markdown-convert

Convert Markdown files to PDF from your command line.

pip install markdown-convert

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• markdown-convert
  • Why markdown-convert?
  • Installation
  • Usage
    • 1. From your terminal
    • 2. As a Python library
    • 3. From the context menu of your file explorer

Why markdown-convert?

Unlike other similar tools, markdown-convert:

• Can be fully installed via pip install markdown-convert, with no external system-level dependencies.
• Comes with a sensible default CSS stylesheet out of the box.
• Supports:
  • LaTeX math equations: $...$ for inline and $$...$$ for block equations.
  • Mermaid diagrams: ```mermaid ...``` code blocks get rendered as diagrams.
  • Syntax highlighting for code blocks: Applied automatically based on the specified language.
  • Live conversion: markdown-convert file.md --mode=live updates the PDF every time the Markdown file changes.
  • Custom CSS markdown-convert file.md --css=style.css extends the default CSS with your own stylesheet.
  • Pipe tables, checkboxes, header links, CSS paged media features and more!

Installation

markdown-convert is available on PyPI and can be installed via pip:

pip install markdown-convert

Usage

1. From your terminal

Simply run markdown-convert file.md to convert file.md to file.pdf.

You can specify the following options:

• --mode=once|live: Convert the markdown file once (default) or live.
• --css=[css_file_path]: Use a custom CSS file.
• --out=[output_file_path]: Specify the output file path.

For example: markdown-convert README.md --mode=live --css=style.css --out=output.pdf will convert README.md to output.pdf using style.css and update the PDF live as you edit the Markdown file.

2. As a Python library

You can also use markdown-convert as a library in your Python code:

from markdown_convert import convert, convert_text, live_convert

# Convert your Markdown file and save it as a PDF file
convert('README.md', 'style.css', 'README.pdf')

# Convert your Markdown string and get the PDF bytes
pdf_bytes = convert_text('# Hello World', 'h1 { color: red; }')

# Convert your Markdown file to PDF every time it changes
live_convert('README.md', 'style.css', 'README.pdf')

3. From the context menu of your file explorer

Install the extension of your choice:

• For Windows Explorer: markdown_convert_explorer
• For Linux (Nautilus): markdown_convert_nautilus

Then right click any Markdown file and select Convert to PDF to convert it.