tools-only elegant-reports
Generate minimalist, elegant PDF reports inspired by Scandinavian design principles.
Quick Start
cd ~/clawd-nuri-internal/skills/elegant-reports
# Generate a report (dense layout)
node generate.js report.md output.pdf --template report
# Generate a presentation (bold slides)
node generate.js data.md slides.pdf --template presentation
# Dark mode
node generate.js report.md --template report --theme dark
# List templates
node generate.js --list
Templates
| Template | Style | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
report |
Dense, multi-column | Deep dives, analysis, competitive intel |
presentation |
Big & bold, one idea/page | Exec briefings, board decks |
Each template supports --theme light (default) or --theme dark.
Frontmatter
Add YAML frontmatter to control output:
---
title: Q4 Competitive Analysis
subtitle: Market Intelligence Report
author: Nuri
template: report
theme: dark
---
Your content here...
Design Philosophy
Based on Nordic/Scandinavian design principles:
- Bold typography — Poppins for headlines, Inter for body
- High contrast — Dark headers, clear hierarchy
- Generous whitespace — Content breathes
- One accent color — Blue (#2563EB) used sparingly
- Functional beauty — Form follows function
See NORDIC_DESIGN_RESEARCH.md for complete design documentation.
Creating New Templates
The Visual Iteration Workflow
This is how to create new templates with visual feedback:
Step 1: Research References
# Use browser tool to study design examples
browser navigate https://www.canva.com/templates/...
browser screenshot
# Look for:
# - Typography choices (font, size, weight)
# - Color palette (backgrounds, text, accents)
# - Layout patterns (grids, spacing)
# - Component styles (cards, tables, callouts)
Step 2: Create Theme CSS
Create a new CSS file in themes/:
/* themes/my-theme.css */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins:wght@600;700;800&family=Inter:wght@400;500&display=swap');
:root {
/* Color tokens */
--color-bg: #FAFAFA;
--color-surface: #FFFFFF;
--color-text-primary: #0A0A0A;
--color-text-secondary: #404040;
--color-accent: #2563EB;
/* Typography tokens */
--font-display: 'Poppins', sans-serif;
--font-body: 'Inter', sans-serif;
/* Spacing tokens */
--space-4: 1rem;
--space-6: 1.5rem;
--space-8: 2rem;
}
/* Component styles... */
Step 3: Create Template HTML
Create HTML in templates/:
<!-- templates/my-template.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>{{title}}</title>
<style>
{{styles}}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="page">
<h1>{{title}}</h1>
<p>{{subtitle}}</p>
{{content}}
</div>
</body>
</html>
Available variables: {{title}}, {{subtitle}}, {{author}}, {{date}}, {{content}}, {{styles}}
Step 4: Test with Visual Feedback
# Generate test HTML manually
node -e "
const fs = require('fs');
const css = fs.readFileSync('themes/my-theme.css', 'utf8');
let html = fs.readFileSync('templates/my-template.html', 'utf8');
html = html.replace('{{styles}}', css);
html = html.replace(/\{\{title\}\}/g, 'Test Title');
html = html.replace(/\{\{subtitle\}\}/g, 'Test Subtitle');
html = html.replace(/\{\{date\}\}/g, 'January 2026');
html = html.replace(/\{\{author\}\}/g, 'Nuri');
html = html.replace(/\{\{content\}\}/g, '<p>Test content</p>');
fs.writeFileSync('test-output.html', html);
"
# Preview in browser
browser navigate file://$(pwd)/test-output.html
browser screenshot
# See what's wrong, fix it, repeat
Step 5: Register in Generator
Add to TEMPLATES object in generate.js:
const TEMPLATES = {
// ...existing templates...
'my-template': {
description: 'My custom template description',
template: 'my-template.html',
themes: {
light: 'my-theme.css',
dark: 'my-theme-dark.css'
}
}
};
Step 6: Test PDF Generation
node generate.js test.md output.pdf --template my-template --output-html
Design Tokens Reference
Typography Scale
| Token | Size | Use |
|---|---|---|
--text-xs |
11-12px | Labels, captions |
--text-sm |
13-14px | Body (dense) |
--text-base |
14-16px | Body (normal) |
--text-lg |
16-18px | Lead paragraphs |
--text-xl |
18-20px | Section headers |
--text-2xl |
20-24px | H3 |
--text-3xl |
24-32px | H2 |
--text-4xl |
32-40px | H1 (report) |
--text-5xl |
48-56px | H1 (presentation) |
--text-6xl |
64-72px | Hero text |
Spacing Scale
| Token | Size | Use |
|---|---|---|
--space-1 |
2-4px | Tight gaps |
--space-2 |
4-8px | Inline spacing |
--space-3 |
8-12px | Component padding |
--space-4 |
12-16px | Card padding |
--space-6 |
20-24px | Section gaps |
--space-8 |
28-32px | Major sections |
--space-10 |
36-40px | Page sections |
--space-12 |
44-48px | Page margins |
Color Palette
Light Mode:
--color-bg: #FAFAFA;
--color-surface: #FFFFFF;
--color-text-primary: #0A0A0A;
--color-text-secondary: #404040;
--color-text-muted: #737373;
--color-accent: #2563EB;
Dark Mode:
--color-bg: #09090B;
--color-surface: #18181B;
--color-text-primary: #FAFAFA;
--color-text-secondary: #D4D4D8;
--color-text-muted: #A1A1AA;
--color-accent: #3B82F6;
Component Patterns
KPI Strip (horizontal metrics)
<div class="kpi-strip">
<div class="kpi-item">
<div class="kpi-value">$10.8M</div>
<div class="kpi-label">Revenue</div>
<div class="kpi-change positive">+12%</div>
</div>
<!-- more items -->
</div>
Key Findings Box
<div class="key-findings">
<div class="key-findings-title">Key Points</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Point 1</strong> — Details</li>
<li><strong>Point 2</strong> — Details</li>
</ul>
</div>
Two-Column Layout
<div class="two-col">
<div>Left column content</div>
<div>Right column content</div>
</div>
Callouts
<div class="callout callout-tip">
<div class="callout-title">Tip</div>
<p>Content here</p>
</div>
Types: callout-tip (green), callout-warning (amber), callout-danger (red)
Tables with Dark Headers
<table class="no-break">
<thead>
<tr><th>Header</th><th class="num">Value</th></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>Row</td><td class="num">123</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Page Break Control
Add these classes to prevent awkward breaks:
<div class="no-break">This won't split across pages</div>
<div class="page-break">Forces new page before this</div>
Tables, cards, callouts, and KPI strips have page-break-inside: avoid by default.
Files Structure
elegant-reports/
├── SKILL.md # This file
├── NORDIC_DESIGN_RESEARCH.md # Design principles documentation
├── generate.js # Main generator script
├── package.json
├── themes/
│ ├── nordic-v2.css # Presentation light
│ ├── nordic-report.css # Report light
│ └── nordic-report-dark.css # Report dark
├── templates/
│ ├── executive-v2.html # Presentation template
│ └── report-v2.html # Report template
└── examples/
└── sample-executive.md # Example input
Dependencies
- Node.js 18+
- axios, form-data (
npm install) - Nutrient DWS API key (configured in mcporter or NUTRIENT_DWS_API_KEY env var)
API Usage
const { generateReport } = require('./generate.js');
await generateReport({
input: 'report.md',
output: 'report.pdf',
template: 'report',
theme: 'dark',
title: 'My Report',
author: 'Nuri'
});