Windows | Linux

A vscode tool that converts advanced Markdown with diagrams, code execution, and custom macros into publication-ready LaTeX PDFs.

• Prerequisites
• Installation
• VS Code Setup
• Usage
• Changing Default Values
• Changing the University Logo
• Updating markdown-latex-pdf-builder
• Uninstallation
• Tested Environments

Before starting, make sure you have the following:

Download and install it from python.org. Preferably, above version 3.10.

Check installation:

python --version; python -m pip --version

Download from code.visualstudio.com.

Check installation:

code --version

Install the Command Runner extension for VS Code.

Download and install Node.js from nodejs.org.

Check installation:

node --version; npm --version

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Open PowerShell (Terminal on Windows 11) and run these commands:

Install TinyTeX to your user AppData folder:

wget "https://github.com/rstudio/tinytex-releases/releases/download/daily/TinyTeX-1.zip" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\TinyTeX.zip"
Expand-Archive -Force -Path "$env:TEMP\TinyTeX.zip" -DestinationPath $env:APPDATA
Remove-Item "$env:TEMP\TinyTeX.zip"
$env:PATH += ";$env:APPDATA\TinyTeX\bin\windows"
tlmgr path add
tlmgr postaction install script xetex

Install the Pygments syntax highlighter for code blocks:

python -m pip install Pygments

pygmentize -V

$scriptsDir = python -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_path('scripts'))"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$([Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'User'));$scriptsDir", "User")

Download markdown-latex-pdf-builder to your user AppData folder:

wget https://github.com/abdxdev/markdown-latex-pdf-builder/archive/refs/heads/main.zip -OutFile "$env:TEMP\main.zip"
Expand-Archive -Force -Path "$env:TEMP\main.zip" -DestinationPath "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder"
Remove-Item "$env:TEMP\main.zip"
Copy-Item "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\default.json" "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\default.json"

Install the Mermaid CLI and Chrome headless shell for rendering diagrams:

npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli
npx puppeteer browsers install chrome-headless-shell

pnpm add -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli
pnpm -g exec puppeteer browsers install chrome-headless-shell

Install required Python packages for plotting inside python execution blocks:

python -m pip install numpy matplotlib

If your Markdown files reference SVG images:

python -m pip install svglib reportlab

Run this command to test markdown-latex-pdf-builder with the comprehensive guide example. If everything is set up correctly, a PDF document should be generated and opened automatically.

python "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\script.py" "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\test\COMPREHENSIVE-GUIDE.md" --show

1. Open VS Code and press Ctrl + Shift + P.

2. Search for Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and open it.

3. Add this to the bottom of your settings.json file just before the closing }:

   // ...other settings...,
    "command-runner.commands": {
        "markdown-latex-pdf-builder: Build Document (follow json settings)": "python \"$env:APPDATA\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\\script.py\" \"${file}\"",
        "markdown-latex-pdf-builder: Build Assignment (add university title page)": "python \"$env:APPDATA\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\\script.py\" \"${file}\" --titleTemplate university-title --enableContentPage false",
        "markdown-latex-pdf-builder: Build Notes (add title)": "python \"$env:APPDATA\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\\script.py\" \"${file}\" --titleTemplate header-title --enableContentPage false",
        "markdown-latex-pdf-builder: Build Publication (add contents and title page)": "python \"$env:APPDATA\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\\script.py\" \"${file}\" --titleTemplate separate-page-title --enableContentPage true"
    }

4. Save the file.

1. Open any folder in VS Code.
2. Create a new Markdown file (for example, report.md).
3. Add your content. Check out our comprehensive guide for advanced features and examples.
4. Press Ctrl + Shift + R and select markdown-latex-pdf-builder: Build Document. (Extension: Command Runner must be installed. Follow prerequisites if you haven't done so.)
5. After a few moments, the PDF will be generated along with a .json metadata file. Edit this file to change document settings like title, university, and date. (To permanently change default values, see the next section.)
6. Re-run the build command from step 4 to generate the updated PDF.

You can edit the default settings for document generation by modifying the default.json file.

Run this command to open it in VS Code:

code "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\default.json"

The next time you generate a document, it will use the updated defaults.

To replace the default logo, open the script directory:

explorer $env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main\

Replace the existing uni-logo.pdf file with your logo file (use the same name).

To update markdown-latex-pdf-builder, run these commands in PowerShell:

Remove-Item "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder\markdown-latex-pdf-builder-main" -Recurse -Force
wget https://github.com/abdxdev/markdown-latex-pdf-builder/archive/refs/heads/main.zip -OutFile "$env:TEMP\main.zip"
Expand-Archive -Path "$env:TEMP\main.zip" -DestinationPath "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder"
Remove-Item "$env:TEMP\main.zip"

tlmgr path remove
Remove-Item "$env:APPDATA\TinyTeX" -Recurse -Force

Remove-Item "$env:APPDATA\markdown-latex-pdf-builder" -Recurse -Force

This tool was tested on:

• Windows 11
• Command Runner v0.0.124
• Python 3.13.3
• TinyTeX 0.57
• tlmgr 76773