Markdown To PDF

Markdown to PDF Conversion

Convert Markdown documents into polished, production-ready PDFs. This skill covers the major toolchains — Pandoc, WeasyPrint, ReportLab — plus CSS print styling, template systems, and batch conversion workflows.

Toolchain Overview

1. Pandoc Workflows

Pandoc is the Swiss Army knife of document conversion. It reads Markdown and outputs PDF via an intermediate engine (default: LaTeX).

Basic Conversion

# Simple markdown to PDF (uses pdflatex)
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf

# With metadata file
pandoc input.md --metadata-file=metadata.yaml -o output.pdf

# Specify output engine
pandoc input.md --pdf-engine=xelatex -o output.pdf

# Using wkhtmltopdf instead of LaTeX
pandoc input.md --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf -o output.pdf

Advanced Pandoc with Templates

# Custom LaTeX template
pandoc input.md \
  --template=custom-template.tex \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  --toc \
  --number-sections \
  -o output.pdf

# With bibliography
pandoc input.md \
  --bibliography=references.bib \
  --csl=ieee.csl \
  --citeproc \
  -o output.pdf

# Custom font and margins
pandoc input.md \
  -V geometry:"top=2cm, bottom=2cm, left=2.5cm, right=2.5cm" \
  -V mainfont="Times New Roman" \
  -V fontsize=12pt \
  -o output.pdf

Metadata YAML for Pandoc

# metadata.yaml
---
title: "Technical Report on Distributed Systems"
author:
  - "Jane Doe"
  - "John Smith"
date: "2025-01-15"
subtitle: "Performance Analysis of Event-Driven Architectures"
abstract: |
  This report analyzes the performance characteristics of event-driven
  architectures in distributed systems, comparing Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ,
  and AWS SQS across latency, throughput, and fault tolerance metrics.
keywords: [distributed-systems, event-driven, kafka, rabbitmq, performance]
lang: en-US
geometry:
  - top=25mm
  - bottom=25mm
  - left=30mm
  - right=25mm
fontsize: 11pt
mainfont: "DejaVu Serif"
monofont: "DejaVu Sans Mono"
toc: true
toc-depth: 3
numbersections: true
linestretch: 1.5
---

Pandoc Filter: Custom Transformations

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Pandoc filter to add custom styling to code blocks."""

import pandocfilters as pf

def code_blocks(key, value, format, meta):
    """Wrap code blocks in a styled container."""
    if key == 'CodeBlock':
        [[ident, classes, keyvals], code] = value
        if 'python' in classes:
            # Add a custom div wrapper for Python code
            return pf.Div(
                ([ident, ['python-block'], keyvals],
                 [pf.CodeBlock([ident, classes, keyvals], code)])
            )

if __name__ == '__main__':
    pf.toJSONFilter(code_blocks)

# Use the filter
pandoc input.md --filter=./code_styler.py -o output.pdf

2. WeasyPrint: HTML/CSS to PDF

WeasyPrint renders HTML with CSS print styles into PDFs. It's ideal for documents that need pixel-perfect branding, colors, and web-like layouts.

Basic WeasyPrint Workflow

"""Convert HTML to PDF using WeasyPrint."""

from weasyprint import HTML

# Basic conversion
HTML('document.html').write_pdf('output.pdf')

# From a URL
HTML('https://example.com/report').write_pdf('webpage.pdf')

# From a string
html_content = """
<html>
<body>
  <h1>Hello World</h1>
  <p>This is a PDF generated from an HTML string.</p>
</body>
</html>
"""
HTML(string=html_content).write_pdf('from_string.pdf')

Markdown → HTML → PDF Pipeline

"""Full pipeline: Markdown to HTML to PDF with CSS styling."""

import markdown
from weasyprint import HTML

def markdown_to_pdf(md_path, css_path, output_path):
    """Convert markdown to PDF through HTML intermediate."""
    with open(md_path, 'r') as f:
        md_content = f.read()
    
    # Convert markdown to HTML
    html_content = markdown.markdown(
        md_content,
        extensions=['tables', 'fenced_code', 'codehilite',
                    'toc', 'sane_lists', 'attr_list']
    )
    
    # Wrap in full HTML document
    full_html = f"""
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html>
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="{css_path}">
    </head>
    <body>
        {html_content}
    </body>
    </html>
    """
    
    # Generate PDF
    HTML(string=full_html).write_pdf(output_path)
    print(f"PDF generated: {output_path}")

# Usage
markdown_to_pdf('report.md', 'print.css', 'report.pdf')

CSS Print Stylesheet Template

/* print.css — Professional print stylesheet for PDF generation */

/* Page setup */
@page {
  size: A4;
  margin: 2.5cm 2cm 2.5cm 2cm;
  
  @top-center {
    content: element(pageHeader);
    font-size: 9pt;
    color: #666;
  }
  
  @bottom-center {
    content: counter(page) " / " counter(pages);
    font-size: 9pt;
    color: #666;
  }
  
  @bottom-left {
    content: "Confidential";
    font-size: 8pt;
    color: #999;
    font-style: italic;
  }
}

/* First page — no header, different margins */
@page:first {
  margin-top: 4cm;
  
  @top-center {
    content: none;
  }
}

/* Section start — reset page counter */
@page chapter {
  @top-center {
    content: "Chapter " counter(chapter);
  }
}

/* Base typography */
body {
  font-family: "DejaVu Serif", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;
  font-size: 11pt;
  line-height: 1.6;
  color: #1a1a1a;
  counter-reset: h2 h3 figure table;
}

/* Heading styles */
h1 {
  font-size: 24pt;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: #1a1a1a;
  page-break-before: always;
  page-break-after: avoid;
  margin-top: 2cm;
  border-bottom: 2px solid #333;
  padding-bottom: 8pt;
}

h1:first-of-type {
  page-break-before: avoid;
}

h2 {
  font-size: 18pt;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: #333;
  page-break-after: avoid;
  margin-top: 1.5cm;
  counter-increment: h2;
}

h2::before {
  content: counter(h2) ". ";
}

h3 {
  font-size: 14pt;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: #555;
  page-break-after: avoid;
  margin-top: 1cm;
  counter-increment: h3;
}

h3::before {
  content: counter(h2) "." counter(h3) " ";
}

/* Paragraphs */
p {
  text-align: justify;
  orphans: 3;
  widows: 3;
}

/* Code blocks */
pre {
  font-family: "DejaVu Sans Mono", "Courier New", monospace;
  font-size: 9pt;
  background: #f5f5f5;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-left: 3px solid #007acc;
  padding: 12px;
  page-break-inside: avoid;
  white-space: pre-wrap;
  word-wrap: break-word;
}

code {
  font-family: "DejaVu Sans Mono", "Courier New", monospace;
  font-size: 9pt;
  background: #f0f0f0;
  padding: 1px 4px;
  border-radius: 2px;
}

pre code {
  background: none;
  padding: 0;
}

/* Tables */
table {
  width: 100%;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  margin: 1em 0;
  font-size: 10pt;
  page-break-inside: auto;
}

thead {
  display: table-header-group;
}

tr {
  page-break-inside: avoid;
  page-break-after: auto;
}

th {
  background: #2c3e50;
  color: white;
  font-weight: bold;
  padding: 8px 12px;
  text-align: left;
}

td {
  padding: 6px 12px;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
}

tr:nth-child(even) {
  background: #f9f9f9;
}

/* Images */
img {
  max-width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  page-break-inside: avoid;
}

figure {
  margin: 1em 0;
  text-align: center;
  page-break-inside: avoid;
}

figcaption {
  font-size: 10pt;
  font-style: italic;
  color: #666;
  margin-top: 4px;
}

/* Links */
a {
  color: #0066cc;
  text-decoration: none;
}

/* Lists */
ul, ol {
  margin: 0.5em 0;
  padding-left: 2em;
}

li {
  margin: 0.3em 0;
}

/* Blockquotes */
blockquote {
  border-left: 4px solid #2c3e50;
  margin: 1em 0;
  padding: 0.5em 1em;
  background: #f9f9f9;
  font-style: italic;
}

/* Cover page */
.cover-page {
  page-break-after: always;
  text-align: center;
  padding-top: 6cm;
}

.cover-page h1 {
  font-size: 32pt;
  border: none;
  margin-bottom: 0.5cm;
}

.cover-page .subtitle {
  font-size: 18pt;
  color: #666;
  margin-bottom: 2cm;
}

.cover-page .author {
  font-size: 14pt;
  color: #333;
}

.cover-page .date {
  font-size: 12pt;
  color: #999;
  margin-top: 1cm;
}

/* Table of contents */
.toc {
  page-break-after: always;
}

.toc h2 {
  border: none;
  font-size: 20pt;
}

.toc ul {
  list-style: none;
  padding: 0;
}

.toc li {
  padding: 4px 0;
  border-bottom: 1px dotted #ccc;
}

.toc a {
  color: #333;
  text-decoration: none;
}

.toc .toc-h2 {
  font-weight: bold;
  padding-left: 0;
}

.toc .toc-h3 {
  padding-left: 2em;
  font-size: 10pt;
}

3. ReportLab: Programmatic PDF Generation

ReportLab gives you complete control over PDF layout programmatically from Python.

Basic ReportLab Document

"""Create a basic PDF with ReportLab."""

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import A4
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.units import cm, mm
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.platypus import (
    SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, Table, TableStyle,
    Image, PageBreak, ListFlowable, ListItem
)
from reportlab.lib.enums import TA_CENTER, TA_JUSTIFY


def create_report(output_path):
    """Generate a professional report PDF."""
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(
        output_path,
        pagesize=A4,
        rightMargin=2*cm,
        leftMargin=2*cm,
        topMargin=2*cm,
        bottomMargin=2*cm,
        title="Annual Report 2025",
        author="Data Analytics Team",
    )
    
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()
    story = []
    
    # Title page
    title_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'CustomTitle',
        parent=styles['Title'],
        fontSize=28,
        leading=34,
        spaceAfter=20,
        alignment=TA_CENTER,
        textColor=colors.HexColor('#1a1a2e'),
    )
    story.append(Spacer(1, 5*cm))
    story.append(Paragraph("Annual Report 2025", title_style))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 1*cm))
    
    subtitle_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'Subtitle',
        parent=styles['Normal'],
        fontSize=16,
        alignment=TA_CENTER,
        textColor=colors.HexColor('#666666'),
    )
    story.append(Paragraph("Data Analytics Division", subtitle_style))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.5*cm))
    story.append(Paragraph("January 15, 2025", subtitle_style))
    story.append(PageBreak())
    
    # Table of Contents
    toc_heading = ParagraphStyle(
        'TOCHeading',
        parent=styles['Heading1'],
        fontSize=20,
        spaceAfter=20,
    )
    story.append(Paragraph("Table of Contents", toc_heading))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 1*cm))
    
    toc_items = [
        "1. Executive Summary",
        "2. Methodology",
        "3. Key Findings",
        "4. Data Analysis",
        "5. Recommendations",
        "6. Appendices",
    ]
    for item in toc_items:
        story.append(Paragraph(item, styles['Normal']))
        story.append(Spacer(1, 0.3*cm))
    story.append(PageBreak())
    
    # Executive Summary
    story.append(Paragraph("1. Executive Summary", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.3*cm))
    
    body_style = ParagraphStyle(
        'BodyJustified',
        parent=styles['Normal'],
        alignment=TA_JUSTIFY,
        spaceAfter=12,
        fontSize=11,
        leading=16,
    )
    
    story.append(Paragraph(
        "This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the organization's "
        "data analytics performance throughout the fiscal year 2025. Key metrics "
        "show a 34% improvement in query response times, a 28% increase in "
        "data processing throughput, and a 42% reduction in infrastructure costs "
        "following the migration to the new distributed data platform.",
        body_style
    ))
    
    # Data table
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.5*cm))
    story.append(Paragraph("Performance Metrics", styles['Heading2']))
    
    data = [
        ['Metric', 'Q1 2024', 'Q2 2024', 'Q3 2024', 'Q4 2024'],
        ['Query Latency (ms)', '245', '187', '142', '108'],
        ['Throughput (req/s)', '1,200', '1,850', '2,400', '3,100'],
        ['Uptime (%)', '99.2', '99.5', '99.8', '99.9'],
        ['Cost ($/mo)', '12,400', '10,800', '8,900', '7,200'],
    ]
    
    table = Table(data, colWidths=[4*cm, 3*cm, 3*cm, 3*cm, 3*cm])
    table.setStyle(TableStyle([
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.HexColor('#1a1a2e')),
        ('TEXTCOLOR', (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.white),
        ('ALIGN', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 'CENTER'),
        ('FONTNAME', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 'Helvetica-Bold'),
        ('FONTSIZE', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 10),
        ('FONTSIZE', (0, 1), (-1, -1), 9),
        ('BOTTOMPADDING', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 10),
        ('TOPPADDING', (0, 0), (-1, 0), 10),
        ('BACKGROUND', (0, 1), (-1, -1), colors.HexColor('#f8f9fa')),
        ('ROWBACKGROUNDS', (0, 1), (-1, -1), [colors.HexColor('#f8f9fa'), colors.white]),
        ('GRID', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 0.5, colors.HexColor('#dee2e6')),
        ('BOX', (0, 0), (-1, -1), 1, colors.HexColor('#1a1a2e')),
    ]))
    story.append(table)
    
    # Build the PDF
    doc.build(story)
    print(f"Report generated: {output_path}")


if __name__ == '__main__':
    create_report('annual_report_2025.pdf')

ReportLab with Custom Page Templates

"""ReportLab document with headers, footers, and page templates."""

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import A4
from reportlab.lib.units import cm
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.platypus import (
    SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, Table, TableStyle,
    PageBreak, Frame, PageTemplate, BaseDocTemplate
)
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas


class NumberedCanvas(canvas.Canvas):
    """Canvas that adds page numbers and headers."""
    
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        canvas.Canvas.__init__(self, *args, **kwargs)
        self._saved_page_states = []
    
    def showPage(self):
        self._saved_page_states.append(dict(self.__dict__))
        canvas.Canvas.showPage(self)
    
    def save(self):
        num_pages = len(self._saved_page_states)
        for state in self._saved_page_states:
            self.__dict__.update(state)
            self.draw_header_footer(num_pages)
            canvas.Canvas.showPage(self)
        canvas.Canvas.save(self)
    
    def draw_header_footer(self, num_pages):
        # Header
        self.setFont('Helvetica', 8)
        self.setFillColor(colors.HexColor('#666666'))
        self.drawString(2*cm, A4[1] - 1.5*cm, "Annual Report 2025")
        self.drawRightString(A4[0] - 2*cm, A4[1] - 1.5*cm, "Confidential")
        self.setStrokeColor(colors.HexColor('#1a1a2e'))
        self.setLineWidth(0.5)
        self.line(2*cm, A4[1] - 1.7*cm, A4[0] - 2*cm, A4[1] - 1.7*cm)
        
        # Footer
        self.setFont('Helvetica', 9)
        self.drawCentredString(
            A4[0] / 2, 1.5*cm,
            f"Page {self._pageNumber} of {num_pages}"
        )
        self.line(2*cm, 2*cm, A4[0] - 2*cm, 2*cm)


def create_paged_report(output_path):
    """Create a report with custom page numbering."""
    doc = SimpleDocTemplate(
        output_path,
        pagesize=A4,
        leftMargin=2*cm,
        rightMargin=2*cm,
        topMargin=2.5*cm,
        bottomMargin=2.5*cm,
    )
    
    styles = getSampleStyleSheet()
    story = []
    
    story.append(Paragraph("Chapter 1: Introduction", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(Spacer(1, 0.3*cm))
    story.append(Paragraph(
        "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. "
        "Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.",
        styles['Normal']
    ))
    story.append(PageBreak())
    
    story.append(Paragraph("Chapter 2: Analysis", styles['Heading1']))
    story.append(Paragraph(
        "Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.",
        styles['Normal']
    ))
    
    doc.build(story, canvasmaker=NumberedCanvas)

4. Syntax Highlighting in PDF

Pandoc with Syntax Highlighting

# Pandoc supports highlighting via LaTeX packages
pandoc code_doc.md \
  --highlight-style=pygments \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  -V monofont="DejaVu Sans Mono" \
  -o highlighted.pdf

# List available highlight styles
pandoc --list-highlight-styles

# Available styles: pygments, tango, espresso, zenburn, haddock, breezedark, kate, monochrome, etc.

# Use a custom theme file
pandoc input.md --highlight-style=my.theme -o output.pdf

WeasyPrint with Pygments

"""Add syntax highlighting to HTML before PDF conversion."""

import markdown
from pygments import highlight
from pygments.lexers import get_lexer_by_name
from pygments.formatters import HtmlFormatter
from weasyprint import HTML


def markdown_with_highlighting(md_path, output_path):
    """Convert Markdown to PDF with code syntax highlighting."""
    with open(md_path, 'r') as f:
        md_content = f.read()
    
    # Custom extension for code highlighting
    def highlight_code(source, lang, class_name, options, md):
        """Pygments-based code highlighter."""
        if not lang:
            return f'<pre><code>{source}</code></pre>'
        try:
            lexer = get_lexer_by_name(lang, stripall=True)
            formatter = HtmlFormatter(
                style='monokai',
                linenos=True,
                cssclass='codehilite'
            )
            return highlight(source, lexer, formatter)
        except:
            return f'<pre><code class="language-{lang}">{source}</code></pre>'
    
    # Register the extension
    md = markdown.Markdown(
        extensions=['fenced_code', 'codehilite', 'tables', 'toc'],
        extension_configs={
            'codehilite': {
                'css_class': 'highlight',
            }
        }
    )
    
    html_content = md.convert(md_content)
    css = HtmlFormatter(style='monokai').get_style_defs('.highlight')
    
    full_html = f"""
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html>
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <style>
            {css}
            @page {{ size: A4; margin: 2cm; }}
            body {{ font-family: 'DejaVu Serif', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.6; }}
            pre {{ page-break-inside: avoid; font-size: 9pt; }}
            .highlight {{ background: #272822; border-radius: 4px; padding: 12px; }}
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
        {html_content}
    </body>
    </html>
    """
    
    HTML(string=full_html).write_pdf(output_path)


# Usage
markdown_with_highlighting('code_sample.md', 'highlighted_output.pdf')

5. Table of Contents Generation

Pandoc TOC

# Automatic TOC generation
pandoc input.md --toc --toc-depth=3 -o output.pdf

# Custom TOC title
pandoc input.md --toc -V toc-title="Contents" -o output.pdf

WeasyPrint TOC with JavaScript Pre-processing

"""Generate a table of contents using BeautifulSoup."""

from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import markdown
from weasyprint import HTML


def generate_toc(md_path, output_path):
    """Generate a PDF with an auto-generated table of contents."""
    with open(md_path, 'r') as f:
        md_content = f.read()
    
    # Convert to HTML
    md = markdown.Markdown(extensions=['tables', 'fenced_code', 'toc'])
    html = md.convert(md_content)
    
    soup = BeautifulSoup(html, 'html.parser')
    
    # Extract headings for TOC
    toc_items = []
    for heading in soup.find_all(['h1', 'h2', 'h3']):
        level = int(heading.name[1])
        text = heading.get_text()
        anchor = heading.get('id', text.lower().replace(' ', '-'))
        toc_items.append((level, text, anchor))
    
    # Build TOC HTML
    toc_html = '<div class="toc">\n<h1>Table of Contents</h1>\n<ul>\n'
    for level, text, anchor in toc_items:
        indent = '  ' * (level - 1)
        toc_html += f'{indent}<li class="toc-h{level}"><a href="#{anchor}">{text}</a></li>\n'
    toc_html += '</ul>\n</div>\n'
    
    # Prepend TOC to document
    full_html = f"""
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html>
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <style>
            @page {{ size: A4; margin: 2.5cm; }}
            body {{ font-family: 'DejaVu Serif', serif; font-size: 11pt; }}
            .toc {{ page-break-after: always; }}
            .toc ul {{ list-style: none; padding-left: 0; }}
            .toc li {{ padding: 4px 0; border-bottom: 1px dotted #ccc; }}
            .toc a {{ color: #333; text-decoration: none; }}
            .toc-h2 {{ padding-left: 1em; }}
            .toc-h3 {{ padding-left: 2em; font-size: 10pt; }}
            h1 {{ page-break-before: always; }}
            h1:first-of-type {{ page-break-before: avoid; }}
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
        {toc_html}
        {html}
    </body>
    </html>
    """
    
    HTML(string=full_html).write_pdf(output_path)

6. CJK Character Support

Pandoc with CJK

# CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) support requires xelatex or lualatex

# Install CJK fonts
pandoc cjk_document.md \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  -V CJKmainfont="Noto Sans CJK SC" \
  -V mainfont="Noto Sans" \
  -o cjk_output.pdf

# With specified font for each script
pandoc mixed_document.md \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  -V mainfont="DejaVu Serif" \
  -V CJKmainfont="Noto Sans CJK SC" \
  -o multilingual.pdf

WeasyPrint with CJK

"""Handle CJK characters in WeasyPrint PDFs."""

from weasyprint import HTML

# WeasyPrint supports any Unicode font installed on the system
cjk_html = """
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<style>
@page { size: A4; margin: 2cm; }
body {
    font-family: 'Noto Sans CJK SC', 'Noto Sans SC', 'Source Han Sans', 
                 'SimSun', 'Microsoft YaHei', sans-serif;
    font-size: 11pt;
    line-height: 1.8;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>多语言文档 Multilingual Document 다국어 문서</h1>

<h2>中文 (Chinese)</h2>
<p>本报告分析了分布式系统在不同负载条件下的性能表现。
结果表明，使用事件驱动架构可以将延迟降低40%。</p>

<h2>日本語 (Japanese)</h2>
<p>本研究では、分散システムの性能を分析し、
イベント駆動アーキテクチャの利点を検証しました。</p>

<h2>한국어 (Korean)</h2>
<p>본 보고서는 분산 시스템의 성능을 다양한 부하 조건에서
분석하였으며, 이벤트 기반 아키텍처의 이점을 확인했습니다.</p>

</body>
</html>
"""

HTML(string=cjk_html).write_pdf('multilingual_report.pdf')

7. Batch Conversion

Shell Script for Batch Processing

#!/bin/bash
# batch-convert.sh — Convert all markdown files in a directory to PDF

INPUT_DIR="./markdown_files"
OUTPUT_DIR="./pdf_output"
TEMPLATE="./templates/report.tex"

mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

# Process all .md files
for md_file in "$INPUT_DIR"/*.md; do
    filename=$(basename "$md_file" .md)
    echo "Converting: $filename.md → $filename.pdf"
    
    pandoc "$md_file" \
        --template="$TEMPLATE" \
        --pdf-engine=xelatex \
        --toc \
        --number-sections \
        -o "$OUTPUT_DIR/$filename.pdf"
done

echo "Batch conversion complete. Files in: $OUTPUT_DIR"

Python Batch Script with Progress

"""Batch convert markdown files to PDF with progress tracking."""

import os
import glob
from pathlib import Path
import markdown
from weasyprint import HTML
from concurrent.futures import ProcessPoolExecutor, as_completed


def convert_single_file(md_path, output_dir, css_path):
    """Convert a single markdown file to PDF."""
    try:
        filename = Path(md_path).stem
        output_path = os.path.join(output_dir, f"{filename}.pdf")
        
        with open(md_path, 'r') as f:
            md_content = f.read()
        
        html = markdown.markdown(
            md_content,
            extensions=['tables', 'fenced_code', 'codehilite', 'toc']
        )
        
        with open(css_path, 'r') as f:
            css = f.read()
        
        full_html = f"""
        <!DOCTYPE html>
        <html>
        <head><meta charset="utf-8"><style>{css}</style></head>
        <body>{html}</body>
        </html>
        """
        
        HTML(string=full_html).write_pdf(output_path)
        return (md_path, True, None)
    except Exception as e:
        return (md_path, False, str(e))


def batch_convert(input_dir, output_dir, css_path, max_workers=4):
    """Convert all markdown files in input_dir to PDFs."""
    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
    
    md_files = glob.glob(os.path.join(input_dir, "*.md"))
    print(f"Found {len(md_files)} markdown files to convert")
    
    successful = 0
    failed = 0
    
    with ProcessPoolExecutor(max_workers=max_workers) as executor:
        futures = {
            executor.submit(convert_single_file, md, output_dir, css_path): md
            for md in md_files
        }
        
        for future in as_completed(futures):
            md_path, success, error = future.result()
            filename = os.path.basename(md_path)
            
            if success:
                successful += 1
                print(f"✓ {filename}")
            else:
                failed += 1
                print(f"✗ {filename}: {error}")
    
    print(f"\nConversion complete: {successful} succeeded, {failed} failed")


# Usage
batch_convert('./docs', './output', './templates/print.css')

Scoring Rubric

Common Mistakes

1. Missing CJK fonts: Pandoc with pdflatex does not support CJK characters. Use xelatex or lualatex with CJK fonts installed.
2. Overflowing tables: Tables wider than the page margin get clipped. Use longtable in LaTeX or set table-layout: fixed in CSS.
3. Ignoring page breaks: Content breaks mid-paragraph or mid-code-block. Use page-break-inside: avoid in CSS or \pagebreak in LaTeX.
4. Missing CSS for print: Standard web CSS doesn't handle page margins, headers, footers, or page breaks. Always use @page rules.
5. Forgetting the --pdf-engine flag: Pandoc defaults to pdflatex which doesn't support all features. Switch to xelatex for Unicode/non-Latin scripts.
6. Embedded fonts not rendered: Custom fonts must be installed or embedded. WeasyPrint handles @font-face; Pandoc requires system fonts.
7. Not testing the output at different page sizes: A4 and Letter differ. Always verify your output looks right at the target size.
8. Inline CSS instead of stylesheet: Inline styles make maintenance harder and increase PDF size. Use external CSS files.
9. Code examples without syntax highlighting: Unformatted code looks unprofessional. Always enable highlighting.
10. No fallback for missing tools: If Pandoc or LaTeX is not installed, the build breaks silently. Add dependency checks in your scripts.