InkDown — Markdown to PDF, DOCX & HTML

Convert any Markdown file to a production-quality PDF, DOCX, or HTML directly from VS Code — with full support for Mermaid diagrams, KaTeX math, syntax-highlighted code blocks, tables of contents, custom CSS themes, and a live preview panel.

Features

• One-click export — PDF, DOCX, or HTML from the editor title bar or right-click menu
• Convert with Options wizard — guided multi-step flow: format → metadata → CSS theme / page size / reference doc → TOC & breaks → writes YAML frontmatter back to the file
• Live preview — Instant rendered preview beside your editor as you type
• Mermaid diagrams — Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, Gantt, pie, mindmap and more
• KaTeX math — Inline $...$ and display $$...$$ equations rendered correctly in all formats
• Syntax highlighting — Fenced code blocks highlighted for 180+ languages
• Table of Contents — Auto-generated TOC with a single toggle
• Auto page breaks — Optionally insert page breaks before every H1
• Custom CSS themes — Upload any .css file to style PDF and HTML output
• DOCX reference templates — Apply custom Word styles via a .docx reference document
• Batch export — Convert every .md file in a folder in one step
• Auto-export on save — Re-convert to the chosen format every time you save
• YAML frontmatter — Set title, author, date, watermark, TOC, page size in the file itself

Quick Start

1. Open any .md file
2. Press ⌘⇧⌥V (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+Alt+V (Windows/Linux) to open the live preview
3. Press ⌘⇧⌥P / Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P to export as PDF, or open the Command Palette and choose InkDown: Convert with Options… for the full wizard

Requirements

• InkDown server bundled inside this extension — start it once with InkDown: Start Server from the Command Palette, or it starts automatically on first conversion
• Pandoc — required for DOCX output only (brew install pandoc / winget install JohnMacFarlane.Pandoc)

Commands

Convert with Options Wizard

Run InkDown: Convert with Options… for a guided, step-by-step conversion:

Write to YAML frontmatter

When "Write options to YAML frontmatter" is checked in Step 4, the wizard writes your title/author/date/watermark directly into a --- YAML block at the top of the .md file. On the next conversion these values are pre-filled automatically from the file.

---
title: "Project Proposal"
author: "Jane Smith"
date: "June 2026"
watermark: "DRAFT"
---

Custom CSS Themes

Override the default document styles for PDF and HTML output.

In the wizard: Step 3b → Browse for CSS… → select your .css file.

In .inkdown.json:

{ "theme": "./styles/my-theme.css" }

Sample themes are included in the InkDown project at samples/themes/ — corporate.css (blue heading styles) and minimal.css (serif academic look).

DOCX Reference Templates

Control Word fonts, heading colours, margins, and headers/footers with a reference .docx.

In the wizard: Step 3 → Browse for .docx… → select your template.

Generate a starting template:

node samples/make-reference-docx.js
# Creates: samples/reference.docx — open in Word and edit styles

In .inkdown.json:

{ "referenceDoc": "./templates/my-style.docx" }

Batch Export

Right-click any folder in the VS Code Explorer → InkDown: Export all Markdown files in folder.

All .md files in the folder (recursive) are converted to the format set in inkdown.defaultFormat. Output goes to inkdown.outputDirectory or next to each source file.

Auto-Export on Save

1. InkDown: Toggle Auto-Export on Save — turns on watching
2. Set inkdown.autoExportFormat (pdf / docx / html)
3. Every save of a .md file triggers a silent conversion

YAML Frontmatter Options

Add a --- block at the top of any .md file:

---
title: "My Document"
author: "Your Name"
date: "June 2026"
toc: true
autoBreak: true
pageSize: A4
watermark: CONFIDENTIAL
---

Workspace Config (.inkdown.json)

Place a .inkdown.json in your project root to share defaults:

{
  "format": "pdf",
  "toc": true,
  "autoBreak": false,
  "pageSize": "A4",
  "outputDirectory": "./dist",
  "referenceDoc": "./templates/style.docx",
  "theme": "./themes/corporate.css"
}

Extension Settings

License

MIT