MD to PDF
Converts Markdown files to professional PDF using one of two rendering engines.
Prompt contract
Position 1 of $ARGUMENTS is a free-form prompt (RU/EN) — the file path, --engine flag, styles/test
tokens and the quoted LLM-preprocessing prompt are all optional and may follow in any order. Nobody types keys:
resolve mode + file FROM the prompt.
- Strip
--engine <name>. A literal mode token (styles,config,test,help) anywhere wins outright. - Else score modes by distinct whole-word keyword hits (table below). Highest unique score wins.
- Empty arguments ->
help(documented default). Read-only — asks nothing. - Prose resolution (mandatory):
$ARGUMENTSmay be a full sentence, not just tokens. Extractmd_filefrom any path-shaped token or a filename explicitly named in prose (e.g. "convert my notes.md to pdf" ->md_file = notes.md, resolved against cwd). If the sentence implies CONVERT but no file is resolvable -> ONEAskUserQuestionfor the file path. Never guess a file and never silently fall through to HELP. - Outcome-changing ambiguity (missing engine deps, no saved engine preference) -> ONE
AskUserQuestion.
Then print this block ONCE, before Step 1:
PLAN — brewdoc:md-to-pdf
INPUT: <arguments verbatim, or "(empty)">
MODE: <resolved> — <explicit | matched keyword: X | default | prose-resolved file: path>
SCOPE: <md_file | engine | style question, as applicable>
DO: <2-5 imperative bullets>
RESULT: <PDF path, or the help/styles/test output>
Labels are literal; values follow the conversation language.
Step 0: Parse Arguments
Parse $ARGUMENTS to determine mode and components.
| Component | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
md_file |
per mode | Path to .md file — literal token or extracted from prose (rule 4 above) |
--engine |
No | reportlab or weasyprint (overrides saved config) |
custom_prompt |
No | Last argument in double quotes = LLM preprocessing instructions |
Mode detection rules:
| Mode | Condition | EN keywords | RU keywords | Mutates? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HELP | Empty or help |
(empty), help | помощь | no |
| STYLES | styles or config |
styles, config, configure, page size, color scheme | стили, настрой стиль, конфиг | yes |
| TEST | test |
test, sample, demo, bundled test file | тест, пример, демо | no (writes only to /tmp/) |
| CONVERT+PROMPT | Path to .md file + quoted string at end |
convert with instructions, pdf and rewrite/strip section | сконвертируй с изменениями | yes |
| CONVERT | Path to .md file (no quoted string) |
convert, pdf, generate pdf, turn into pdf, .md file named in prose |
конвертируй, сделай pdf, преврати в pdf | yes |
Extract --engine <name> from anywhere in arguments if present. Remove it before further parsing.
Step 1: Dependency Check
Determine the target engine (from --engine flag, saved config, or default reportlab).
EXECUTE using Bash tool:
bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check_deps.sh" check ENGINE_NAME 2>&1; echo "EXIT_CODE=$?"
Replace ENGINE_NAME with the target engine.
If output contains MISSING_PIP or MISSING_SYSTEM:
Use AskUserQuestion presenting the engine comparison table:
| Feature | reportlab | weasyprint |
|---|---|---|
| Install | pip only | pip + brew |
| Quality | Good | Excellent |
| Speed | Fast | Moderate |
| Images | Basic | Full |
| CSS Styling | No | Yes |
| Code highlight | No | Yes (Pygments) |
Options:
- "Install ENGINE_NAME dependencies"
- "Switch to OTHER_ENGINE" (if the other engine is available)
- "Cancel"
If user chooses install, EXECUTE using Bash tool:
bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check_deps.sh" install ENGINE_NAME 2>&1 && echo "---INSTALL_OK---" || echo "---INSTALL_FAILED---"
STOP if INSTALL_FAILED -- report error and exit.
If user cancels -- STOP.
Step 2: Engine Selection (first run only)
Check for saved config in order:
- Project:
.claude/md-to-pdf.config.json - Global:
~/.claude/md-to-pdf.config.json
If --engine flag was provided -- use it (skip config lookup).
If no saved preference and no --engine flag -- use AskUserQuestion with the engine comparison table from Step 1. Save the choice to project config .claude/md-to-pdf.config.json:
{
"engine": "reportlab",
"pygments_theme": "github",
"version": "{PLUGIN_VERSION}",
"content_version": "{CONTENT_VERSION}",
"generated_by": "brewdoc:md-to-pdf",
"last_updated": "{LAST_UPDATED}"
}
The four provenance keys are mandatory on every write of this file and are RESOLVED, never hardcoded.
EXECUTE using Bash tool (replace ENGINE_VALUE and THEME_VALUE with the chosen values):
ROOT="${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || echo "$PWD")}"
PJ="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
PV=$(python3 -c "import json,sys;print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1])).get('version',''))" "$PJ" 2>/dev/null || true)
[ -n "$PV" ] || { echo "❌ cannot read version from $PJ -- reinstall brewdoc"; exit 1; }
SKILL_MD="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/SKILL.md"
CV=$(python3 -c "
import re,sys
for line in open(sys.argv[1]):
if 'brewcode-meta:' in line:
m = re.search(r'content_version=(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)', line)
if m:
print(m.group(1))
break
" "$SKILL_MD" 2>/dev/null || true)
[ -n "$CV" ] || { echo "❌ cannot read content_version from $SKILL_MD -- reinstall brewdoc"; exit 1; }
mkdir -p "$ROOT/.claude"
printf '{\n "engine": "ENGINE_VALUE",\n "pygments_theme": "THEME_VALUE",\n "version": "%s",\n "content_version": "%s",\n "generated_by": "brewdoc:md-to-pdf",\n "last_updated": "%s"\n}\n' "$PV" "$CV" "$(date +%F)" > "$ROOT/.claude/md-to-pdf.config.json" \
&& python3 -c "import json,sys;json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))" "$ROOT/.claude/md-to-pdf.config.json" \
&& echo "✅ config written (version $PV, content_version $CV)" || { echo "❌ config invalid JSON"; exit 1; }
STOP if ❌ -- fix before continuing.
Step 3: Mode Execution
HELP Mode
Print formatted usage:
MD to PDF Converter
Usage:
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf <file.md> Convert with saved engine/style
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf <file.md> --engine weasyprint Convert with specific engine
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf <file.md> "remove section X" Preprocess MD then convert
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf styles Configure page/color/font
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf test Convert bundled test file
/brewdoc:md-to-pdf help Show this help
Engines:
reportlab -- Pure Python, fast, no system deps (check_deps.sh install reportlab)
weasyprint -- HTML/CSS pipeline, best quality (pip + brew deps)
EXIT after printing.
CONVERT Mode
- Read the input MD file with Read tool. If not found -- STOP with error.
- Determine output path: same directory, same name,
.pdfextension. - Build the config path argument (if project or global config exists, add
--config CONFIG_PATH).
EXECUTE using Bash tool:
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/md_to_pdf.py" "INPUT_PATH" "OUTPUT_PATH" --engine ENGINE 2>&1 && echo "---CONVERT_OK---" || echo "---CONVERT_FAILED---"
Replace INPUT_PATH, OUTPUT_PATH, ENGINE with actual values. Add --config CONFIG_PATH if a style config JSON exists. Add --pygments-theme THEME for weasyprint if configured.
STOP if CONVERT_FAILED -- read error output, attempt fix, retry once. If still failing -- report error.
- Parse structured output lines:
STATUS,OUTPUT,PAGES,SIZE,ENGINE.
CONVERT+PROMPT Mode
- Read the input MD file with Read tool.
- Apply LLM transformations per the
custom_promptinstructions (delete sections, rewrite headings, restructure, etc.). - Write the transformed markdown, convert it and clean up in ONE Bash invocation. The temp name comes from
mktemp-- never composed from the source name -- and cleanup is trapped and constrained to a.tmp_*basename, so a mis-substitution cannot name the source file.
EXECUTE using Bash tool (replace ORIGINAL_DIR, TRANSFORMED_MARKDOWN, OUTPUT_PATH, ENGINE; keep every other byte):
set -euo pipefail
SRC_DIR="ORIGINAL_DIR"
TMP="$(mktemp "$SRC_DIR/.tmp_XXXXXX")"
trap 'case "${TMP##*/}" in .tmp_??????) rm -f "$TMP" ;; esac' EXIT
cat > "$TMP" <<'BREWDOC_MD_EOF'
TRANSFORMED_MARKDOWN
BREWDOC_MD_EOF
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/md_to_pdf.py" "$TMP" "OUTPUT_PATH" --engine ENGINE 2>&1 && echo "---CONVERT_OK---" || echo "---CONVERT_FAILED---"
OUTPUT_PATH is the ORIGINAL name with a .pdf extension. Add --config / --pygments-theme exactly as in CONVERT mode.
Never write the transformed markdown with
Write/Editand never reuse a fixed.tmp_<name>.mdpath -- a predictable name overwrites user files and collides with a concurrent conversion of the same source.
STOP if CONVERT_FAILED -- read error output, attempt fix, retry once. If still failing -- report error.
- Parse the structured result lines, then proceed to Step 4 with
preprocessing: true.
STYLES Mode
Run interactive configuration via AskUserQuestion dialogs:
Question 1 -- Page size:
Options: A4 (default), Letter, Legal
Question 2 -- Color scheme:
Options: Default blue (primary #1a3a5c), Dark (primary #2d3748), Custom (ask for hex values)
Question 3 -- Code theme (weasyprint only):
Options: github (default), monokai, friendly, solarized-dark, solarized-light
Question 4 -- Footer format:
Options: Page {page} of {total} (default), {page}/{total}, Disabled
Build JSON config matching styles/default.json structure, overriding changed values, and Write it to a temp file (e.g. /tmp/md-to-pdf-styles.json). The merge below then lands it in .claude/md-to-pdf.config.json with the four mandatory provenance keys, carrying over any engine / pygments_theme the file already held -- this writer replaces the whole file, and dropping those would silently reset the saved engine choice.
EXECUTE using Bash tool (replace STYLE_JSON_PATH with the temp file you wrote):
ROOT="${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || echo "$PWD")}"
CFG="$ROOT/.claude/md-to-pdf.config.json"
NEW="STYLE_JSON_PATH"
PJ="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
SKILL_MD="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/SKILL.md"
mkdir -p "$ROOT/.claude"
CFG="$CFG" NEW="$NEW" PJ="$PJ" SKILL_MD="$SKILL_MD" TODAY="$(date +%F)" python3 - <<'PY'
import json, os, re
cfg_p, new_p = os.environ["CFG"], os.environ["NEW"]
pv = json.load(open(os.environ["PJ"])).get("version")
if not pv:
raise SystemExit("no version in " + os.environ["PJ"])
cv = None
for line in open(os.environ["SKILL_MD"]):
if "brewcode-meta:" in line:
m = re.search(r"content_version=(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)", line)
if m:
cv = m.group(1)
break
if not cv:
raise SystemExit("no content_version in " + os.environ["SKILL_MD"])
old = json.load(open(cfg_p)) if os.path.exists(cfg_p) else {}
data = json.load(open(new_p))
for k in ("engine", "pygments_theme"):
if k in old and k not in data:
data[k] = old[k]
data["version"] = pv
data["content_version"] = cv
data["generated_by"] = "brewdoc:md-to-pdf"
data["last_updated"] = os.environ["TODAY"]
with open(cfg_p, "w") as fh:
json.dump(data, fh, indent=2)
fh.write("\n")
print("OK version=%s content_version=%s engine=%s" % (pv, cv, data.get("engine", "(unset)")))
PY
[ $? -eq 0 ] && echo "✅ styles saved" || { echo "❌ styles save FAILED"; exit 1; }
rm -f "$NEW"
STOP if ❌ -- fix before continuing.
The four keys sit at the top level beside the style sections; md_to_pdf.py's load_config deep-merges the file over styles/default.json and then reads only the sections it owns (page, colors, typography, code, footer), so extra top-level keys are inert.
Report saved settings table and EXIT.
TEST Mode
- Use bundled test file at
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/test/test-all-elements.mdas INPUT_PATH. - Determine output path:
/tmp/md-to-pdf-test-ENGINE.pdf - Run converter (same command as CONVERT mode, using test file as input,
/tmp/output). - Proceed to Step 4.
Step 4: Report Results
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | absolute path to input MD |
| Output | absolute path to output PDF |
| Pages | from PAGES= in script output |
| Size | from SIZE= in script output |
| Engine | reportlab or weasyprint |
| Preprocessing | custom_prompt summary (if used) or none |