generate-pdf

name	generate-pdf
description	Converts a Markdown review report to a professionally formatted PDF using pandoc with XeLaTeX. Use after the final review report Markdown has been compiled to produce the PDF deliverable.
disable-model-invocation	true

Generate PDF

Convert a Markdown report file into a professionally formatted, readable PDF.

Prerequisites

• pandoc: brew install pandoc (macOS) or see pandoc.org
• LaTeX engine: brew install --cask mactex or use tectonic (brew install tectonic)
• Check: which pandoc && which xelatex

Primary Command (pandoc + XeLaTeX)

pandoc <input.md> -o <output.pdf> \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  -V geometry:margin=2.5cm \
  -V fontsize=11pt \
  -V mainfont="Helvetica" \
  -V monofont="Menlo" \
  -V colorlinks=true \
  -V linkcolor=blue \
  -V urlcolor=blue \
  --metadata title="Peer Review Report" \
  --metadata date="$(date +%Y-%m-%d)" \
  --highlight-style=tango \
  --toc \
  --toc-depth=2

Explanation of Options

• --pdf-engine=xelatex — XeLaTeX handles Unicode and custom fonts
• -V geometry:margin=2.5cm — readable margins (not too narrow)
• -V fontsize=11pt — comfortable reading size
• -V mainfont="Helvetica" — clean sans-serif body text
• -V monofont="Menlo" — readable monospace for code/tables
• -V colorlinks=true — clickable links in blue
• --highlight-style=tango — pleasant code syntax highlighting
• --toc — table of contents for navigation
• --toc-depth=2 — include H1 and H2 in TOC

Fallback: pandoc + HTML + wkhtmltopdf

If XeLaTeX is not available:

pandoc <input.md> -o <output.pdf> --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf

Fallback: pandoc + LaTeX (pdflatex)

If XeLaTeX is not available but pdflatex is:

pandoc <input.md> -o <output.pdf> \
  --pdf-engine=pdflatex \
  -V geometry:margin=2.5cm \
  -V fontsize=11pt \
  -V colorlinks=true \
  -V linkcolor=blue \
  -V toccolor=gray \
  --metadata title="Peer Review Report" \
  --toc

Fallback: Install tools if missing

# Install pandoc
brew install pandoc

# Install LaTeX (large download)
brew install --cask mactex

# Or use tectonic (lighter alternative)
brew install tectonic

Quality Notes

• The PDF should be readable when printed (good contrast, reasonable font size)
• Tables should render properly (pandoc handles Markdown tables natively)
• The table of contents makes longer reports navigable
• Links (URLs, internal references) should be clickable

Output Convention

PDF saved alongside the Markdown file in the same report directory, same base filename with .pdf extension. Example: 10-final-review-report.md → 10-final-review-report.pdf