Convert

Convert a Markdown file to a styled PDF with support for syntax-highlighted code blocks, tables, mermaid diagrams, images, and ASCII art.

Input: A path to a Markdown file, and optionally an output PDF path. If no output path is given, the PDF is saved next to the input file with the same name and .pdf extension.

Steps

1. Resolve the input file

   If the user provides a file path, use it. If not provided or ambiguous:

   • Check if the conversation context mentions a specific Markdown file
   • Look for .md files in the current directory
   • If multiple candidates exist, use AskUserQuestion to let the user pick

   Verify the file exists before proceeding.

2. Ensure dependencies are installed

   The conversion script lives in the md2pdf plugin directory. Check if node_modules exists there:

   PLUGIN_DIR="$(dirname "$(dirname "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")")")"
   

   In practice, find the plugin directory by looking for the md2pdf plugin root (the directory containing package.json and scripts/convert.mjs). A reliable way:

   # Find the plugin directory — it's wherever this plugin is installed
   MD2PDF_DIR=$(find ~/.claude/plugins -path "*/md2pdf/scripts/convert.mjs" -exec dirname {} \; 2>/dev/null | head -1)
   MD2PDF_DIR=$(dirname "$MD2PDF_DIR")  # go up from scripts/ to plugin root
   

   If $MD2PDF_DIR/node_modules does not exist, install dependencies:

   cd "$MD2PDF_DIR" && npm install
   

   Also ensure Playwright browsers are available:

   npx playwright install chromium
   

3. Run the conversion

   node "$MD2PDF_DIR/scripts/convert.mjs" "<input.md>" "<output.pdf>"
   

   Pass --no-mermaid if the user asks to skip mermaid rendering (faster).

4. Report the result

   Tell the user where the PDF was saved. If the conversion failed, show the error output and suggest fixes:

   • Missing images → check relative paths
   • Mermaid timeout → try --no-mermaid flag
   • Playwright error → run npx playwright install chromium

5. Open the PDF

   On macOS, open the PDF for the user:

   open "<output.pdf>"