Markdown to PDF

Converts markdown files to beautifully formatted PDFs using crossnote (same engine as mcp-printer).

Features

• Mermaid diagrams — Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, etc.
• Math equations — KaTeX rendering
• Syntax highlighting — GitHub theme
• Page numbers — Automatic footer with page X / Y
• GitHub-light theme — Clean, print-optimized styling

Usage

~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs input.md              # Creates input.pdf
~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs input.md output.pdf   # Custom output name
~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs input.md --open       # Open after creating

Options

Flag	Description
--open, -O	Open the PDF after creating
-o FILE	Specify output filename

Requirements

• Chrome or Chromium — Auto-detected on macOS/Linux
• Node.js — For running the script
• Dependencies — Run npm install in the skill directory once

How It Works

1. Uses crossnote (Markdown Preview Enhanced engine)
2. Injects page numbering config into front-matter
3. Renders via Chrome/Puppeteer
4. Supports Mermaid, math, code highlighting out of the box

Examples

# Quick conversion
~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs README.md

# Spec document for sharing
~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs spec.md spec-v2.pdf --open

# Multiple files
for f in docs/*.md; do ~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs "$f"; done

Mermaid Example

Include in your markdown:

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Do something]
    B -->|No| D[Do something else]
```

The diagram will render as a graphic in the PDF.

Printing

If the user wants to print the PDF, use the /print skill after generating.

Workflow decision:

User intent	Action
"Convert to PDF"	Keep the PDF
"Print this markdown"	Generate PDF → print with /print → delete PDF
"Create a PDF and print it"	Keep the PDF, also print

When printing is the goal (not the PDF itself), delete the PDF after printing:

# Generate, print, cleanup
~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs doc.md
~/.claude/skills/print/scripts/print doc.pdf
rm doc.pdf

The /print skill handles double-sided and b&w defaults automatically.

Alias (Optional)

Add to your shell profile:

alias md-to-pdf='~/.claude/skills/md-to-pdf/scripts/md-to-pdf.cjs'