[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.
AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task: - Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. - Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. - Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. - Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. - When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. - Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. - Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. - Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. - Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. - Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.
Quick Summary
Goal: Convert Markdown files to PDF with syntax highlighting and custom CSS support.
Workflow:
- Install -- Ensure required tools (pandoc + wkhtmltopdf or weasyprint) are available
- Convert -- Run conversion with syntax highlighting and optional CSS
- Verify -- Check PDF output for formatting and completeness
Key Rules:
- Requires pandoc + a PDF engine (wkhtmltopdf or weasyprint)
- Supports syntax highlighting for code blocks
- Custom CSS can be applied for styling
Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).
markdown-to-pdf
Convert markdown files to high-quality PDF documents with code syntax highlighting and custom CSS support.
Installation Required
This skill requires npm dependencies. Run one of the following:
# Option 1: Install via ClaudeKit CLI (recommended)
ck init # Runs install.sh which handles all skills
# Option 2: Manual installation
cd .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf
npm installDependencies: md-to-pdf, gray-matter
Note: First run may download Chromium (~150MB) unless system Chrome is detected.
Quick Start
# Basic conversion
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./README.md
# Specify output path
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./doc.md --output ./output.pdf
# With custom CSS
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./doc.md --css ./my-style.cssCLI Options
| Option | Short | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
--input | -i | Input markdown file path | (required) |
--output | -o | Output PDF file path | {input}.pdf |
--css | -c | Custom CSS file path | built-in |
--no-highlight | Disable syntax highlighting | false | |
--help | -h | Show help message |
Features
- Syntax Highlighting: Code blocks rendered with highlight.js
- Custom CSS: Override default styles with your own CSS
- Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, Linux
- System Chrome: Uses installed Chrome/Chromium when available
- Frontmatter Support: YAML frontmatter extracted for title/metadata
Default Styling
The default PDF style includes:
- Serif font (Georgia) for body text
- Monospace font (Consolas/Monaco) for code
- Proper page margins (2cm)
- Code block background highlighting
- Table borders and alternating row colors
Output
Returns JSON on success:
{
"success": true,
"input": "/path/to/input.md",
"output": "/path/to/output.pdf",
"pages": 3
}Troubleshooting
Chrome not found: The skill will automatically download Chromium. Set PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD=1 to prevent this.
Memory issues: Large documents may require more memory. Consider splitting into multiple files.
Font issues: Embed fonts via CSS @font-face with base64-encoded fonts for consistent rendering.
Closing Reminders
- IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using
TaskCreateBEFORE starting - IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code
- IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite
file:lineevidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act) - IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality
- MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.
- MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.
[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.