md-to-pdf-cjk

name	md-to-pdf-cjk
description	Convert Markdown files to professional PDF documents with full CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) support. Uses reportlab for reliable rendering without external dependencies like wkhtmltopdf or LaTeX.
author	zacjiang
version	1.0.0
tags	markdown, pdf, chinese, japanese, korean, CJK, convert, report, document

Markdown to PDF (CJK Support)

Convert Markdown to professional PDFs with full Chinese/Japanese/Korean text support.

Why This Exists

Most Markdown-to-PDF tools break on CJK characters, require LaTeX, or need heavy dependencies. This skill uses reportlab for lightweight, reliable PDF generation that works on any server — including 2GB RAM VPS instances.

Usage

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/md_to_pdf.py input.md "Document Title" output.pdf

Features

• ✅ Full CJK text rendering (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
• ✅ Markdown headings, bold, italic, bullet lists, code blocks
• ✅ Tables with proper column alignment
• ✅ Automatic page breaks and numbering
• ✅ Lightweight — runs on minimal servers (2GB RAM)
• ✅ No LaTeX, no wkhtmltopdf, no Chrome/Puppeteer needed

Supported Markdown Elements

• # H1 through #### H4 headings
• **bold** and *italic*
• - bullet lists (nested supported)
• | table | rows | (pipe-delimited tables)
• `inline code` and code blocks
• --- horizontal rules

Dependencies

pip3 install reportlab

Font Configuration

The script auto-detects CJK fonts in common locations:

• /usr/share/fonts/ (Linux)
• /System/Library/Fonts/ (macOS)

If no CJK font is found, it falls back to Helvetica (CJK characters will not render). Install a CJK font:

# RHEL/CentOS/Alibaba Cloud Linux
sudo yum install -y google-noto-sans-cjk-ttc-fonts

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install -y fonts-noto-cjk

Use Cases

• Generate PDF reports from AI analysis (audit reports, summaries)
• Convert documentation to distributable format
• Create invoices, proposals, or contracts in CJK languages
• Batch convert multiple Markdown files to PDF