Markdown to PDF, from the command line.

Install it

brew install redtear1115/tap/marsdawn
marsdawn --version

On an Apple silicon Mac, Homebrew installs a prebuilt copy in seconds. On an Intel Mac it builds from source instead, which takes a few minutes and needs Xcode 26 or later. It runs on macOS 15 or later, and marsdawn --version prints the version you got.

Save a document

Paste this into a file named plan.md:

# Plan: faster exports

An agent wrote this plan. You review it, then turn it into a PDF.

## Steps

| Step | Owner | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| Measure the slow pages | Agent | Done |
| Cache rendered diagrams | Agent | In review |

The target is $t < 2\,\text{s}$ for a 50-page document:

$$
t_{\text{total}} = \sum_{i=1}^{n} t_i
$$

```mermaid
graph LR
  Draft --> Review --> Ship
```

```swift
let pdf = try export("plan.md")
```

Export it

marsdawn export plan.md

It writes plan.pdf next to the source and prints where it went:

Exported /Users/you/plan.pdf (1 page)

This is that page, captured from a real run of marsdawn 0.5.0:

If it doesn't work

• A full installation of Xcode.app 26.0 is required to compile this software. Homebrew is building marsdawn from source, as it does on an Intel Mac. Install Xcode 26 or later from the App Store, then run the install again.
• marsdawn: No such file: … The path doesn't point at a file. Check the name, or run the command from the folder the file is in.
• … already exists. Pass --force to replace it. A PDF with that name is already there. Add --force to replace it, or -o to write it somewhere else.
• Error: The value '…' is invalid for '--theme <theme>'. The theme or paper size isn't one it knows. The themes are dawn, classic, modern and vivid; the paper is a4 or letter.

Next

• Every option and the JSON it prints: Command Line.
• To have a coding agent do this for you: the marsdawn agent skill.