N-Methyl-(3,5-difluoropyridin-2-yl)methaneamine is a synthetic block made from 3,5-Difluoropyridine-2-carbonitrile, which is used as a reactant in the preparation of pyrrolidones and indolinones via palladium-catalyzed intramolecular amination of unactivated C(sp3)-H and C(sp2)-H amide bonds.