md-mmd-pdf

md-mmd-pdf is a CLI that converts a Markdown file containing Mermaid diagrams into a PDF.

It uses Mermaid CLI in markdown mode to replace Mermaid fences with SVG artefacts, then uses md-to-pdf to render the final PDF.

Install

npm install -g md-mmd-pdf

Or run it without global install:

npx md-mmd-pdf input.md

Usage

md-mmd-pdf <input.md> [options]

Options

• -o, --output <file.pdf>: output PDF path (default: <input-basename>.pdf in the input directory)
• --config <file>: md-to-pdf config file (.js, .cjs, .mjs, .json)
• --mermaid-config <file>: Mermaid config JSON for mmdc -c
• --puppeteer-config <file>: Mermaid puppeteer config JSON for mmdc -p
• --verbose: print command and subprocess output
• --keep-temp: keep transformed markdown and Mermaid artefacts
• -h, --help: show help
• -v, --version: show version

Examples

Convert a file using default output path:

md-mmd-pdf docs/architecture.md

Write output to a custom location:

md-mmd-pdf docs/architecture.md --output output/architecture.pdf

Use an md-to-pdf config file:

md-mmd-pdf docs/architecture.md --config md-to-pdf.config.js

Keep intermediate files for debugging:

md-mmd-pdf docs/architecture.md --keep-temp --verbose

Behavior

• Single-file input and output only.
• Fails fast on Mermaid rendering errors.
• Returns non-zero exit code on any failure.
• Removes intermediate files/directories by default.
• Supports formal page-break markers:
  • Canonical: \newpage
  • Alias: <!-- pagebreak -->
• Page-break CSS is injected automatically (break-after: page + fallback).

Page Breaks

Use a standalone marker line:

\newpage

or:

<!-- pagebreak -->

Both are normalized to <div class="page-break"></div> before PDF generation.

md-to-pdf Config

--config loads an object and passes it into the md-to-pdf programmatic API.

basedir and dest are always set by md-mmd-pdf:

• basedir = input markdown directory
• dest = resolved output PDF path

This guarantees stable relative asset resolution and deterministic output destination.

Troubleshooting

Mermaid render failure

If Mermaid parsing fails, rerun with --verbose to see the underlying mmdc error.

Browser launch issues (CI/Linux)

Mermaid CLI and md-to-pdf use Puppeteer. In constrained environments you may need Puppeteer launch settings in your Mermaid or md-to-pdf config files.

Contributing

Maintainer/development/release notes live in CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT