bentopdf-sh

A command-line interface for document-to-PDF conversion, powered by BentoPDF.

BentoPDF is a privacy-first, self-hosted PDF toolkit that runs entirely client-side using WebAssembly. It provides 50+ document tools through a browser interface. bentopdf-sh brings those same WASM engines to the command line, so you can convert documents without opening a browser.

All the heavy lifting is done by BentoPDF's engines. We just make them accessible from your terminal.

Install

npx bentopdf-sh to-pdf document.docx

Or install globally:

npm install -g bentopdf-sh
bentopdf to-pdf document.docx

Requires Node.js 20+.

Claude Code / AI Agent Integration

Add the to-pdf skill to your AI coding agent:

npx skills add lokkju/bentopdf-sh -a claude-code

Or install as a Claude Code plugin:

/plugin marketplace add lokkju/bentopdf-sh

This lets your agent convert documents to PDF directly when you ask it to.

Usage

Convert a file to PDF

bentopdf to-pdf report.docx                    # outputs report.pdf
bentopdf to-pdf slides.pptx -o presentation.pdf # explicit output
bentopdf to-pdf *.docx -o ./pdfs/               # batch convert

Convert Markdown to DOCX or PPTX

bentopdf to-docx notes.md                          # outputs notes.docx
bentopdf to-pptx slides.md -o presentation.pptx    # explicit output
bentopdf to-docx notes.md -t brand-template.docx   # apply a reference doc
bentopdf to-pptx slides.md -t corporate.pptx       # branded slide deck

Use --template (-t) to apply a reference document — this controls fonts, heading styles, page layout, and other formatting. Works like pandoc's --reference-doc.

Supported formats

| Format | Extensions | Engine | |--------|-----------|--------| | Word | .docx, .doc | LibreOffice-WASM | | PowerPoint | .pptx, .ppt | LibreOffice-WASM | | Excel | .xlsx, .xls | LibreOffice-WASM | | OpenDocument | .odt, .ods, .odp | LibreOffice-WASM | | Rich Text | .rtf | LibreOffice-WASM | | Markdown | .md, .markdown | Pandoc + MuPDF | | HTML | .html, .htm | Pandoc + MuPDF | | Images | .jpg, .png, .svg, .tiff, .webp | MuPDF |

Options (to-pdf)

-o, --output <path>   Output file or directory
--engine <name>       Force engine: mupdf, pandoc, or libreoffice
--verbose             Show detailed progress

Options (to-docx / to-pptx)

-o, --output <path>     Output file or directory
-t, --template <path>   Reference document for styling
--verbose               Show detailed progress

Cache management

WASM engines are cached locally after first use.

bentopdf cache list    # show cached engines
bentopdf cache clear   # remove all cached engines

How it works

bentopdf-sh wraps three WASM engines as npm packages, running them in Node.js instead of the browser:

• MuPDF (via mupdf npm package) — images and HTML to PDF
• Pandoc (via pandoc-wasm) — Markdown to HTML, then MuPDF renders to PDF
• LibreOffice (via @matbee/libreoffice-converter) — Office documents to PDF

The format registry automatically picks the right engine based on file extension. No configuration needed.

Beyond BentoPDF

Some features in bentopdf-sh go beyond what BentoPDF offers in the browser, by leveraging pandoc-wasm's full capabilities:

| Feature | Command | Description | |---------|---------|-------------| | Markdown → DOCX | to-docx | Convert Markdown/HTML to Word documents via pandoc-wasm | | Markdown → PPTX | to-pptx | Convert Markdown/HTML to PowerPoint presentations via pandoc-wasm | | Template support | --template | Apply a reference document (.docx/.pptx) for branded output — controls fonts, styles, and layout |

These work because pandoc-wasm exposes the full pandoc-server API, which supports output formats and reference documents that BentoPDF's browser interface doesn't expose.

Planned:

• [ ] inspect command — preview how pandoc will interpret your Markdown before converting (slide boundaries for PPTX, heading structure for DOCX, template style compatibility)

Feature Parity Roadmap

BentoPDF provides 100+ tools across six categories (as of 2026-03-17). Here's what bentopdf-sh supports today and what's planned. Vote on or open issues to help guide development priorities.

Convert to PDF

• [x] Word (.docx, .doc)
• [x] Excel (.xlsx, .xls)
• [x] PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt)
• [x] OpenDocument Text (.odt)
• [x] OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods)
• [x] OpenDocument Presentation (.odp)
• [x] Rich Text (.rtf)
• [x] Markdown (.md)
• [x] HTML (.html, .htm)
• [x] Images — JPG, PNG, SVG, TIFF, WebP
• [ ] BMP, HEIC, PSD
• [ ] CSV, Text, JSON, XML
• [ ] EPUB, MOBI, FB2
• [ ] CBZ (Comic Books)
• [ ] XPS
• [ ] Email (.eml, .msg)
• [ ] Apple Pages
• [ ] WordPerfect (.wpd)
• [ ] Microsoft Works (.wps)
• [ ] Microsoft Publisher (.pub)
• [ ] Microsoft Visio (.vsd)
• [ ] OpenDocument Drawing (.odg)

Convert from PDF

• [ ] PDF to Image (JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, TIFF, SVG)
• [ ] PDF to Greyscale
• [ ] PDF to Text
• [ ] PDF to JSON / CSV / Excel
• [ ] Extract Tables
• [ ] OCR PDF

Organize & Manage

• [ ] Merge PDFs
• [ ] Split PDF
• [ ] Extract / Delete / Rotate Pages
• [ ] Organize / Reorder Pages
• [ ] N-Up / Booklet / Posterize
• [ ] Alternate & Mix Pages
• [ ] Divide / Combine Pages
• [ ] Add Blank Page / Reverse Pages
• [ ] Attachments (Add / Extract / Edit)
• [ ] View Metadata
• [ ] Compare PDFs
• [ ] PDFs to ZIP

Edit & Modify

• [ ] PDF Editor / Annotate
• [ ] Fillable Forms / Form Filler
• [ ] Add Page Numbers / Bates Numbering
• [ ] Watermark / Stamps
• [ ] Header & Footer
• [ ] Crop / Deskew
• [ ] Font to Outline
• [ ] Color adjustments (Invert, Background, Text Color)
• [ ] Flatten PDF
• [ ] Remove Annotations / Blank Pages
• [ ] Edit Bookmarks / Table of Contents
• [ ] Redact Content
• [ ] Scanner Effect

Secure & Optimize

• [ ] Compress PDF
• [ ] Repair PDF
• [ ] Encrypt / Decrypt
• [ ] Change Permissions / Remove Restrictions
• [ ] Digital Signatures (Sign / Validate)
• [ ] Metadata (Edit / Remove / Sanitize)
• [ ] Linearize for Web
• [ ] Fix Page Size / Page Dimensions

Automate

• [ ] Pipeline / Workflow Builder (chain multiple operations)

Want a feature prioritized? Open an issue or upvote an existing one.

Acknowledgments

This project exists because of BentoPDF by @alam00000. BentoPDF pioneered the approach of running document conversion engines entirely client-side via WebAssembly, and provides a comprehensive browser-based toolkit with 50+ tools across five categories. bentopdf-sh is a CLI wrapper around the same underlying WASM technology — BentoPDF did the hard work of making these engines run in JavaScript, we just plugged in a command-line interface.

If you need a browser-based solution or a self-hosted web app, use BentoPDF directly.

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.md.

This license is required by our dependency chain — MuPDF is AGPL-3.0 and Pandoc is GPL-2.0. BentoPDF itself is also AGPL-3.0.