PDF Generation with Claude Code

PDF Generation with Claude Code

Confidence: Tier 2 — Based on production-tested workflow with Quarto/Typst stack.

Generate professional PDFs (documentation, whitepapers, reports) using Claude Code with modern typography and design.

Table of Contents

1. TL;DR
2. When to Use
3. Stack Overview
4. Setup
5. Workflow
6. Integration with Claude Code
7. Customization
8. Troubleshooting
9. See Also

TL;DR

# Install
brew install quarto  # macOS

# Generate
quarto render document.qmd  # → document.pdf

# Preview
quarto preview document.qmd  # Hot-reload

Stack: Quarto (orchestration) + Typst (typography) + Pandoc (markdown)

When to Use

Best for: Long-form technical content requiring professional layout, version control, and reproducibility.

Stack Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Your .qmd File                 │
│         (Markdown + YAML frontmatter)           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                        │
                        ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Quarto                       │
│           (Document rendering engine)           │
│         • Processes YAML metadata               │
│         • Handles extensions                    │
│         • Manages output formats                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                        │
          ┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
          ▼                           ▼
┌─────────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────────┐
│       Pandoc        │    │       Typst         │
│   (MD → AST → ?)    │    │  (Typography/PDF)   │
│  • Markdown parser  │    │  • Modern engine    │
│  • AST transforms   │    │  • Fast compilation │
│  • Format bridges   │    │  • No LaTeX needed  │
└─────────────────────┘    └─────────────────────┘
                        │
                        ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  document.pdf                   │
│        (Professional typography output)         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Output Formats & Commands

  FORMAT                COMMANDE                      SORTIE
  ──────                ────────                      ──────

  PDF standard    →  quarto render doc.qmd            doc.pdf
                     --to typst                       (sans template custom)

  PDF stylé ✅    →  quarto render doc.qmd            doc.pdf
                     --to whitepaper-typst            (~270K–1.7M, Bold Guy)
                     (format custom via _extensions/)

  EPUB            →  quarto render doc.qmd            doc.epub
                     --to epub

  Preview         →  quarto preview doc.qmd           hot-reload navigateur

Extension Structure

  _extensions/
  └── whitepaper/
      ├── _extension.yml       ← déclare le format "whitepaper-typst"
      ├── typst-template.typ   ← design system (couleurs, typo, callouts)
      └── typst-show.typ       ← bridge Quarto → Typst

  ⚠️  Si tu maintiens des copies dans fr/ en/ et racine :
      garder les 3 fichiers typst-template.typ synchronisés

Troubleshooting Rapide

  SYMPTÔME                        CAUSE                    FIX
  ────────                        ─────                    ───
  PDF petit (~80-190K), non stylé  --to pdf au lieu de      Utiliser --to whitepaper-typst
                                   --to whitepaper-typst

  Erreur "bibliography"            @ref dans titre callout   Supprimer le @ du titre
                                   → interprété comme cit.

  Table rendue comme code          Backtick ``` non fermé    Compter les ``` (doit être pair)

  "Extension not found"            Mauvais répertoire        Vérifier _extensions/ path

Setup

Installation

macOS:

brew install quarto

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

wget https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/releases/download/v1.4.555/quarto-1.4.555-linux-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i quarto-1.4.555-linux-amd64.deb

Windows:

winget install Posit.Quarto

Verify:

quarto --version  # Should be ≥1.4.0

Project Structure

project/
├── _extensions/           # Quarto extensions (templates)
│   └── custom-template/
│       ├── _extension.yml
│       ├── typst-template.typ
│       └── typst-show.typ
├── documents/
│   ├── guide.qmd          # Source file
│   └── guide.pdf          # Generated output
└── assets/
    └── logo.png           # Shared assets

Minimal Document

Create document.qmd:

---
title: "My Document"
author: "Author Name"
date: 2026-01-17
format:
  typst:
    toc: true
lang: en
---

# Introduction

Your content here...

## Section 1

More content with **bold** and `code`.

```bash
echo "Code blocks work!"

Section 2

Generate:
```bash
quarto render document.qmd  # Creates document.pdf

Workflow

1. Content-First Approach

1. Write content in Markdown (.qmd)
2. Add YAML frontmatter for metadata
3. Preview with hot-reload
4. Generate final PDF
5. Version control both source and PDF

2. Available YAML Parameters

3. Markdown Features

Page Breaks:

{{< pagebreak >}}

Code Blocks (with syntax highlighting):

```typescript
function hello(): string {
  return "world";
}
```

Tables:

| Feature | Supported |
|---------|-----------|
| Tables  | ✅        |
| Images  | ✅        |
| Links   | ✅        |

Images:

![Alt text](path/to/image.png){width=50%}

Integration with Claude Code

Using the pdf-generator Skill

Invoke the skill for guided PDF generation:

/pdf-generator

The skill provides:

• Template with YAML frontmatter
• Design system configuration
• Common troubleshooting fixes
• Generation commands

Prompt Examples

Generate documentation:

Create a technical guide for our API as a Quarto document.
Use the Typst format with a table of contents.
Include sections for: Authentication, Endpoints, Error Codes.

Convert existing Markdown:

Convert README.md to a professional PDF.
Add a cover page with title and date.
Use Quarto/Typst format.

Create template:

Create a Quarto extension for our company's document style:
- Logo in header
- Custom colors: primary #0f172a, accent #6366f1
- Inter font for body, JetBrains Mono for code

With Plan Mode

For complex documents:

[Press Shift+Tab to enter Plan Mode]

I need to create a series of 5 technical whitepapers.
Plan the structure:
1. Common template/extension
2. Shared assets
3. Build automation
4. Version management

With Hooks

Auto-generate PDF after edits using a PostToolUse hook:

// In .claude/settings.json
{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "command": "if echo \"$TOOL_INPUT\" | grep -q '.qmd'; then quarto render \"$FILE\"; fi"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Customization

Custom Template Extension

Create _extensions/mytemplate/_extension.yml:

title: My Template
author: Your Name
version: 1.0.0
contributes:
  formats:
    typst:
      template: typst-template.typ
      template-partials:
        - typst-show.typ

Typst Template Variables

In typst-template.typ:

// Colors
#let primary = rgb("#0f172a")      // Dark text
#let secondary = rgb("#334155")    // Lighter text
#let accent = rgb("#6366f1")       // Highlights

// Typography
#set text(
  font: ("Inter", "Helvetica Neue", "Arial"),
  size: 11pt,
)

#set par(
  leading: 0.75em,  // Line height
  justify: true,
)

// Code blocks
#show raw.where(block: true): it => {
  block(
    fill: rgb("#f8fafc"),
    stroke: (left: 3pt + accent),
    inset: 10pt,
    radius: 4pt,
    it,
  )
}

Callout Boxes

Define in template:

#let info(title: "Note", body) = {
  block(
    fill: rgb("#E0F2FE"),
    stroke: (left: 3pt + rgb("#0284C7")),
    inset: 12pt,
    radius: 4pt,
    [*#title*: #body]
  )
}

#let warning(title: "Warning", body) = { ... }
#let success(title: "Success", body) = { ... }
#let danger(title: "Danger", body) = { ... }

Use in document:

#info[This is an informational note.]
#warning(title: "Attention")[Check your configuration.]

Troubleshooting

Quick Checks

# Verify Quarto
quarto --version

# Check extension exists
ls _extensions/*/

# Validate code block pairs (must be even)
grep -c '^```' document.qmd

# Check encoding
file -i document.qmd  # Should show utf-8

Common Issues

Nested Code Blocks

Problem: Inner code block closes outer block prematurely.

Solution: Use more backticks for outer block:

````markdown
# Outer block with 4 backticks

```bash
echo "Inner block with 3 backticks"
```

Outer block continues...
````

Validation Script

#!/bin/bash
# validate-qmd.sh

for f in *.qmd; do
  count=$(grep -c '^```' "$f")
  if [ $((count % 2)) -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "ERROR: $f has odd code block count ($count)"
  fi
done

See Also

• Quarto Documentation
• Typst Documentation
• Quarto + Typst Guide
• examples/skills/pdf-generator.md — Skill template
• whitepapers/README.md — Production example