Quick Summary

Goal: Convert Markdown files to PDF with syntax highlighting and custom CSS support.

Workflow:

1. Install -- Ensure required tools (pandoc + wkhtmltopdf or weasyprint) are available
2. Convert -- Run conversion with syntax highlighting and optional CSS
3. Verify -- Check PDF output for formatting and completeness

Key Rules:

• Requires pandoc + a PDF engine (wkhtmltopdf or weasyprint)
• Supports syntax highlighting for code blocks
• Custom CSS can be applied for styling

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

markdown-to-pdf

Convert markdown files to high-quality PDF documents with code syntax highlighting and custom CSS support.

Installation Required

This skill requires npm dependencies. Run one of the following:

# Option 1: Install via ClaudeKit CLI (recommended)
ck init  # Runs install.sh which handles all skills

# Option 2: Manual installation
cd .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf
npm install

Dependencies: md-to-pdf, gray-matter

Note: First run may download Chromium (~150MB) unless system Chrome is detected.

Quick Start

# Basic conversion
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./README.md

# Specify output path
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./doc.md --output ./output.pdf

# With custom CSS
node .claude/skills/markdown-to-pdf/scripts/convert.cjs --input ./doc.md --css ./my-style.css

CLI Options

Features

• Syntax Highlighting: Code blocks rendered with highlight.js
• Custom CSS: Override default styles with your own CSS
• Cross-OS: Works on Windows, macOS, Linux
• System Chrome: Uses installed Chrome/Chromium when available
• Frontmatter Support: YAML frontmatter extracted for title/metadata

Default Styling

The default PDF style includes:

• Serif font (Georgia) for body text
• Monospace font (Consolas/Monaco) for code
• Proper page margins (2cm)
• Code block background highlighting
• Table borders and alternating row colors

Output

Returns JSON on success:

{
    "success": true,
    "input": "/path/to/input.md",
    "output": "/path/to/output.pdf",
    "pages": 3
}

Troubleshooting

Chrome not found: The skill will automatically download Chromium. Set PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD=1 to prevent this.

Memory issues: Large documents may require more memory. Consider splitting into multiple files.

Font issues: Embed fonts via CSS @font-face with base64-encoded fonts for consistent rendering.

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect. Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns. When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

Project Protocol Overlay — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the Target column of the project's skill-protocol index (docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md by default; a referenceDocs entry in docs/project-config.json overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > *. That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill. Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: .claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md.

Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently.

MUST ATTENTION resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > *, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user.

Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):

• Critical Thinking: Traced file:line proof per claim; confidence >80% to act; NEVER present guess as fact.
• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act) IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.