Pandoc Document Conversion Skill

Convert documents between formats using pandoc, the universal document converter.

Prerequisites

# Check if pandoc is installed
pandoc --version

# Install via Homebrew if needed
brew install pandoc

Common Conversions

Markdown to Word (.docx)

# Basic conversion
pandoc input.md -o output.docx

# With table of contents
pandoc input.md --toc -o output.docx

# With custom reference doc (for styling)
pandoc input.md --reference-doc=template.docx -o output.docx

# Standalone with metadata
pandoc input.md -s --metadata title="Document Title" -o output.docx

Markdown to PDF

# Requires LaTeX - install one of:
#   brew install --cask basictex      # Smaller (~100MB)
#   brew install --cask mactex-no-gui # Full (~4GB)
# After install: eval "$(/usr/libexec/path_helper)" or new terminal

# Basic conversion (uses pdflatex)
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf

# With table of contents and custom margins
pandoc input.md -s --toc --toc-depth=2 -V geometry:margin=1in -o output.pdf

# Using xelatex (better Unicode support - box drawings, arrows, etc.)
export PATH="/Library/TeX/texbin:$PATH"
pandoc input.md --pdf-engine=xelatex -V geometry:margin=1in -o output.pdf

PDF Engine Selection:

Markdown to HTML

Critical: Always use -f gfm (GitHub Flavored Markdown) for proper line break and list handling. Standard markdown collapses consecutive lines into paragraphs.

# RECOMMENDED: GitHub Flavored Markdown with full styling
pandoc -f gfm -s -H <(cat << 'STYLE'
<style>
body{font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,sans-serif;max-width:800px;margin:0 auto;padding:2em;line-height:1.6}
h1{border-bottom:2px solid #333;padding-bottom:0.3em}
h2{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;padding-bottom:0.2em;margin-top:1.5em}
h3{margin-top:1.2em}
ul,ol{margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1.5em;padding-left:1em}
ul{list-style-type:disc}ol{list-style-type:decimal}
li{margin:0.3em 0}ul ul,ol ul{list-style-type:circle;margin:0.2em 0 0.2em 1em}
table{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;margin:1em 0}
th,td{border:1px solid #ddd;padding:8px;text-align:left}
th{background-color:#f5f5f5}
code{background-color:#f4f4f4;padding:2px 6px;border-radius:3px}
pre{background-color:#f4f4f4;padding:1em;overflow-x:auto;border-radius:5px}
blockquote{border-left:4px solid #ddd;margin:1em 0;padding-left:1em;color:#666}
</style>
STYLE
) input.md -o output.html

# Quick version (minimal styling)
pandoc -f gfm -s input.md -o output.html

# With hard line breaks (newlines become <br>)
pandoc -f markdown+hard_line_breaks -s input.md -o output.html

# Self-contained (embeds images/CSS)
pandoc -f gfm -s --embed-resources --standalone input.md -o output.html

Format Options:

HTML for Print-to-PDF (No LaTeX Required)

When LaTeX isn't available, create styled HTML and print to PDF from browser:

# Create inline CSS file
cat > /tmp/print-style.css << 'EOF'
body { font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif;
       max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 2em; line-height: 1.6; }
h1 { border-bottom: 2px solid #333; padding-bottom: 0.3em; }
h2 { border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc; padding-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 1.5em; }
h3 { margin-top: 1.2em; }
/* Lists - critical for proper rendering */
ul, ol { margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1.5em; padding-left: 1em; }
ul { list-style-type: disc; }
ol { list-style-type: decimal; }
li { margin: 0.3em 0; }
ul ul, ol ul { list-style-type: circle; margin: 0.2em 0 0.2em 1em; }
ul ol, ol ol { margin: 0.2em 0 0.2em 1em; }
ul ul ul, ol ul ul { list-style-type: square; }
/* Tables */
table { border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; margin: 1em 0; }
th, td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px; text-align: left; }
th { background-color: #f5f5f5; }
/* Code */
code { background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 2px 6px; border-radius: 3px; }
pre { background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 1em; overflow-x: auto; border-radius: 5px; }
/* Other */
blockquote { border-left: 4px solid #ddd; margin: 1em 0; padding-left: 1em; color: #666; }
@media print { body { max-width: none; } }
EOF

# Convert with embedded styles (ALWAYS use -f gfm)
pandoc -f gfm input.md -s --toc --toc-depth=2 -c /tmp/print-style.css --embed-resources --standalone -o output.html

# Open and print to PDF (Cmd+P > Save as PDF)
open output.html

Word to Markdown

# Extract markdown from docx
pandoc input.docx -o output.md

# With ATX-style headers
pandoc input.docx --atx-headers -o output.md

Useful Options

Format Identifiers

Google Docs Workflow

To get markdown into Google Docs with formatting preserved:

# 1. Convert to docx
pandoc document.md -o document.docx

# 2. Upload to Google Drive
# 3. Right-click > Open with > Google Docs

Google Docs imports .docx files well and preserves:

• Headings
• Bold/italic
• Lists (bulleted and numbered)
• Tables
• Links
• Code blocks (as monospace)

PSI Document Conversion

For PSI documents with tables and complex formatting:

# Convert PSI markdown to Word
pandoc PSI-document.md \
  --standalone \
  --toc \
  --toc-depth=2 \
  -o PSI-document.docx

# Open for review
open PSI-document.docx

Troubleshooting

Lists/Lines Running Together (HTML)

If bullet points, numbered lists, or consecutive lines merge into one paragraph:

Cause: Standard markdown treats consecutive lines as one paragraph. Lists need blank lines before them.

Fix: Use GitHub Flavored Markdown (-f gfm):

# Always use -f gfm for reliable formatting
pandoc -f gfm -s input.md -o output.html

# For documents where newlines should be <br> tags
pandoc -f markdown+hard_line_breaks -s input.md -o output.html

Why this happens:

• Standard markdown: Line 1\nLine 2 → <p>Line 1 Line 2</p> (merged)
• GFM: Better list detection, handles edge cases
• +hard_line_breaks: Line 1\nLine 2 → Line 1<br>Line 2 (preserved)

Tables Not Rendering

Pandoc requires proper markdown table syntax:

| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   |

Code Blocks Missing Highlighting

Use fenced code blocks with language identifier:

```python
def example():
    pass

### PDF Generation Fails

**"pdflatex not found"** - Install LaTeX:
```bash
# Smaller option (~100MB)
brew install --cask basictex

# Full option (~4GB)
brew install --cask mactex-no-gui

# After install, update PATH
eval "$(/usr/libexec/path_helper)"
# Or open a new terminal

Unicode character errors (box-drawing, arrows, emojis):

# Use xelatex instead of pdflatex
export PATH="/Library/TeX/texbin:$PATH"
pandoc input.md --pdf-engine=xelatex -o output.pdf

No LaTeX available - Use HTML print-to-PDF workflow:

pandoc input.md -s --toc -o output.html
open output.html
# Then Cmd+P > Save as PDF

Self-Test

# Verify pandoc installation
pandoc --version | head -1

# Test basic conversion
echo "# Test\n\nHello **world**" | pandoc -f markdown -t html