Markdown to PDF
Convert any markdown file into a clean, professionally styled PDF. Handles tables, code blocks, blockquotes, and deep heading hierarchies out of the box. Optionally color-codes table cells based on status keywords.
When to Apply
Reference these guidelines when:
- The user asks to convert a markdown file to PDF
- The user wants a printable or shareable version of a document
- The user asks to "export", "generate PDF", or "make a PDF"
- The user wants styled tables with color-coded status cells
- The user needs landscape orientation for wide tables
How It Works
This skill bundles a Python script (scripts/md_to_pdf.py) that handles the full conversion pipeline:
Markdown → HTML (via markdown2) → Styled HTML → PDF (via weasyprint or xhtml2pdf)Always run the bundled script rather than writing conversion code inline. This ensures consistent styling and avoids reinventing the wheel each time.
Quick Start
Basic conversion — the script auto-detects the best orientation:
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md output.pdfWith status cell coloring (colors the table cells, not the text):
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md output.pdf --status-colorsForce landscape or portrait:
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md output.pdf --landscape
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md output.pdf --portraitCustom status keywords and colors:
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md output.pdf --status-colors \
--custom-colors '{"APPROVED": "#d4edda:#155724", "REJECTED": "#f8d7da:#721c24"}'Features
Auto Orientation
The script scans for tables in the markdown. If any table has 4 or more columns, it defaults to landscape. Otherwise, portrait. The user can always override with --landscape or --portrait.
Status Cell Coloring
When --status-colors is passed, the script identifies table cells in the Status column that contain bold keywords and applies background colors to the entire cell. This is column-aware — it only targets cells in columns named "Status", not every bold word in the document.
Built-in keyword → color mappings:
| Keyword | Background | Text Color | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXISTS | #d4edda (green) | #155724 | Available, implemented |
| MISSING | #f8d7da (red) | #721c24 | Not available, needed |
| PARTIAL | #fff3cd (yellow) | #856404 | Partially available |
| TODO | #fff3cd (yellow) | #856404 | Pending work |
| DONE | #d4edda (green) | #155724 | Completed |
| CLIENT-SIDE | #d1ecf1 (blue) | #0c5460 | Handled by client |
| NEEDS CLARIFICATION | #e8daef (purple) | #512e5f | Requires discussion |
| WARNING | #fff3cd (yellow) | #856404 | Caution |
| ERROR | #f8d7da (red) | #721c24 | Failure |
| N/A | #e2e3e5 (gray) | #495057 | Not applicable |
Users can add or override mappings with --custom-colors.
Engine Fallback
The script tries weasyprint first (better CSS support, proper page breaks, modern rendering). If weasyprint is not installed, it falls back to xhtml2pdf (pure Python, always installable). If neither is available, the script prints install instructions and exits — it does not auto-install packages.
Before first use, install dependencies explicitly:
pip install markdown2==2.5.3
pip install weasyprint # recommended
# OR
pip install xhtml2pdf==0.2.16 # pure Python fallbackPage Breaks
Each ## (h2) heading starts on a new page for long documents. This keeps sections cleanly separated in the PDF output.
Default Styling
The generated PDF includes sensible defaults:
- Font: Helvetica / Arial sans-serif, 9px body
- Headings: Scaled sizes (h1: 20px → h4: 10px), h1/h2 with bottom borders
- Tables: Collapsed borders, dark header row (
#2c3e50background, white text), alternating row colors - Code blocks: Light gray background, monospace font
- Blockquotes: Left blue border, light background
- Page margins: 1.5cm on all sides
Arguments Reference
| Argument | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
input | Yes | — | Path to the markdown file |
output | No | <input>.pdf | Output PDF path. Defaults to same name with.pdf extension |
--landscape | No | Auto | Force landscape orientation |
--portrait | No | Auto | Force portrait orientation |
--status-colors | No | Off | Enable status keyword cell coloring |
--custom-colors | No | — | JSON string of custom keyword → color mappings. Format: '{"KEYWORD": "#bg:#text"}' |
Troubleshooting
Tables look clipped or overflow: Try --landscape to give tables more horizontal space.
Status colors not appearing: Make sure you passed --status-colors. The feature is off by default. Also verify that the status keywords are wrapped in **bold** in the markdown source.
weasyprint won't install: It requires system libraries (cairo, pango). On macOS: brew install cairo pango. On Ubuntu: apt install libcairo2-dev libpango1.0-dev. If you can't install them, the script falls back to xhtml2pdf automatically.
Fonts look different: weasyprint uses system fonts, xhtml2pdf uses built-in PDF fonts. Results may vary slightly between engines.