MD2PDF

MD2PDF converts Markdown files to clean PDFs directly from VS Code. It watches Markdown saves, renders the document in a local browser, and writes a PDF next to the source file or into a configured output folder.

Features

Automatically converts Markdown files to PDF when you save.
Adds a manual command for converting the current Markdown file on demand.
Uses Markdown-it with syntax highlighting for fenced code blocks.
Resolves relative image paths based on the Markdown file location.
Lets you choose PDF page format, orientation, and output directory.
Includes MD2PDF: Check Browser Setup to verify browser detection before you convert.

Requirements

MD2PDF needs a local Chromium-based browser because PDF generation runs through puppeteer-core.

Supported browsers:

Google Chrome
Microsoft Edge
Brave

The extension tries to detect one of those browsers automatically. If detection fails, set md2pdf.chromePath to the full executable path.

Installation

Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
Make sure Chrome, Edge, or Brave is installed locally.
Open the Command Palette and run MD2PDF: Check Browser Setup.
If no browser is found, set md2pdf.chromePath in your VS Code settings and run the check again.

Setup

The default setup works well for most machines:

Leave md2pdf.enabled turned on to convert Markdown files on save.
Leave md2pdf.outputDirectory empty to write the PDF next to the Markdown file.
Leave md2pdf.chromePath empty unless auto-detection does not find your browser.

Example browser path overrides:

{
  "md2pdf.chromePath": "C:\\Program Files\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe"
}

{
  "md2pdf.chromePath": "/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome"
}

Usage

Convert on save

Open a Markdown file.
Save it.
MD2PDF creates a PDF with the same base filename.

If md2pdf.outputDirectory is set, the PDF is written there instead.

Convert manually

Open a Markdown file in the editor.
Run MD2PDF: Convert Current Markdown File to PDF from the Command Palette.

Check browser detection

Run MD2PDF: Check Browser Setup any time you want to confirm which browser path MD2PDF will use.

Configuration

MD2PDF contributes these settings:

Setting	Default	Description
`md2pdf.enabled`	`true`	Convert Markdown files automatically on save.
`md2pdf.chromePath`	`""`	Full path to a Chrome, Edge, or Brave executable. Leave empty to use auto-detection.
`md2pdf.outputDirectory`	`""`	Output folder for generated PDFs. Leave empty to place PDFs next to the Markdown file.
`md2pdf.pageFormat`	`"Letter"`	PDF page size. Supported values: `A3`, `A4`, `A5`, `Letter`, `Legal`, `Tabloid`.
`md2pdf.pageOrientation`	`"portrait"`	PDF orientation: `portrait` or `landscape`.

Troubleshooting

No supported browser was found

Install Chrome, Edge, or Brave locally.
Run MD2PDF: Check Browser Setup.
Set md2pdf.chromePath if the browser is installed in a non-standard location.

Nothing happens when I save

Confirm the file language mode is Markdown.
Check that md2pdf.enabled is still true.
Look for an error notification from MD2PDF in VS Code.

PDF was created in the wrong folder

Clear md2pdf.outputDirectory to write beside the Markdown file.
If you set a custom output directory, make sure the path is valid on your machine.

Images are missing in the PDF

Use relative image paths from the Markdown file location or absolute URLs.
Save the Markdown file again after fixing the image path.

Notes

The generated PDF includes a small footer with the project repository URL.
HTML inside Markdown is supported because rendering is handled by Markdown-it before the page is printed to PDF.

Release

Use the repo-local @vscode/vsce install through the npm scripts from the extension root.

Package a release candidate

Update the extension version in package.json.
Run npm run release:check.
Confirm the generated .vsix file in the project root and test-install it in VS Code with Extensions: Install from VSIX... if needed.
If you plan to publish with npm run publish:marketplace, do it from the same clean tree immediately after the check so you do not publish different bits than the ones you validated.

Publish to the VS Code Marketplace

vsce publishes with a Visual Studio Marketplace publisher and a Personal Access Token (PAT). Keep the token outside the repo and either:

create a PAT in Azure DevOps with the Marketplace (Manage) scope and All accessible organizations, then sign in once with npx vsce login 9DStudios, or
set VSCE_PAT for the current shell session before publishing.

Before the first publish:

Create or confirm the Azure DevOps organization tied to your Microsoft account.
Create or confirm the 9DStudios publisher in the Visual Studio Marketplace management portal.
Use the same Microsoft account and PAT when you run vsce login.
Manage publisher members and extension access through the Marketplace publisher management portal.

When the release artifact looks correct, publish with:

npm run publish:marketplace

npm run publish:marketplace repackages the current working tree before publishing. Do not make additional file changes between npm run release:check and the publish step unless you are intentionally rebuilding and re-verifying the release.

npm run package remains the safe packaging step when you only want a local .vsix and do not want to publish.

MD2PDF Local

9DStudios