look-at

Look At - Multimodal File Analysis

Multi-backend vision tool for PDFs, images, diagrams, and other media files. Routes to Gemini CLI (default), GitHub Copilot (GPT-5.4), or the legacy Python API.

Tool Selection Enforcement

Tool Routing Facts

• Read on a media file loads the full content into context regardless of how briefly you look at it — a "quick glance" costs the same thousands of tokens as a full read. Content type, not file size, determines the tool.
• Read on a PDF extracts raw text and loses table structure and visual information; look_at returns it as structured data.
• Gemini's extraction is accurate for most use cases — start with look_at, escalate to Read only if the extraction is insufficient. Defaulting to Read "for exact text" wastes the context this skill exists to save.

Red Flags

• Passing an image, PDF, or screenshot path to Read → use look_at.
• A text-based PDF with structure/tables/charts → still look_at, not Read.

Cost & Context Benefits

Scenario	Read Tool	look_at Tool
PDF with table	Extracts raw text (~1000 tokens), loses table structure	Extracts table as structured data (~100 tokens)
Screenshot	Loads entire image (~500 tokens), requires interpretation	Describes content (~50 tokens)
Diagram	Shows image (~800 tokens), requires analysis	Explains architecture (~100 tokens)
Multi-page PDF	All pages loaded (~5000 tokens)	Extracts specific sections (~200 tokens)

look_at saves 80-95% of context tokens by extracting only relevant information.

When to Use

Use look_at when you need:

• Media files the Read tool cannot interpret
• Extracting specific information or summaries from documents
• Describing visual content in images or diagrams
• Analyzing charts, tables, or structured data in PDFs
• When analyzed/extracted data is needed, not raw file contents

Never use look_at when:

• Source code or plain text files needing exact contents (use Read)
• Files that need editing afterward (need literal content from Read)
• Simple file reading where no interpretation is needed
• Exact formatting or structure must be preserved

How It Works

1. Provide a file path and a specific goal (what to extract)
2. look_at.sh routes to the selected backend (Gemini CLI by default)
3. The backend analyzes the file and extracts requested information
4. Only the relevant extracted information is returned (saves context tokens)

Usage Pattern

CRITICAL - Display Requirement: Always set the Bash tool description parameter to show a clean invocation:

description: "look-at: [goal text]"

# Default (Gemini CLI — uses bundled quota, no API key needed)
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "/path/to/file.pdf" \
    --goal "Extract the title and date from this document"

# GPT-5.4 via GitHub Copilot
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "/path/to/diagram.png" \
    --goal "Describe the architecture" \
    --backend copilot

# Multi-model consensus (gemini + copilot in parallel)
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "/path/to/diagram.png" \
    --goal "Score this diagram 0-10" \
    --consensus

# Legacy Python API (uses your GOOGLE_API_KEY)
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "/path/to/file.pdf" \
    --goal "Extract the table data" \
    --backend api

${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} is substituted at skill load time, so the full path is already resolved — no per-call discovery needed.

IMPORTANT:

• Always use absolute paths for files
• Always set Bash tool description to "look-at: [goal]" for clean UX

Backends

Backend	CLI	Model	Cost	Best For
gemini (default)	gemini CLI	Gemini (CLI default)	Bundled quota	General vision, diagrams, documents
copilot	GitHub Copilot CLI	GPT-5.4	Copilot subscription	Second opinions, consensus
api	look_at.py	Gemini API (configurable)	Your API key	Agentic mode, custom models

Consensus Mode

--consensus runs gemini and copilot in parallel and outputs both results under labeled headers (=== GEMINI ===, === COPILOT (GPT-5.4) ===).

When to use: Visual verification of diagrams where a single model may miss or underscore defects. Trust the stricter score — if any backend flags BLOCKING, treat it as BLOCKING.

Response Rules

When using look_at, the response includes:

• Only the extracted information matching the goal
• Clear statement if requested information is not found
• Concise output focused on the goal (no preamble)

Use this extracted information directly in continued work without loading the full file into context.

Supported File Types

Type	Extensions	MIME Types
Images	.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, .heic, .heif	image/*
Videos	.mp4, .mpeg, .mov, .avi, .webm	video/*
Audio	.wav, .mp3, .aiff, .aac, .ogg, .flac	audio/*
Documents	.pdf, .txt, .csv, .md, .html	application/pdf, text/*

Model Options

Model	Use Case	Speed	Cost
gemini-2.5-flash-lite	Default - fast, cheap analysis	Fastest	Lowest
gemini-3-flash	More complex extraction needs	Fast	Low
gemini-3-flash-preview	Agentic vision with code execution	Fast	Low
gemini-3-pro-preview	Highest accuracy required	Medium	Medium

Default is gemini-2.5-flash-lite for optimal speed/cost ratio.

Agentic Vision Mode

For complex visual reasoning tasks, use the --agentic flag to enable code execution. This allows Gemini to:

• Zoom into specific regions of an image for detailed analysis
• Count objects precisely using programmatic analysis
• Perform calculations on visual data (measurements, statistics)
• Process structured data in images (charts, tables) with higher accuracy

When to use --agentic:

• Counting objects in an image ("How many items are in this photo?")
• Reading fine details ("What does the small text in the corner say?")
• Analyzing charts with specific data points ("What's the exact value for Q3?")
• Complex spatial reasoning ("Which element is closest to the center?")

Usage:

"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "photo.jpg" \
    --goal "Count the number of people in this image" \
    --agentic

Note: Agentic mode automatically uses gemini-3-flash-preview regardless of the --model setting.

Common Patterns

REMEMBER: Always use description: "look-at: [goal]" in the Bash tool call.

Extract Specific Information

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: Extract the executive summary section"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "report.pdf" \
    --goal "Extract the executive summary section"

Describe Visual Content

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: List all UI elements and their layout"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "screenshot.png" \
    --goal "List all UI elements and their layout"

Analyze Diagrams

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: Explain the data flow and component relationships"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "architecture.png" \
    --goal "Explain the data flow and component relationships"

Extract Structured Data

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: Extract the table data as JSON"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "table.pdf" \
    --goal "Extract the table data as JSON with columns: name, value, date"

Count Objects (Agentic)

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: Count the number of people in the photo"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "crowd.jpg" \
    --goal "Count the number of people visible in this image" \
    --agentic

Analyze Chart Details (Agentic)

# Bash tool call with:
# description: "look-at: Extract specific data points from the chart"
"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/look_at.sh" \
    --file "quarterly_chart.png" \
    --goal "Extract the exact values for each quarter and calculate the year-over-year change" \
    --agentic

Environment Setup

Required environment variable:

export GOOGLE_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Required Python package:

pip install google-genai

For pixi-managed projects, add to pixi.toml:

[dependencies]
google-genai = ">=1.0.0"

Cost Optimization

• Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is the most cost-effective option
• Only extracts requested information (saves on output tokens)
• Avoids loading full files into main conversation context
• Use specific goals to minimize unnecessary processing

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
API key not set	Set GOOGLE_API_KEY environment variable
File not found	Use absolute paths, verify file exists
Large file timeout	Break into smaller files or use lower-quality images
Rate limit errors	Add retry logic or use batch processing
Empty response	Check that goal is clear and specific

Examples

See examples/ directory for:

• analyze_pdf.sh - PDF document extraction
• describe_image.sh - Image analysis
• extract_table.sh - Structured data extraction

Related Skills

• /gemini-batch - For batch processing of many files
• Standard Read tool - For text files needing exact contents