file you keep pinning in Slack.

  2. 02

    Download Markdown

    KolmoPDF keeps tables, units, and code-like pin names. Drop spec.md in the repo.

  3. 03

    @file it in Claude Code or Cursor

    The agent now has columns, not a blob. Ask for a driver stub or a checklist against the table.

Source PDF

Repo Markdown

1 Features

Industry-Standard Dual Operational Amplifiers

  • Wide supply range of 3V3\text{V} to 36V36\text{V} (B, BA versions)
  • Quiescent current: 300μA/ch300\mu\text{A}/\text{ch} (B, BA versions)
  • Unity-gain bandwidth of 1.2MHz1.2\text{MHz} (B, BA versions)
  • Common-mode input voltage range includes ground, enabling direct sensing near ground
  • 2mV2\text{mV} input offset voltage maximum at 25∘C25^{\circ}\text{C} (BA version)
  • 3mV3\text{mV} input offset voltage maximum at 25∘C25^{\circ}\text{C} (A, B versions)
  • Internal RF and EMI filter (B, BA versions)
  • On products compliant to MIL-PRF-38535, all parameters are tested unless otherwise noted. On all other products, production processing does not necessarily include testing of all parameters.

2 Applications

  • Merchant network and server power supply units
  • Multi-function printers

• Power supplies and mobile chargers

  • Motor control: AC induction, brushed DC, brushless DC, high-voltage, low-voltage, permanent magnet, and stepper motor

• Desktop PC and motherboard

• Indoor and outdoor air conditioners

• Washers, dryers, and refrigerators

• AC inverters, string inverters, central inverters, and

voltage frequency drives

• Uninterruptible power supplies

• Electronic point-of-sale systems

3 Description

The LM358B and LM2904B devices are the next-generation versions of the industry-standard operational amplifiers (op amps) LM358 and LM2904, which include two high-voltage (36V) op amps. These

devices provide outstanding value for cost-sensitive applications, with features including low offset (300μ300\muV, typical), common-mode input range to ground, and high differential input voltage capability.

The LM358B and LM2904B op amps simplify circuit design with enhanced features such as unity-gain stability, lower offset voltage maximum of 33mV (22mV maximum for LM358BA and LM2904BA), and lower quiescent current of 300μ300\muA per amplifier (typical). High ESD (22kV, HBM) and integrated EMI and RF filters enable the LM358B and LM2904B devices to be used in the most rugged, environmentally challenging applications.

The LM358B and LM2904B amplifiers are available in micro-sized packaging, such as the SOT23-8, as well as industry standard packages including SOIC, TSSOP, and VSSOP.

Package Information

Family Comparison

SpecificationLM358B
LM358BA		LM2904B
LM2904BA		LM358
LM358A		LM2904LM2904V
LM2904AV		LM258
LM258A		LM158
LM158A		Units
Supply voltage3 to 363 to 363 to 303 to 263 to 303 to 303 to 30V
Offset voltage (max, 25°C)± 3
± 2		± 3
± 2		± 7
± 3		± 7± 7
± 2		± 5
± 3		± 5
± 2		mV
Input bias current (typ / max)10 / 3510 / 3520 / 250
15 / 100		20 / 25020 / 25020 / 150
15 / 80		20 / 150
15 / 50		nA
Gain bandwidth product1.21.20.70.70.70.70.7MHz
Supply current (typ, per channel)0.30.30.350.350.350.350.35mA
ESD (HBM)20002000500500500500500V
Operating ambient temperature–40 to 85–40 to 1250 to 70–40 to 125–40 to 125–25 to 85–55 to 125°C

(1) For all available packages, see the orderable addendum at the end of the data sheet. (2) The package size (length ×\times width) is a nominal value and includes pins, where applicable.

PART NUMBER(1)PACKAGEPACKAGE SIZE(2)
LM358B, LM358BA, LM2904B, LM2904BA, LM358, LM358A, LM2904, LM2904V, LM258, LM258AD (SOIC, 8)4.9mm × 6mm
LM358B, LM358BA, LM2904B, LM2904BA, LM358, LM358A, LM2904, LM2490VPW (TSSOP, 8)3mm × 6.4mm
LM358B, LM358BA, LM2904B, LM2904BA, LM358, LM358A, LM2904, LM2904V, LM258, LM258ADGK (VSSOP, 8)3mm × 4.9mm
LM358B, LM358BA, LM2904B, LM2904BADDF (SOT-23, 8)2.9mm × 2.8mm
LM358, LM2904PS (SO, 8)6.2mm × 7.8mm
LM358, LM2904, LM358A, LM258, LM258AP (PDIP, 8)9.81mm × 9.43mm
LM158, LM158AJG (CDIP, 8)9.6mm × 6.67mm
LM158, LM158AFK (LCCC, 20)8.89mm × 8.89mm

Table of Contents

1 Features ........................................................... 1 2 Applications ......................................................... 1 3 Description .......................................................... 1 4 Pin Configuration and Functions .............................. 3 5 Specifications ....................................................... 4 5.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings ............................. 4 5.2 ESD Ratings .................................................. 4 5.3 Recommended Operating Conditions ................... 5 5.4 Thermal Information ........................................ 5 5.5 Electrical Characteristics: LM358B and LM358BA.... 6 5.6 Electrical Characteristics: LM2904B and LM2904BA................................................ 8 5.7 Electrical Characteristics: LM358, LM358A ........... 10 5.8 Electrical Characteristics: LM2904, LM2904V ....... 11 5.9 Electrical Characteristics: LM158, LM158A .......... 12 5.10 Electrical Characteristics: LM258, LM258A ......... 14 5.11 Typical Characteristics: LM358B and LM2904B ..... 15 5.12 Typical Characteristics: LM158, LM158A, LM258, LM258A, LM358, LM358A, LM2904, and LM2904V................................................ 22 6 Parameter Measurement Information ........................ 24

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

7 Detailed Description .................................................... 25 7.1 Overview .............................................................. 25 7.2 Functional Block Diagram: LM358B, LM358BA, LM2904B, LM2904BA ........... 25 7.3 Feature Description ................................................. 26 7.4 Device Functional Modes ............................................. 26 8 Application and Implementation ....................................... 27 8.1 Application Information ............................................. 27 8.2 Typical Application .................................................. 27 8.3 Power Supply Recommendations ...................................... 28 8.4 Layout ................................................................. 28 9 Device and Documentation Support ..................................... 30 9.1 Receiving Notification of Documentation Updates ................. 30 9.2 Support Resources ................................................... 30 9.3 Trademarks ........................................................... 30 9.4 Electrostatic Discharge Caution .................................... 30 9.5 Glossary ............................................................. 30 10 Revision History ...................................................... 30 11 Mechanical, Packaging, and Orderable Information ................... 32

4 Pin Configuration and Functions

Image source
<img src="https://www.kolmopdf.com/images/sk-72e2d70ad175490c80c14b553bdd1e3a/579/3-2.png" style="zoom: 70%; display: block; margin: 0 auto;" />

Figure 4-1. D, DDF, DGK, P, PS, PW, and JG Package 8-Pin SOIC, SOT23-8, VSSOP, PDIP, SO, TSSOP, and CDIP Top View

Image source
<img src="https://www.kolmopdf.com/images/sk-72e2d70ad175490c80c14b553bdd1e3a/579/3-10.png" style="zoom: 70%; display: block; margin: 0 auto;" />

Table 4-1. Pin Functions

(1) For a listing of which devices are available in what packages, see Section 3.

NC - No internal connection Figure 4-2. FK Package 20-Pin LCCC Top View

NAMELCCC(1)^{(1)}SOIC, SOT23-8, VSSOP, CDIP, PDIP, SO, TSSOP, CFP(1)^{(1)}I/ODESCRIPTION
IN1–52INegative input
IN1+73IPositive input
IN2–156INegative input
IN2+125IPositive input
OUT121OOutput
OUT2177OOutput
V–104—Negative (lowest) supply or ground (for single-supply operation)
NC1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19——No internal connection
V+208—Positive (highest) supply

Why “can Claude read PDFs?” is the wrong first question

People type “claude code read pdf” because they need an answer from a datasheet, not a lecture about file formats. Claude Code can work with files in a repository. A 68-page vendor PDF with a pinout on page 3 is much easier to check when the table has been turned into spec.md.

Cursor users hit the same wall: a PDF pane is not the same as a table in the model’s working set. The useful sequence is straightforward: parse the excerpt, commit the Markdown, mention the file, and check the result against the source.

Put the datasheet in the repo as Markdown

A chip datasheet is a test of the pipeline: absolute-maximum table, pin function table, package drawing, units in microamps. The demo uses a short excerpt of the TI LM358 family (pages 1–3 only, vendor copyright, not the full manual). Keep any source you use according to its license. After parsing, feature bullets and application lists should still be lists, and units should remain math.

Name the file after the part (lm358.md) and keep the excerpt small. Do not check in a manufacturer’s entire PDF if your license does not allow it. Keep the original PDF with the Markdown so a reviewer can check the source.

From Claude Code: @lm358.md then “list supply range and packages as a table.” From Cursor: same file, same ask. Codex and other repo agents follow the same rule — they need bytes they can tokenize as text.

Demo: pin tables and units

Left: the excerpt PDF. Right: the parsed Markdown, including feature bullets and application lists. Image hotlinks in the parse output point at KolmoPDF’s figure store when the parser emitted them.

This is not a replacement for SPICE or for TI’s own HTML. It is the missing step before an agent writes a comment that cites a current limit.

Keep the source beside the parsed file

This page is for developers who need a spec they can check in and cite. It is not a lab-meeting guide and not a medical journal club. Students presenting Attention Is All You Need belong to a different workflow.

If your PDF already has a clean text layer and simple paragraphs, you may not need this step. The gap is tables, scans, and equations that must survive into the repo.

A week in a repo that actually cites the datasheet

Monday: someone drops a vendor PDF in Slack with “can we support this part?” Tuesday: an intern pastes a screenshot into ChatGPT and gets a confident current limit that belongs to a different suffix of the family. Wednesday: Claude Code writes a driver comment that cannot be grepped against the table because the table never entered git.

The fix is not another chat window. The fix is a file. Parse the excerpt. Name it after the orderable device. Open a pull request whose only job is “add lm358.md.” Then the agent conversation becomes boring in the useful way: “according to lm358.md, BA version offset is 2 mV at 25 C — generate a constant and a test name.” If the Markdown is wrong, you fix Markdown. If the agent is wrong, you point at a line.

Cursor users should do the same even if they never type Claude. Indexing a PDF pane is not the same as indexing a table. Codex, Copilot-style repo agents, and internal wrappers all tokenize files. They need bytes they can tokenize as text.

Scanned application notes are worse than born-digital datasheets. If page 3 is a photograph of a table, a text-layer assumption fails. That is the same class of problem as a French tender scan, just with microamps instead of lots. KolmoPDF does the parse step; the button below goes to the conversion tool on kolmopdf.com.

Licensing still matters. Do not publish a manufacturer’s full book on a marketing site. Do not commit a forbidden PDF into a public GitHub. An excerpt for a demo, a customer-licensed PDF in a private repo — those are different. The three-page LM358 slice on this page is labeled as an excerpt on purpose.

API users who convert dozens of specs a night can use the parsing API. The useful result is simple: the PDF becomes a small Markdown file that can be diffed. Everything after that — driver stubs, test names, and comments that cite a current limit — belongs to your repository and review process.

Limits: what still fails after a clean parse

Schematics as drawings stay drawings. A parse will not produce a netlist. SPICE models that live only as encrypted blobs stay vendor tools. Mechanical drawings with a forest of dimensions may need the PDF open beside the Markdown, because a table of inches is not the same as a geometric constraint.

Multi-column application notes sometimes still shuffle a caption. You look at the before/after on this page and you keep the original PDF in the same directory as spec.md. The agent can be told “if Markdown and PDF disagree, stop.” That instruction is only possible when both files exist.

This workflow is for a spec you need to check in and cite. If you are preparing a research-paper presentation instead, keep the paper in a separate notes workflow so the source and the audience stay clear.

Can Claude read PDFs? Sometimes, in some products, on some days. Claude Code, in the loop that edits your tree, reads files. Give it one.

Keep the excerpt and the Markdown side by side so a reviewer can open both. If a pin name in spec.md does not appear in the PDF, stop and re-parse that page. Do not let an agent invent a package variant because a screenshot was blurry. Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex all fail the same way when the table never entered git. The useful artifact is a small Markdown file you can diff.

If you convert a stack of datasheets every week, use the parsing API. For one part tonight, use the conversion link above. Either way, the file that lands in git is Markdown with tables, not a screenshot in Slack. Claude Code can then read the file you parsed.

Checklist before you @file the agent

Confirm the Markdown table matches the datasheet excerpt. Confirm units still look like math, not smashed words. Commit spec.md next to a short PDF slice, not the full vendor book. Then mention the file in Claude Code or Cursor. If the agent cites a current limit that is not in spec.md, stop and fix the file first.

Questions

Can Claude read PDFs?

Some Claude products accept PDF attachments. Claude Code, as a repo agent, is far more reliable when the spec is Markdown in the project. Parse first, then @file.

Does this work with Cursor?

Yes. Cursor users can put the resulting spec.md in the workspace and ask questions against the tables and units.

Is this a PDF Skill for Claude?

No. The result is a Markdown file with tables and units that a repo agent can inspect. The final driver, checklist, or implementation still needs your review.

May I upload a full vendor manual?

Follow the vendor’s license. This demo is a three-page excerpt for illustration only.

What about the API?

If you batch datasheets, use the parsing API on kolmopdf.com. The same checks apply: compare the Markdown with the source before using it in the repo.

Parse PDF to Markdown