Markdown to PDF Studio

Professional Markdown to PDF generator for Visual Studio Code. Converts Markdown documents into publication-ready PDFs with custom watermarks (text and logo), smart automatic document naming, curated typography themes, KaTeX math equations, Mermaid diagrams, dynamic running headers and footers with page numbering, and one-click batch export.

Overview

Markdown to PDF Studio provides an on-device conversion pipeline that turns standard or GitHub-flavored Markdown into clean, polished PDF documents. Unlike web services such as markdowntopdf.com, all processing runs locally on your machine with zero cloud uploads, complete data privacy, no subscription fees, and no mandatory watermarks.

Features

1. Custom Watermark Engine (Text and Logo)

• Text Watermarks: Configure custom stamps such as CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, or INTERNAL ONLY. Control opacity (0.01 to 1.0), rotation angle (-35 deg, -45 deg, etc.), font family, font size, and layout (centered single stamp or tiled repeating diagonal pattern).
• Logo / Image Watermarks: Stamp project or company logos (.png, .svg, .jpg, .webp) with adjustable opacity, positioning, and sizing.

2. Smart Document Naming

• Inferred file naming hierarchy:
  1. YAML Frontmatter (title: "...")
  2. First Level-1 Heading (# Document Title)
  3. First non-empty line
  4. Original Markdown file basename
• Sanitizes file names to strip illegal filesystem characters (/ \ : * ? " < > |) across macOS, Windows, and Linux.

3. Curated Typography Themes

• Modern Clean (Default): Modern sans-serif typography (Inter / SF Pro / system-ui), crisp dividers, and structured tables.
• Editorial Academic: Elegant serif typography (Merriweather / Libre Baskerville / Georgia) for research papers, essays, and reports.
• Technical Documentation: High-contrast developer layout with monospace styling (JetBrains Mono / Consolas) and code syntax highlighting.
• Corporate Slate: Executive layout with navy and slate accents, styled heading borders, and formal dividers.
• Custom CSS: Link any local .css file via workspace settings or per-document frontmatter to completely control the visual output.

4. Mathematical Equations and Vector Diagrams

• LaTeX / KaTeX: Render inline math expressions with $E = mc^2$ and block equations with $$\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$$.
• Mermaid Diagrams: Render flowcharts, sequence diagrams, state diagrams, class diagrams, ER models, and Gantt charts using standard mermaid code blocks into crisp vector SVGs.
• GitHub Callout Alerts: Full styling for > [!NOTE], > [!TIP], > [!IMPORTANT], > [!WARNING], and > [!CAUTION].

5. Running Headers, Footers, and Pagination

• Dynamic template tags:
  • {{title}}: Inferred document title
  • {{date}}: Formatted generation date
  • {{author}}: Author name
  • <span class="pageNumber"></span>: Current page number
  • <span class="totalPages"></span>: Total page count
• Option to omit headers and footers on the first cover page (omitOnFirstPage: true).

6. Batch Folder Export

• Export entire directories of Markdown documents in one step.
• Built-in queue management prevents memory exhaustion.
• Displays a progress bar in the VS Code status area with cancellation support.

7. Live PDF Preview Panel

• Inspect the exact rendered layout, styling, and watermark inside an interactive VS Code Webview before generating the final PDF.

Usage

Quick Export

1. Open any Markdown (.md or .markdown) file.
2. Click the PDF icon in the top-right editor title bar, or press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) / Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) and select:

   Markdown PDF: Export to PDF
   

3. The PDF is generated in the document's directory (or your configured output folder). Click Open PDF in the notification to view the file.

Export with Custom Options

Run:

Markdown PDF: Export with Custom Options...

An interactive prompt lets you choose:

• Paper Size (A4, Letter, Legal, A3, A5, Tabloid)
• Page Orientation (portrait or landscape)
• Typography Theme
• Watermark settings (None, Text with custom string and layout, or Logo file picker)

Context Menus

• Explorer Sidebar: Right-click any .md file $\rightarrow$ Markdown PDF: Export to PDF.
• Explorer Folder: Right-click any folder $\rightarrow$ Markdown PDF: Batch Export Folder to PDF.
• Editor Window: Right-click anywhere in an active Markdown editor $\rightarrow$ Markdown PDF: Export to PDF.
• Editor Tab: Right-click the file tab $\rightarrow$ Markdown PDF: Export to PDF.

Frontmatter Configuration

Override settings on a per-document basis using YAML frontmatter:

---
title: System Architecture Specification
author: Gunjan Dev
date: 2026-09-07
theme: Modern Clean
paperSize: A4
orientation: portrait
watermark:
  enabled: true
  type: text
  text: CONFIDENTIAL
  opacity: 0.12
  rotation: -35
  layout: centered
header:
  enabled: true
footer:
  enabled: true
  omitOnFirstPage: true
---

# System Architecture Specification
Document content begins here...

Extension Settings

Configure global defaults in VS Code Settings (settings.json):

Search & Indexing Keywords

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Author & Contact

• Developer: Gunjan Dev
• Website: gunjan.tech
• Email: gunjan@gunjan.tech
• Repository: github.com/gunjan1sharma/markdown-pdf-studio

License

MIT License. Copyright (c) 2026 Gunjan Dev. Free for personal, commercial, and open-source use.