Pandoc Cheat Sheet

Basic Syntax

The basic Pandoc command structure follows this pattern:

pandoc [options] [input-file]... -o output-file

Convert Markdown to HTML

pandoc -o output.html input.md

Converts a Markdown file to HTML

Convert Markdown to PDF

pandoc -o output.pdf input.md

Requires LaTeX to be installed

Convert Markdown to DOCX

pandoc -o output.docx input.md

Creates a Microsoft Word document

Convert HTML to Markdown

pandoc -o output.md input.html

Converts HTML to Markdown format

Multiple Input Files

pandoc -o output.pdf file1.md file2.md file3.md

Combines multiple input files into one output

Specify Input Format

pandoc -f markdown -o output.html input.txt

-f or --from specifies input format

Specify Output Format

pandoc -t html -o output.html input.md

-t or --to specifies output format

Read from Standard Input

echo "# Hello" | pandoc -f markdown -t html

Output is sent to standard output

Common Options

Standalone Document

pandoc -s -o output.html input.md

-s creates a full document with header and footer

Table of Contents

pandoc --toc -o output.html input.md

--toc generates a table of contents

Set TOC Depth

pandoc --toc --toc-depth=2 -o output.html input.md

Controls how many heading levels appear in TOC

CSS Styling

pandoc -c style.css -o output.html input.md

Apply custom CSS styling to HTML output

Syntax Highlighting

pandoc --highlight-style=zenburn -o output.html input.md

Available styles: pygments, kate, monochrome, espresso, zenburn, haddock, tango

Number Sections

pandoc --number-sections -o output.html input.md

Adds section numbers to headings

Template Variables

pandoc -V title="My Document" -o output.pdf input.md

Sets template variables for output

Bibliography

pandoc --bibliography=refs.bib -o output.html input.md

Processes citations and adds bibliography

Input Formats

Pandoc can read from these formats:

Markdown Variants

markdowncommonmarkgfmmarkdown_mmd

Various flavors of Markdown, including GitHub-Flavored Markdown (gfm)

Document Formats

docxodtepubhtmllatex

Common document formats

Other Markup

rsttextileorgmediawikidokuwiki

Various markup languages

Academic/Publishing

jatstexbiblatexbibtex

Formats used in academic publishing

Output Formats

Pandoc can write to these formats:

Document Formats

docxodtpdfepubhtml

Common document formats

Markdown Variants

markdowncommonmarkgfmmarkdown_mmd

Various flavors of Markdown

Presentations

pptxbeamerrevealjss5slideousslidy

Presentation formats

Other Markup

rsttextileorgmediawikidokuwiki

Various markup languages

Academic/Publishing

jatslatexcontexttexinfo

Formats used in academic publishing

Plain Text Formats

plainasciidocasciidoctorman

Plain text and documentation formats

PDF Output Options

PDF Margin

pandoc -V geometry:margin=1in -o output.pdf input.md

Sets document margins in inches

PDF Paper Size

pandoc -V geometry:a4paper -o output.pdf input.md

Sets paper size (a4paper, letterpaper, etc.)

PDF Font Size

pandoc -V fontsize=12pt -o output.pdf input.md

Sets document font size

PDF Font Family

pandoc -V mainfont="DejaVu Serif" -o output.pdf input.md

Sets main font family

Custom LaTeX Template

pandoc --template=template.tex -o output.pdf input.md

Use a custom LaTeX template for PDF output

Template Usage

Use Custom Template

pandoc --template=mytemplate.html -o output.html input.md

Uses a custom template for output

Print Default Template

pandoc -D html > mytemplate.html

Prints the default template for a format

Set Template Variables

pandoc -V author="John Doe" -V title="My Document" -o output.pdf input.md

Sets variables for use in templates

YAML Metadata Block

---
title: My Document
author: John Doe
date: 2025-03-02
---

# Content starts here

Include metadata within the Markdown document

Use Metadata File

pandoc --metadata-file=meta.yaml -o output.html input.md

Read metadata from external YAML file

Common Template Variables

Document Info

titleauthordatesubtitle

Basic document metadata

HTML Options

cssinclude-in-headerinclude-before-bodyinclude-after-body

Customizing HTML output

PDF/LaTeX Options

documentclassgeometrymainfontfontsizepapersize

LaTeX/PDF document styling

Language & Locale

langdirbabel-langlocale

Language and text direction settings

Using Filters

Filters allow transforming the document during conversion:

Apply Filter

pandoc --filter=pandoc-citeproc -o output.html input.md

Applies the pandoc-citeproc filter for citations

Multiple Filters

pandoc --filter=filter1.py --filter=filter2.py -o output.html input.md

Applies multiple filters in sequence

Lua Filter

pandoc --lua-filter=myfilter.lua -o output.html input.md

Applies a Lua filter

Common Pandoc Filters

pandoc-citeproc

pandoc --citeproc --bibliography=refs.bib -o output.html input.md

Processes citations using a bibliography file

pandoc-crossref

pandoc --filter=pandoc-crossref -o output.html input.md

Adds cross-reference support for figures, equations, tables

pandoc-include

pandoc --filter=pandoc-include -o output.html input.md

Allows including external files

pandoc-mermaid

pandoc --filter=pandoc-mermaid -o output.html input.md

Renders mermaid diagrams

Markdown Extensions

Enable Extensions

pandoc --from markdown+table_captions+pipe_tables -o output.html input.md

Enables specific Markdown extensions

Disable Extensions

pandoc --from markdown-raw_html-raw_tex -o output.html input.md

Disables specific Markdown extensions

Common Extensions

pipe_tablesfenced_code_blocksauto_identifiersdefinition_lists

footnotessmartyaml_metadata_blocktex_math_dollars

Frequently used Markdown extensions

Academic Writing

Academic Paper to PDF

pandoc --citeproc --bibliography=refs.bib --filter=pandoc-crossref --number-sections --toc -o paper.pdf paper.md

Create a PDF with citations, cross-references, section numbers and TOC

Conference Submission

pandoc -s --citeproc --bibliography=refs.bib --template=conference.latex -V documentclass=article -o submission.pdf paper.md

Create a paper using a specific LaTeX template

Book Creation

pandoc -s --toc --toc-depth=3 -o book.pdf title.txt chapters/*.md

Combine multiple chapter files into a book

Presentations & Slides

Beamer Presentation

pandoc -t beamer -o slides.pdf presentation.md

Convert Markdown to a Beamer PDF presentation

PowerPoint Slides

pandoc -o presentation.pptx presentation.md

Create PowerPoint slides from Markdown

Reveal.js Slides

pandoc -s -t revealjs -o slides.html presentation.md

Create web-based Reveal.js presentation

Themed Beamer

pandoc -t beamer -V theme:Warsaw -V colortheme:dolphin -o slides.pdf presentation.md

Beamer presentation with custom themes

Website & Documentation

Styled Website

pandoc -s --toc -c style.css -o website.html content.md

Create HTML with table of contents and custom CSS

Documentation Site

pandoc -s --toc --toc-depth=2 --number-sections -o docs.html docs/*.md

Combine documentation files with TOC and numbered sections

Wiki to Markdown

pandoc -f mediawiki -t markdown -o output.md input.wiki

Convert MediaWiki content to Markdown

Generate Man Page

pandoc -s -t man -o command.1 manpage.md

Create a Unix man page from Markdown