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pdf-engine-fallback
Retry PDF generation with alternative engines when pandoc fails
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Retry PDF generation with alternative engines when pandoc fails
| name | pdf-engine-fallback |
| description | Retry PDF generation with alternative engines when pandoc fails |
This skill provides a diagnostic-retry workflow for PDF generation when Pandoc's default PDF engine fails. It systematically checks available engines and retries with alternatives optimized for different content types (e.g., xelatex for Unicode).
First, try generating with pandoc's default engine:
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf
If the initial attempt fails, check which PDF engines are available:
# Check for pdflatex
which pdflatex && echo "pdflatex: available" || echo "pdflatex: not found"
# Check for xelatex (better Unicode support)
which xelatex && echo "xelatex: available" || echo "xelatex: not found"
# Check for wkhtmltopdf (HTML-based rendering)
which wkhtmltopdf && echo "wkhtmltopdf: available" || echo "wkhtmltopdf: not found"
Based on available engines and document content, retry with an appropriate engine:
# For documents with Unicode/special characters - prefer xelatex
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex
# Alternative: use pdflatex for simple Latin documents
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf --pdf-engine=pdflatex
# For HTML-heavy content or complex layouts
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf
If no PDF engines are available, install one:
# Ubuntu/Debian - install texlive with xelatex
sudo apt-get install texlive-xetex
# Or install minimal teTeX
sudo apt-get install texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra
# macOS with Homebrew
brew install basictex
#!/bin/bash
# pdf-fallback.sh - Robust PDF generation with engine fallback
INPUT_FILE="${1:-input.md}"
OUTPUT_FILE="${2:-output.pdf}"
echo "Attempting PDF generation: $INPUT_FILE -> $OUTPUT_FILE"
# Try default engine first
if pandoc "$INPUT_FILE" -o "$OUTPUT_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
echo "SUCCESS: PDF generated with default engine"
exit 0
fi
echo "Default engine failed. Checking available engines..."
# Check and try engines in priority order
if command -v xelatex &>/dev/null; then
echo "Retrying with xelatex (Unicode support)..."
if pandoc "$INPUT_FILE" -o "$OUTPUT_FILE" --pdf-engine=xelatex; then
echo "SUCCESS: PDF generated with xelatex"
exit 0
fi
fi
if command -v pdflatex &>/dev/null; then
echo "Retrying with pdflatex..."
if pandoc "$INPUT_FILE" -o "$OUTPUT_FILE" --pdf-engine=pdflatex; then
echo "SUCCESS: PDF generated with pdflatex"
exit 0
fi
fi
if command -v wkhtmltopdf &>/dev/null; then
echo "Retrying with wkhtmltopdf..."
if pandoc "$INPUT_FILE" -o "$OUTPUT_FILE" --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf; then
echo "SUCCESS: PDF generated with wkhtmltopdf"
exit 0
fi
fi
echo "FAILURE: No available PDF engine succeeded"
echo "Install a PDF engine (texlive-xetex recommended) and retry"
exit 1
# Make executable
chmod +x pdf-fallback.sh
# Run with defaults (input.md -> output.pdf)
./pdf-fallback.sh
# Run with custom files
./pdf-fallback.sh report.md report.pdf
| Engine | Best For | Unicode | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| xelatex | Non-Latin scripts, modern fonts | Excellent | Moderate |
| pdflatex | Simple Latin documents | Limited | Fast |
| wkhtmltopdf | HTML/CSS styling | Good | Fast |
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