Markdown to PDF

Markdown → PDF

PDF is the format people actually share. Whether it's a thesis chapter, an invoice draft, or a README export for a portfolio, a clean PDF reads better than a screenshot. This converter renders server-side with `@react-pdf/renderer`, so what comes out is a real PDF — selectable text, embedded fonts, proper page breaks — not a rasterised HTML print.

The pipeline handles the parts other Markdown-to-PDF tools quietly skip: nested lists with proper indentation (the @react-pdf depth-tracking gotcha is solved), blockquotes inside list items, fenced code blocks with monospace shading, and inline strong/em that doesn't break across runs. GFM tables ship as DOCX-only in v1 — the PDF path emits a styled fallback note so the data isn't lost, but you'll see real layout in the DOCX output.

Theme matters more than people think. Academic theme prints a centered title page with the date, then numbered h1–h3 headings throughout. README/Blog leans on GitHub typography conventions and higher-contrast code blocks. Default is the clean middle path. All three drive the same source file — convert once, keep the source, regenerate any time you need a different look.

Edge cases the pipeline gets right

Nested lists are the classic Markdown-to-PDF break point. Most converters render second- or third-level items at the same indent as their parents — readable in HTML, indistinguishable in print. Our depth tracker carries indent through arbitrary nesting and applies the theme's spacing tokens so a five-level outline still reads as a hierarchy when rendered. Blockquotes inside list items keep their left-border treatment, and the surrounding list-item indent doesn't double up.

Fenced code blocks render with a light shaded background and a monospaced font that survives copy-paste from the PDF — no curly-quote surprises when the recipient lifts a snippet into their terminal. Inline code spans get the same treatment at run-level. Combined bold + italic text keeps both styles across line wraps; many libraries silently drop one when the run breaks. Hyperlinks render as underlined navy text and stay clickable in any modern PDF reader.

GFM tables in PDF output ship as a styled fallback block — the source markdown is preserved verbatim inside a bordered container so the data isn't lost, but pixel-precise table layout in PDF lives on the roadmap once @react-pdf table primitives stabilise. If your document leans on tables, run the same source through the DOCX export to get native Word tables, or through the HTML export to get real table markup. One source file, three formats — pick the format whose tables match your downstream tool.

# Engineering Update

## Highlights

1. Migrated to React 19
   1. Removed legacy lifecycle hooks
   2. Confirmed Suspense boundaries hold
2. Shipped Markdown-to-PDF converter
   - Three themes
   - Server-side render

> Renders a five-level outline without flattening the indent.

```ts
const report = await convert({ format: 'pdf', theme: 'academic' });
```

Frequently asked