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How to Scan and Merge Two-Sided Documents into a Single PDF with AI

Turn a multi-step scanning chore into a simple conversation. Use the AI-powered Warp terminal to control your scanner and automatically merge front and back pages into a perfectly ordered PDF.

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How to Scan and Merge Two-Sided Documents into a Single PDF with AI
Source episode · 10:28How Microsoft's AI VP Automates Everything with 5 Micro-Agent Workflows

with Claire Vo

10:28 to 17:12: Sonali uses NAPS2 through Warp to scan fronts and backs separately, then asks the terminal agent to interleave them into one ordered PDF.

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Before you start

What you need

  • A scanner configured in NAPS2
  • Two scan batches, one for all fronts and one for all backs
  • The expected document count and page orientation

What you’ll make

One searchable PDF with every front and back page paired in the correct document order.

Tools used

The workflow

Follow the sequence once, then adapt the prompts, checks, and handoffs to your own setup.

4 steps

Step 01

Install and Configure NAPS2

Install NAPS2 (Not Another PDF Scanner 2), a free tool that provides command line control over your scanner. Then, create a rule in Warp to ensure it always uses NAPS2 for scanning tasks.

Example prompt
Install NAPS2 (Not Another PDF Scanner 2), a free tool that provides command line control over your scanner. Then, create a rule in Warp to ensure it always uses NAPS2 for scanning tasks.

My actual values:
[insert the files, settings, accounts, or constraints for this step]

Give me the exact commands, settings, or output to use. Finish with a pass or fail check for install and configure naps2.
Step 02

Scan the First Side of Documents

Place the stack of papers in your scanner's document feeder. In Warp, use a natural language command to scan the first side of the documents, saving them as a PDF file for the odd-numbered pages.

Example prompt
scan the documents from the feeder and save it to this directory as this file name
Step 03

Scan the Second Side of Documents

Flip the stack of papers over and place it back in the document feeder. Instead of writing a new prompt, recall the previous command in Warp and edit the filename to scan the even-numbered pages into a second PDF.

Example prompt
Flip the stack of papers over and place it back in the document feeder. Instead of writing a new prompt, recall the previous command in Warp and edit the filename to scan the even-numbered pages into a second PDF.

My actual values:
[insert the files, settings, accounts, or constraints for this step]

Give me the exact commands, settings, or output to use. Finish with a pass or fail check for scan the second side of documents.
Step 04

Merge the Scanned PDFs

Instruct Warp to merge the two PDFs, interleaving the odd and even pages into a final, correctly ordered document. Warp will generate and run a Python script using the PyPDF2 library to combine the files, then delete the temporary script.

Example prompt
Now put together the odd pages and the even pages and just make the math practice test out of it.

What good looks like

  • The final PDF has twice the expected document count in pages
  • Every back page follows its matching front page
  • Pages are upright, readable, and saved to the intended folder

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Runbook notes

How to recover when the loop fails and where human judgment helps.

If it goes sideways

Back pages appear in reverse document order
Reverse the back-side batch before interleaving and verify the first two document pairs.
A page is missing or duplicated
Compare the two input page counts, rescan the affected side, and rerun the merge from the original files.

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