A professional book-as-code starter kit. Generate publisher-ready PDF books from Markdown using a fully automated pipeline.

View Sample PDF | Documentation | GitHub

✨ Features

• Markdown Power: Write your book in simple Markdown.
• Dynamic Metadata Pages: Add optional dedications, introductions, and prefaces using .md or .tex files.
• Pro Layout: Uses the Eisvogel LaTeX template for stunning "O'Reilly-style" PDFs.
• Automated Build: One command to merge chapters, fix image paths, and compile the PDF.
• Diagrams & Math: Native support for Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX math formulas.
• Environment Agnostic: Fully configured Docker and VS Code DevContainer setup.
• CI/CD Ready: Automatically builds and releases your book PDF via GitHub Actions.

🚀 Getting Started

1. Click the "Use this template" button above.
2. Open the repository in VS Code.
3. Reopen in Dev Container when prompted.
4. Run the build:

   pnpm run build

5. Find your book in the output/ directory (named after your title).

🛠️ Local Installation (Without Docker)

If you prefer to run the build script directly on your machine, you'll need the following tools:

1. Pandoc (3.0+)

Pandoc is the engine that converts Markdown to LaTeX.

• macOS: brew install pandoc
• Linux: sudo apt-get install pandoc
• Windows: winget install pandoc

2. TeX Live

You need a LaTeX distribution to generate the PDF. This template requires the koma-script bundle.

• macOS (MacTeX): brew install --cask mactex-no-gui
• Linux: sudo apt-get install texlive-latex-base texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-extra-utils texlive-latex-extra

3. Node.js & pnpm

Required for rendering Mermaid diagrams.

• Install Node.js
• Install pnpm: npm install -g pnpm
• Run pnpm install in the project root.

📂 Project Structure

Check out the Getting Started Guide for a detailed breakdown.

📚 References & Resources

To customize your book further, check out these official documentations:

• Pandoc Manual: LaTeX Variables - Every variable you can use in your metadata.yml.
• Eisvogel Template Docs - Detailed styling options for the layout used in this template.
• Mermaid Diagrams - Syntax for creating charts and diagrams.
• KaTeX Math - Support for mathematical formulas.

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