md-to-pdf-cli

May 30, 2026

md pdf cli python chromium PyPI

GitHub Repository

Project Overview

md-to-pdf-cli is a command-line tool that converts local Markdown files into high-quality PDF documents using headless Chromium. It is built with CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) character support as a first-class concern, and handles mathematical equations, diagrams, and syntax-highlighted code blocks out of the box — fully offline.

Key Features

  • CJK Support: UTF-8 rendering with CJK-first font stacking for proper display of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters.
  • Code Highlighting: Server-side syntax highlighting via Pygments with multiple color schemes.
  • Mathematics: LaTeX equation rendering using KaTeX for both inline ($...$) and block ($$...$$) expressions.
  • Diagrams: Mermaid diagram rendering for flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and other visualizations.
  • Table of Contents: Auto-generated TOC with PDF bookmarks derived from the heading structure.
  • Table Support: GitHub Flavored Markdown tables with proper pagination and repeated headers across pages.
  • Headers / Footers: Customizable page headers and footers with template placeholders.
  • Image Handling: Supports both relative and remote images, with optional embedding.
  • Offline Processing: All assets are inlined for reproducible, air-gapped conversion.

Usage

md2pdf report.md                  # generates report.pdf
md2pdf report.md -o out/doc.pdf   # custom output path

Configuration is auto-loaded from md2pdf.toml in the current directory. Supported options include page size, margins, orientation, CSS theming, code highlight style, math / Mermaid rendering toggles, and footer templates. see more README

Technology Stack

  • Language: Python 3.12+
  • PDF Engine: Headless Chromium via Playwright
  • Syntax Highlighting: Pygments
  • Math Rendering: KaTeX
  • Diagram Rendering: Mermaid
  • Markdown Parsing: Python-Markdown with GFM extensions
  • Distribution: PyPI (pip install md-to-pdf-cli)

License

MIT

← Back to Home