Examark

Write exams in Markdown. Export to Canvas in seconds.

Documentation · Getting Started · Report Bug

Why Examark?

Stop clicking through Canvas forms. Write once, export anywhere.

┌─────────────────┐      ┌──────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐
│   quiz.md       │ ───▶ │ examark  │ ───▶ │  quiz.qti.zip   │
│   (Markdown)    │      │          │      │  (Canvas-ready) │
└─────────────────┘      └──────────┘      └─────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │   quiz.txt      │
                    │   (Printable)   │
                    └─────────────────┘

Perfect for: Instructors, TAs, and course developers who want version-controlled, portable exam files.

Quick Start

No installation needed — try it now:

npx examark quiz.md -o quiz.qti.zip

Write Your Exam

# Statistics Midterm

1. [MC] What is the mean of 2, 4, 6? [2pts]
a) Three
b) Four [x]
c) Five

2. [TF] Variance can be negative. [1pt]
a) True
b) False [x]

3. [Essay, 10pts] Explain the Central Limit Theorem.

Convert & Import

examark midterm.md -o midterm.qti.zip    # For Canvas
examark midterm.md -f text                # For printing

Then: Canvas → Settings → Import Content → QTI .zip

Features

📝 Clean Syntax

Write questions naturally without complex markup.

1. [MC] Question here [2pts]
a) Wrong
b) Right [x]

🧮 LaTeX Math

Full equation support, auto-converted for Canvas.

Find $\bar{x}$ given:
$$\bar{x} = \frac{\sum x_i}{n}$$

📦 8 Question Types

• Multiple Choice ([MC])
• True/False ([TF])
• Multiple Answer ([MA])
• Short Answer ([Short])
• Numeric ([Numeric])
• Essay ([Essay])
• Matching ([Match])
• Fill-in-Blanks ([FMB])

🔧 Powerful CLI

examark *.md -o output/       # Batch convert
examark quiz.md -f text       # Paper exams
examark verify pkg --strict   # New Quizzes check
examark check quiz.md         # Lint syntax

🖼️ Image Bundling

Local images automatically packaged into QTI.

![Graph](assets/chart.png)

🔬 Quarto Integration

Dynamic questions with R/Python.

format:
  exam-qti: default
  exam-pdf: default

Installation

Option 1: No Installation (Recommended for beginners)

Run directly without installing anything (requires Node.js):

npx examark quiz.md -o quiz.qti.zip

This downloads and runs examark automatically. Perfect for trying it out!

Option 2: Install Globally

For frequent use, install once and run anytime:

Mac (Homebrew):

brew tap data-wise/tap
brew install examark

Windows / Mac / Linux (npm):

npm install -g examark

After installing, just run:

examark quiz.md -o quiz.qti.zip

First Time on Windows?

If you've never used Node.js before:

1. Download Node.js from nodejs.org — click the big green "LTS" button
2. Run the installer — accept all defaults, click Next through everything
3. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell (search "cmd" in Start menu)
4. Verify it worked: node --version (should show a version number)
5. Run examark: npx examark quiz.md -o quiz.qti.zip

That's it! No complicated setup needed.

git clone https://github.com/Data-Wise/examark.git
cd examark && npm install && npm run build && npm link

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | examark <file.md> | Convert to QTI (default: file.qti.zip) | | examark <file.md> -f text | Export as printable plain text | | examark *.md -o output/ | Batch convert multiple files | | examark verify <pkg> | Validate QTI package | | examark verify <pkg> --strict | Strict validation for New Quizzes | | examark emulate-canvas <pkg> | Simulate Canvas import | | examark check <file.md> | Lint markdown for errors | | examark --preview | Preview parsed questions (JSON) |

Options: -o <output> · -p <points> · -t <title> · --no-answers · -v · --strict

Configuration

Create .examarkrc.json for project defaults:

{
  "defaultPoints": 2,
  "outputDir": "output",
  "validate": true
}

Templates

Markdown (no Quarto needed):

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | minimal.md | 3 questions — quickest start | | starter-exam-md.md | One of each question type | | statistics-exam.md | Real exam with LaTeX math | | canvas-ready.md | Comprehensive — 21 questions |

Quarto (for R/Python users):

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | minimal.qmd | Simplest Quarto template | | starter-exam.qmd | Full-featured starter | | dynamic-questions.qmd | Randomized questions with R |

For Quarto Users

Generate dynamic, randomized questions with R or Python:

quarto add Data-Wise/examark

📖 Quarto Extension Guide →

Documentation

| | | |---|---| | 📚 Full Docs | Complete reference | | 🚀 Getting Started | Install + first quiz | | 📝 Input Formats | Question syntax | | ⚙️ Configuration | Project settings | | 🎓 Tutorials | R/Quarto, VS Code |

Get Started →

Made with ❤️ by Data-Wise · MIT License