Getting started

Pardown converts a Markdown string into PDF bytes. This guide shows you how to install the library, create a PDF in Node.js, and resolve images relative to a Markdown file.

Prerequisites

You need a JavaScript project that uses ECMAScript modules. Pardown doesn't publish a CommonJS entry point, and the package metadata doesn't declare a minimum Node.js version.

Install the library

Install @pardown/core with your package manager. Its dependencies include the Markdown parser and PDF renderer, so you don't need to install them separately.

npm

npm install @pardown/core

pnpm

pnpm add @pardown/core

Yarn

yarn add @pardown/core

Convert Markdown

Pass a Markdown string to markdownToPdf. The function returns a promise that resolves to a Uint8Array containing the complete PDF.

import { writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
import { markdownToPdf } from '@pardown/core';

const markdown = `
# Site inspection

The inspection found **no blocking issues**.
`;

const pdf = await markdownToPdf(markdown);
await writeFile('site-inspection.pdf', pdf);

Pardown returns bytes rather than writing a file, so you can also send the result in an HTTP response, store it in object storage, or create a browser Blob.

Set the document title

Set title in YAML front matter to add a title to the PDF metadata.

---
title: Site inspection
---

# Inspection results

You can also pass title in the conversion options. The option takes precedence over the front matter value.

const pdf = await markdownToPdf(markdown, {
  title: 'Site inspection',
});

The document title is metadata for PDF readers and accessibility tools. It doesn't add a visible heading, so include a Markdown heading when the title must appear on the page.

Resolve local images

Set cwd to the directory that contains your Markdown file. Pardown resolves relative image sources from this directory.

import { readFile, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
import { dirname } from 'node:path';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
import { markdownToPdf } from '@pardown/core';

const markdownUrl = new URL('./reports/site-inspection.md', import.meta.url);
const markdownPath = fileURLToPath(markdownUrl);
const markdown = await readFile(markdownPath, 'utf8');

const pdf = await markdownToPdf(markdown, {
  cwd: dirname(markdownPath),
});

await writeFile(new URL('./reports/site-inspection.pdf', import.meta.url), pdf);

A source such as ![Crack in the wall](images/wall.jpg) now resolves from the reports/images directory. HTTP and HTTPS image URLs are fetched automatically.

NOTE

Local image loading uses Node.js file-system APIs. In a browser, provide a custom image loader as described in Load images in a browser.

Use the CLI instead

Install @pardown/cli globally when you want to convert Markdown without writing JavaScript.

npm install --global @pardown/cli
pardown site-inspection.md

The command writes site-inspection.pdf beside the input file. Read the CLI reference for output paths, standard input, warnings, and exit statuses.

Next steps

Continue with the guide that matches your task:

• Save, return, or download the result in Work with PDF bytes.
• Configure image loading and cancellation in Image loading and cancellation.
• Collect recoverable warnings in Diagnostics.
• Review the exact exports in the @pardown/core API reference.
• Check the formatting available in Markdown support.
• Try a document in the browser playground.