XSLT Runner

Run file conversions directly from the command palette using either:

• Java + Saxon (XSLT transformations)
• Pandoc (document format conversions)

Commands

• XSLT Runner: Run Conversion (Configured Backend)
• XSLT Runner: Run XSLT with Java
• XSLT Runner: Run Conversion with Pandoc

Settings

• xsltRunner.backend: java or pandoc
• xsltRunner.java.path: Java executable path (default: java)
• xsltRunner.java.saxonJarPath: path to Saxon JAR (required for Java mode)
• xsltRunner.java.stylesheetDirectory: default folder for stylesheet selection (you will still be prompted to confirm/select location per run)
• xsltRunner.java.extraArgs: extra args appended to Java command
• xsltRunner.pandoc.path: Pandoc executable path (default: empty, resolved by OS)
• xsltRunner.pandoc.extraPathEntries: additional PATH entries used when running Pandoc (useful for PDF engines like pdflatex)
• xsltRunner.pandoc.from: optional Pandoc input format
• xsltRunner.pandoc.to: default Pandoc output format hint
• xsltRunner.pandoc.extraArgs: extra args appended to Pandoc command

Required Inputs Per Run

• Java conversion: requires selecting the stylesheet directory and stylesheet file to apply.
• Pandoc conversion: requires selecting a target format from formats reported by pandoc --list-output-formats.

Format-Specific Requirements

Some Pandoc output formats require additional external tools beyond pandoc itself.

• Example: PDF output typically requires a LaTeX engine such as pdflatex.
• If the PDF engine is not installed or not discoverable in PATH, the conversion will fail even when pandoc is available.
• Use xsltRunner.pandoc.extraPathEntries to add directories that contain helper tools (for example, /Library/TeX/texbin on macOS).

Pandoc Path Resolution

If xsltRunner.pandoc.path is empty, the extension uses OS-specific defaults:

• macOS Apple Silicon: /opt/homebrew/bin/pandoc, then /usr/local/bin/pandoc, then pandoc from PATH
• macOS Intel: /usr/local/bin/pandoc, then /opt/homebrew/bin/pandoc, then pandoc from PATH
• Linux: /usr/bin/pandoc, then /usr/local/bin/pandoc, then pandoc from PATH
• Windows: pandoc.exe from PATH

When running Pandoc, the extension also prepends OS-specific PATH entries so helper tools (for example, pdflatex) can be discovered:

• macOS: /Library/TeX/texbin, /opt/homebrew/bin, /usr/local/bin
• Linux: /usr/local/bin, /usr/bin
• Windows: no extra defaults (set xsltRunner.pandoc.extraPathEntries if needed)

Java Mode Example

With xsltRunner.java.saxonJarPath set to /opt/saxon/saxon-he.jar, the extension runs:

java -jar /opt/saxon/saxon-he.jar -s:/path/in.xml -xsl:/path/style.xsl -o:/path/out.xml

Pandoc Mode Example

With xsltRunner.pandoc.to set to docx, the extension runs:

pandoc /path/in.md --to docx --output /path/in.docx