.local-bin/docs/buildnote/Usage.md

buildnote

Converts markdown notes to PDF using pandoc with xelatex engine.

Description

This script generates professionally formatted PDF documents from markdown files. It uses pandoc with the xelatex PDF engine and applies syntax highlighting, custom fonts, and margins.

Dependencies

• pandoc
• xelatex (TeX Live)
• DejaVu fonts (DejaVuSerif, DejaVuSans, DejaVuSansMono)

Usage

./buildnote.sh <input_file> <output_file>

Arguments

• input_file: Path to the markdown file to convert
• output_file: Path for the generated PDF file

Features

• PDF Engine: xelatex for Unicode and custom font support
• Syntax Highlighting: pygments style for code blocks
• Fonts:
  • Main: DejaVuSerif (with Bold, Italic, BoldItalic variants)
  • Sans: DejaVuSans
  • Mono: DejaVuSansMono
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Links: NavyBlue color for URLs

Example

# Convert a markdown note to PDF
./buildnote.sh notes.md output.pdf

# The script runs in background and prints the output path
./buildnote.sh ~/notes/daily.md ~/notes/daily.pdf

Integration with Neovim

The script is designed to work with Neovim. It prints the output file path on the last line, which can be captured by editor integrations.

Notes

• The conversion runs in the background (using &)
• Ensure all dependencies are installed before running
• The script validates that the input file exists before processing