# 2766 Pandoc Server A65d4d68 > Pandoc Server - Skill: `tools-only/2766-pandoc-server-a65d4d68` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/2766-pandoc-server-a65d4d68` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/2766-pandoc-server-a65d4d68/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Research & Search - Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/2766-pandoc-server-a65d4d68 --- # Pandoc Server ## Overview The Pandoc MCP Server provides powerful document conversion capabilities using the versatile pandoc tool. This Go-based server enables text conversion between 30+ document formats with support for standalone documents, table of contents generation, and custom metadata. It serves as a bridge between the MCP protocol and pandoc's extensive format conversion capabilities. ### Key Features - **Convert between 30+ document formats**: Supports markdown, HTML, LaTeX, PDF, DOCX, EPUB, and many more - **Standalone document generation**: Create complete, self-contained documents - **Table of contents support**: Automatically generate TOCs for supported formats - **Custom metadata handling**: Add titles, authors, and other metadata to documents - **Format discovery tools**: List available input and output formats - **Health monitoring**: Check pandoc installation and version information ## Quick Start ### Prerequisites **Pandoc must be installed on the system:** ```bash # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt install pandoc # macOS brew install pandoc # Windows: Download from pandoc.org # Verify installation pandoc --version ``` **Go 1.23 or later for building from source.** ### Installation #### From Source ```bash # Clone the repository git clone cd pandoc-server # Install dependencies go mod download # Build the server make build ``` #### Using Docker ```bash # Build the Docker image docker build -t pandoc-server . # Run the container docker run -i pandoc-server ``` ### Running the Server ```bash # Run the built server ./dist/pandoc-server # Or with ContextForge for HTTP/SSE access python3 -m mcpgateway.translate --stdio "./dist/pandoc-server" --port 9000 ``` ## Available Tools ### pandoc Convert text from one format to another using pandoc. **Parameters:** - `from` (required): Input format (e.g., markdown, html, latex, rst, docx, epub) - `to` (required): Output format (e.g., html, markdown, latex, pdf, docx, plain) - `input` (required): The text content to convert - `standalone`: Produce a standalone document (default: false) - `title`: Document title for standalone documents - `metadata`: Additional metadata in key=value format - `toc`: Include table of contents (default: false) ### list-formats List available pandoc input and output formats. **Parameters:** - `type`: Format type to list - 'input', 'output', or 'all' (default: 'all') ### health Check if pandoc is installed and return version information. **Returns:** - Pandoc installation status - Version information - Available features and extensions ## Configuration ### MCP Client Configuration ```json { "mcpServers": { "pandoc-server": { "command": "./dist/pandoc-server" } } } ``` ### Via ContextForge ```json { "mcpServers": { "pandoc-server": { "command": "python3", "args": ["-m", "mcpgateway.translate", "--stdio", "./dist/pandoc-server", "--port", "9000"] } } } ``` ## Examples ### Convert Markdown to HTML ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "markdown", "to": "html", "input": "# Hello World\n\nThis is **bold** text.", "standalone": true, "title": "My Document" } } ``` **Response:** ```html My Document

Hello World

This is bold text.

``` ### Convert HTML to Markdown ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "html", "to": "markdown", "input": "

Title

This is a paragraph with formatting.

" } } ``` ### Create LaTeX Document with TOC ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "markdown", "to": "latex", "input": "# Introduction\n\nThis is the introduction.\n\n# Main Content\n\nThis is the main content.\n\n# Conclusion\n\nThis is the conclusion.", "standalone": true, "title": "Research Paper", "toc": true, "metadata": "author=John Doe,date=2024-01-15" } } ``` ### Convert DOCX to Plain Text ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "docx", "to": "plain", "input": "" } } ``` ### List Available Formats ```json { "tool": "list-formats", "arguments": { "type": "input" } } ``` **Response:** ```json { "success": true, "format_type": "input", "formats": [ "markdown", "html", "latex", "rst", "docx", "epub", "json", "csv", "mediawiki", "org" ] } ``` ### Check Pandoc Health ```json { "tool": "health", "arguments": {} } ``` **Response:** ```json { "success": true, "pandoc_installed": true, "version": "2.19.2", "features": ["pdf-engine", "lua-filters", "bibliography"], "status": "healthy" } ``` ## Integration ### With ContextForge The Pandoc server integrates seamlessly with ContextForge for HTTP and SSE access: ```bash # Start pandoc server via ContextForge python3 -m mcpgateway.translate --stdio "./dist/pandoc-server" --port 9000 # Register with ContextForge curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/gateways \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "name": "pandoc-server", "url": "http://localhost:9000", "description": "Document conversion server using Pandoc" }' ``` ### Programmatic Usage ```go // Example Go client usage package main import ( "context" "fmt" "log" "github.com/your-org/mcp-go-client" ) func main() { client, err := mcp.NewStdioClient("./dist/pandoc-server") if err != nil { log.Fatal(err) } defer client.Close() // Convert markdown to HTML result, err := client.CallTool(context.Background(), "pandoc", map[string]any{ "from": "markdown", "to": "html", "input": "# Hello\n\nWorld!", "standalone": true, }) if err != nil { log.Fatal(err) } fmt.Println(result) } ``` ## Supported Formats Pandoc supports numerous input and output formats. Use the `list-formats` tool to see all available formats on your system. ### Common Input Formats - **markdown**: Pandoc's extended Markdown - **html**: HTML documents - **latex**: LaTeX documents - **rst**: reStructuredText - **docx**: Microsoft Word documents - **epub**: EPUB e-books - **json**: Pandoc JSON format - **csv**: Comma-separated values - **mediawiki**: MediaWiki markup - **org**: Emacs Org mode ### Common Output Formats - **html**: HTML documents - **markdown**: Markdown format - **latex**: LaTeX documents - **pdf**: PDF documents (requires LaTeX) - **docx**: Microsoft Word documents - **epub**: EPUB e-books - **plain**: Plain text - **json**: Pandoc JSON format - **asciidoc**: AsciiDoc format - **rst**: reStructuredText ## Advanced Features ### Metadata Handling ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "markdown", "to": "html", "input": "# Document\n\nContent here.", "standalone": true, "title": "My Article", "metadata": "author=John Doe,date=2024-01-15,keywords=documentation pandoc" } } ``` ### Table of Contents Generation ```json { "tool": "pandoc", "arguments": { "from": "markdown", "to": "html", "input": "# Chapter 1\n\n## Section 1.1\n\n### Subsection 1.1.1\n\n# Chapter 2\n\n## Section 2.1", "standalone": true, "toc": true, "title": "Technical Manual" } } ``` ### Batch Processing ```go // Example batch conversion documents := []struct { input string format string }{ {"# Doc 1\n\nContent 1", "html"}, {"# Doc 2\n\nContent 2", "latex"}, {"# Doc 3\n\nContent 3", "docx"}, } for i, doc := range documents { result, err := client.CallTool(context.Background(), "pandoc", map[string]any{ "from": "markdown", "to": doc.format, "input": doc.input, "standalone": true, "title": fmt.Sprintf("Document %d", i+1), }) if err != nil { log.Printf("Error converting doc %d: %v", i+1, err) continue } // Process result... } ``` ## Use Cases ### Documentation Workflows - Convert Markdown documentation to HTML for web publishing - Generate PDF versions of documentation from Markdown sources - Transform reStructuredText to various output formats ### Content Publishing - Convert blog posts between different markup formats - Generate e-books (EPUB) from Markdown sources - Create presentation slides from Markdown ### Academic Writing - Convert between LaTeX and Word formats for collaboration - Generate bibliographies and citations - Create formatted academic papers ### Report Generation - Convert data reports to multiple output formats - Generate executive summaries in different formats - Create standardized document templates ### Migration Projects - Convert legacy document formats to modern alternatives - Batch process document archives - Standardize document formats across organizations ## Error Handling The server provides comprehensive error handling for: - **Missing Pandoc Installation**: Clear error messages with installation guidance - **Unsupported Format Combinations**: Validation of input/output format compatibility - **Invalid Input Content**: Proper error reporting for malformed documents - **Conversion Failures**: Detailed pandoc error messages - **Resource Limits**: Handling of large documents and memory constraints ## Development ### Building from Source ```bash # Format code make fmt # Run tests make test # Tidy dependencies make tidy # Build binary make build ``` ### Testing ```bash # Run all tests make test # Test specific functionality go test -v ./... # Test with coverage go test -cover ./... ``` ### Docker Development ```bash # Build development image docker build -t pandoc-server:dev . # Run tests in container docker run --rm pandoc-server:dev make test # Interactive development shell docker run --rm -it pandoc-server:dev /bin/sh ``` ## Performance Considerations - **Pandoc Startup Overhead**: Each conversion spawns a new pandoc process - **Large Documents**: Memory usage scales with document size - **Complex Formats**: PDF generation requires LaTeX installation and is slower - **Concurrent Requests**: The server can handle multiple simultaneous conversions - **Caching**: Consider implementing caching for frequently converted content ## Security Considerations - **Input Validation**: The server validates input formats and content - **Process Isolation**: Each pandoc conversion runs in a separate process - **Resource Limits**: Consider implementing timeouts for long-running conversions - **File System Access**: Pandoc may access local files for includes and templates ## Limitations - **Format Support**: Available formats depend on pandoc installation and features - **Binary Content**: Some formats require special handling for binary content - **Template Dependencies**: Custom templates and includes may require additional setup - **PDF Generation**: Requires LaTeX installation for PDF output - **Large Files**: Very large documents may hit memory or processing limits