From HackMD to PDF

Full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Markdown, and also a big fan of HackMD (and it's community fork CodiMD).

Now imagine you have to write a technical assessment or specifications and you started writing it down on hackmd/codimd because, you know, reasons 😤. But then, for the sake of the argument, let's say that you have to produce a deliverable artifact that can be shipped to someone, like a customer; then a link to a online document might just not cut it 🤔.

So what to do? Alright, easy solution, fire up typora (or similar), paste the markdown, File > Export > PDF. The day is saved.

You go back skimming through the news and you find this: Writing a Book with Pandoc, Make, and Vim

Wait a second... what if... 🤯 vim Makefile

AU_HACKMD_CODE  = bfScafhcTdGzzhJ4B3evlQ
AU_FONT         = NeufileGrotesk
AU_FONT_DIR     = $(HOME)/.fonts/NeufileGrotesk
AU_OUTFILE      = $(HOME)/$(AU_HACKMD_CODE).MD.$(shell date +%F).pdf
AU_FORMAT       = article

hackmd2pdf:
    @echo format doc
    curl -s -L "https://hackmd.io/$(AU_HACKMD_CODE)/download" -o /tmp/$(AU_HACKMD_CODE).md
    pandoc /tmp/$(AU_HACKMD_CODE).md -o $(AU_OUTFILE) \
  --table-of-contents \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  --highlight-style=monochrome \
  --number-sections \
  -H $(HOME)/.config/apeunit/header-$(AU_FORMAT).tex \
  -V 'mainfont:$(AU_FONT)' \
  -V 'mainfontoptions:Extension=.otf, UprightFont=*-MediumExtended, BoldFont=*-BoldExtended, ItalicFont=*-MediumExtendedItalic, BoldItalicFont=*-BoldExtendedItalic, Path=$(AU_FONT_DIR)/' \
  -V 'fontsize: 12pt' \
  -V 'papersize: A4' \
  -V 'urlcolor: blue' \
  -V 'date: \today{}' \
  -V 'documentclass: $(AU_FORMAT)' \
  -V 'geometry:margin=3.8cm'
    xdg-open $(AU_OUTFILE)
    @echo done

make hackmd2pdf HACKMD_CODE=bfScafhcTdGzzhJ4B3evlQ

BOOM!¹²

Now, I do understand that from a pure aesthetic point of view this might not be enough to satisfy the sensitive eye of the graphic designer, but it can be shipped!

---

1. some dependencies need to be installed, on ubuntu texlive-xetex and pandoc ↩

2. this command will not work for you, because it contains specific branding stuff from Ape Unit, but if you are looking for a simpler one, look no further! ↩