md2pdf

name	md2pdf
description	Convert markdown files to styled PDFs. Supports Mermaid diagrams, tables, professional typography. Individual or combined output.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	<file.md> [file2.md ...] [--combined output.pdf] [--css custom.css] [-o output_dir] [--outbox NAME] [--vault PATH] [--subject TEXT]

PDF Export Skill

Convert markdown documents to professionally styled PDFs using weasyprint.

Usage

/md2pdf path/to/document.md
/md2pdf doc1.md doc2.md doc3.md
/md2pdf doc1.md doc2.md --combined package.pdf
/md2pdf doc.md --css ~/my-brand.css -o ~/Desktop
/md2pdf doc1.md doc2.md --outbox erik-lindgren_bravo --subject "Sammanfattning"

How it works

1. Translate any ```markmap fenced blocks into Mermaid mindmap blocks (heading levels + bullets become indentation)
2. Normalize lazy lists -- insert a blank line before a list that follows a paragraph (matches GFM/Obsidian behavior, since Python-markdown is strict CommonMark)
3. Extract Mermaid code blocks from raw markdown, render to PNG via mmdc (high-res, scale 3x)
4. Parse remaining markdown to HTML (Python markdown library), with pymdownx.tasklist enabled when available so - [ ] / - [x] become real checkboxes
5. Inject rendered Mermaid PNGs back into the HTML
6. Apply CSS styling (default: style.css in this skill directory)
7. Render to PDF via weasyprint

Note: Mermaid is rendered as PNG, not SVG, because Mermaid SVGs use foreignObject for text labels which weasyprint cannot render.

Mindmap support

Author mindmaps using a fenced ```markmap block. The skill converts it to a Mermaid mindmap automatically before rendering:

```markmap
# Root
## Branch A
- Leaf A1
- Leaf A2
## Branch B
- Leaf B1
  - Sub-leaf
```

Rules:

• # heading is the root (depth 0). ## is depth 1, ### is depth 2, etc.
• Bullets (- / *) under a heading inherit the heading's depth and add their own indent (each two spaces / tab = one extra level).
• Mermaid's mindmap renderer is used, so mmdc must be installed for the diagram to render. Without mmdc the block falls back to a plain code listing.

Limit depth per block

Pass depth=N as a fence attribute to prune nodes deeper than N. Depth 0 is the root, so depth=2 keeps the root + two levels of branches and drops everything deeper.

```markmap depth=2
# Root
## Branch A
- Leaf A1     (kept — depth 2)
  - Drilldown (dropped — depth 3)
## Branch B
- Leaf B1     (kept)
```

Use a small depth (1-2) for an executive overview and omit the attribute (or use a higher value) for a detailed map.

Execution

Run the converter script:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py <args>

Arguments

Arg	Description
files	One or more .md files to convert
-o, --output-dir	Output directory (default: current dir)
--combined NAME.pdf	Merge all files into one PDF
--css FILE	Custom CSS (default: built-in professional style)
--outbox NAME	Package PDFs into <vault>/_outbox/YYMMDD-NAME/ with _manifest.md + email stub. NAME follows the contact convention (förnamn-efternamn_organisation).
--vault PATH	Vault root for --outbox mode (default: walk up from cwd looking for _outbox/ or _contacts/, then $OBSIDIAN_VAULT).
--subject TEXT	Pre-fill the email subject line in --outbox mode.

Examples

Single file:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py report.md -o ~/Desktop

Multiple files, individual PDFs:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py summary.md strategy.md diagram.md -o ./export

Combined document:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py summary.md strategy.md --combined full-report.pdf -o ~/Desktop

Custom styling:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py doc.md --css ~/brand/style.css

Outbox mode (auto-package for sending):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/md2pdf/md2pdf.py nulaege.md strategi.md --outbox erik-lindgren_bravo --subject "Sammanfattning från mötet"

Outbox mode produces:

<vault>/_outbox/YYMMDD-erik-lindgren_bravo/
├── _manifest.md                                  # status, kanal, kontakt, projekt, Innehåll-tabell
├── 260415-erik-lindgren_bravo-mejl.txt     # ämne ifyllt, bilagor listade, body tom
├── nulaege.pdf
└── strategi.pdf

The manifest and email stub are skeletons. After generating, you MUST fill in:

1. Email body (mejl.txt): Write a complete email with context — what's attached and why, key decisions or outcomes, open questions, and what's expected from the recipient. Never leave the body as <!-- fyll i meddelandetext -->. IMPORTANT: The email file must be plain text only — no markdown syntax. Do not use ##, **, ---, backticks, or any other markdown formatting. Use UPPERCASE for section headings, plain dashes/numbers for lists, and spaces for alignment. The text is copied directly into a mail client where markdown renders as ugly raw syntax.
2. Manifest: Fill in Beskrivning/Målgrupp cells and Syfte. Remove references to internal-only documents that should not be sent to the recipient.
3. Bilaga-listan: Verify that only recipient-appropriate files are listed — remove internal CRs, question logs with internal IDs, or other non-customer-facing documents.

After sending, flip **Status:** ej skickad to skickad in the manifest. Combining --outbox with --combined paket.pdf produces a single PDF inside the outbox folder instead of one per source file.

Dependencies

• weasyprint (Python) -- HTML/CSS to PDF
• markdown (Python) -- Markdown to HTML
• pymdown-extensions (Python, optional) -- Renders - [ ] / - [x] task lists as proper checkboxes (without it the checkboxes show up as literal [ ] text after the bullet)
• mmdc (npm: @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli) -- Mermaid diagram rendering, required for mindmap and mermaid blocks (optional only if neither block type is used)

Install (first-time setup)

# Python deps
pip install weasyprint markdown pymdown-extensions

# Mermaid CLI (required for ```mermaid and ```markmap blocks)
npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli

Verify:

mmdc --version    # should print a version
weasyprint --version

If mmdc is missing, mermaid/markmap blocks will fall back to a plain code listing in the PDF (no diagram rendered) -- the build still succeeds.

Customization

Override the default style.css with --css. The CSS uses @page rules for print layout (A4, margins, page numbers). See style.css in this directory for the full default template.

Integration with other skills

This skill pairs well with:

• /ops -- generate meeting summaries, then export as PDF
• /preparation -- create meeting prep docs, export for print/sharing
• /transcript -- process transcripts, deliver as PDF

Workflow: generate markdown with the source skill, then /md2pdf to export.