## File: README.md
# Table of contents
1. [About](#about)
2. [Demo](#as-simple-as-you-expect)
3. [Editor extensions](#editor-extensions)
4. [Targets](#targets)
5. [Comparison](#comparison)
6. [Getting started](#getting-started)
1. [Installation](#installation)
2. [Quickstart](#quickstart)
3. [Creating a project](#creating-a-project)
4. [Compiling](#compiling)
7. [Mock document](#mock-document)
8. [Contributing](#contributing)
9. [Sponsors](#sponsors)
10. [Concept](#concept)
11. [License](#license)
# About
Quarkdown is a modern Markdown-based typesetting system designed for **versatility**. It allows a single project to compile seamlessly into a print-ready book, academic paper, knowledge base, or interactive presentation.
All through an incredibly powerful Turing-complete extension of Markdown, ensuring your ideas flow automatically into paper.
Born as an extension of CommonMark and GFM, the Quarkdown Flavor brings **functions** to Markdown, along with many other syntax extensions.
> This is a function call:
> ```
> .somefunction {arg1} {arg2}
> Body argument
> ```
**Possibilities are unlimited** thanks to an ever-expanding [standard library](quarkdown-stdlib/src/main/kotlin/com/quarkdown/stdlib),
which offers layout builders, I/O, math, conditional statements and loops.
**Not enough?** You can still define your own functions and variables, all within Markdown.
You can even create awesome libraries for everyone to use.
> ```
> .function {greet}
> to from:
> **Hello, .to** from .from!
>
> .greet {world} from:{iamgio}
> ```
> Result: **Hello, world** from iamgio!
This out-of-the-box scripting support opens doors to complex and dynamic content that would be otherwise impossible
to achieve with vanilla Markdown.
Combined with live preview, :zap: fast compilation speed and great editor support, Quarkdown simply gets the work done,
whether it's an academic paper, book, knowledge base or interactive presentation.
*In a nutshell, Quarkdown is...*
- **Familiar:** built on the well-known Markdown syntax, for a flat learning curve
- **Elegant:** produces output that matches the quality of industry-leading tools
- **Agent-friendly:** comes with a built-in skill for idiomatic fluency of your coding agents ([read the eval](https://quarkdown.com/blog/agent-skill/))
- **Customizable:** full control over document layout, aesthetics, and properties
- **Secure by default:** a restrictive permission system limits access to system resources
- **Versatile:** a single source compiles to multiple targets
- **Reactive:** low-latency live previews for rapid iteration. The official wiki (100+ subdocuments) compiles in ~2 seconds
- **Reusable:** repeated content can be turned into one-line function calls
- **Easily deployable:** set a CD workflow up in under 3 minutes ([example](https://github.com/iamgio/iamgio.github.io/blob/main/.github/workflows/build.yml))
---
Looking for something?
---
## As simple as you expect...
...as complex as you need.
# Editor extensions
- [VS Code](https://quarkdown.com/vs-code)
- [IntelliJ IDEA](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/33459-quarkdown) (unofficial by [@CarmJos](https://github.com/CarmJos))
# Targets
- **HTML**
- [X] **Plain**
Continuous flow like Notion/Obsidian, perfect for static websites and knowledge management - check out the author's [personal website](https://iamgio.eu/).
- [X] **Paged** via [paged.js](https://pagedjs.org)
Perfect for papers, articles and books - check out the [demo document](https://github.com/quarkdown-labs/generated/blob/main/mock/paperwhite_latex.pdf).
- [X] **Slides** via [reveal.js](https://revealjs.com)
Perfect for interactive presentations.
- [X] **Docs**
Perfect for wikis, technical documentation and large knowledge bases - check out [Quarkdown's wiki](https://quarkdown.com/wiki).
- **PDF**
- [X] All document types and features supported by HTML are also supported when exporting to PDF.
- **Markdown**
- [X] GFM export.
- **Plain text**
The desired document type can be set by calling the [`.doctype` function](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/document-types) within the source itself:
- `.doctype {plain}` (default)
- `.doctype {paged}`
- `.doctype {slides}`
- `.doctype {docs}`
# Comparison
| | Quarkdown | LaTeX | Typst | AsciiDoc | MDX |
|-----------------------|:------------------:|:------------------:|:------------------:|:------------------:|:------------------:|
| Concise and readable | :white_check_mark: | :x: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
| Full document control[^control] | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :x: | :x: |
| Scripting | :white_check_mark: | Partial | :white_check_mark: | :x: | :white_check_mark: |
| Book/article export | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | Third-party |
| Presentation export | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | Third-party |
| Static site export | :white_check_mark: | :x: | Experimental | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
| Docs/wiki export | :white_check_mark: | :x: | :x: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
| Learning curve | :green_circle: | :red_circle: | :orange_circle: | :green_circle: | :green_circle: |
| Targets | HTML, PDF, MD, TXT | PDF, PostScript | HTML, PDF | HTML, PDF, ePub | HTML |
[^control]: The ability to customize the properties of the document and of its output artifact through the language itself.
| LaTeX | Quarkdown |
| --- | --- |
| ```latex
\tableofcontents
\section{Section}
\subsection{Subsection}
\begin{enumerate}
\item \textbf{First} item
\item \textbf{Second} item
\end{itemize}
\begin{center}
This text is \textit{centered}.
\end{center}
\begin{figure}[!h]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]
\includegraphics[width=0.3\linewidth]{img1.png}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]
\includegraphics[width=0.3\linewidth]{img2.png}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]
\includegraphics[width=0.3\linewidth]{img3.png}
\end{subfigure}
\end{figure}
``` | ```markdown
.tableofcontents
# Section
## Subsection
1. **First** item
2. **Second** item
.center
This text is _centered_.
.row alignment:{spacebetween}
``` |
# Getting started
## Installation
### Install script (Linux/macOS)
```shell
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/quarkdown-labs/get-quarkdown/refs/heads/main/install.sh | sudo env "PATH=$PATH" bash
```
Root privileges let the script install Quarkdown into `/opt/quarkdown` and its wrapper script into `/usr/local/bin/quarkdown`.
If missing, Node.js will be installed automatically using the system's package manager.
For more installation options, check out [get-quarkdown](https://github.com/quarkdown-labs/get-quarkdown).
### Homebrew (Linux/macOS)
```shell
brew install quarkdown-labs/quarkdown/quarkdown
```
### Install script (Windows)
```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/quarkdown-labs/get-quarkdown/refs/heads/main/install.ps1 | iex
```
### Scoop (Windows)
```shell
scoop bucket add quarkdown https://github.com/quarkdown-labs/scoop-quarkdown; scoop install quarkdown
```
### GitHub Actions
See [setup-quarkdown](https://github.com/quarkdown-labs/setup-quarkdown) to easily integrate Quarkdown into your GitHub Actions workflows.
### Manual installation
Instructions for manual installation
Download `quarkdown.zip` from the [latest stable release](https://github.com/iamgio/quarkdown/releases/latest) and unzip it,
or build it with `gradlew installDist`.
Optionally, adding `/bin` to your `PATH` allows you easier access Quarkdown.
Requirements:
- (Only for PDF export) Node.js, npm, Puppeteer. See [*PDF export*](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/pdf-export) for details.
## Quickstart
New user? You'll find **everything you need** in the **[Quickstart guide](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/quickstart)** to bring your first document to life!
## Creating a project
**`quarkdown create [directory]`** will launch the prompt-based project wizard, making it quicker than ever
to set up a new Quarkdown project, with all [metadata](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/document-metadata) and initial content already present.
## Compiling
Running **`quarkdown c file.qd`** will compile the given file and save the output to file.
> If the project is composed by multiple source files, the target file must be the root one, i.e. the one that includes the other files.
>
> - [How to include other files?](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/including-other-quarkdown-files)
If you would like to familiarize yourself with Quarkdown instead, `quarkdown repl` lets you play with an interactive REPL mode.
#### Options
The most commonly used options are:
- **`-p`** or **`--preview`**: enables automatic content reloading after compiling.
- **`-w`** or **`--watch`**: recompiles the source every time a file from the source directory is changed.
> [!TIP]
> Combine `-p -w` to achieve ***live preview***!
- **`--pdf`**: produces a PDF file. Learn more in the wiki's [*PDF export*](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/pdf-export) page.
For the full list of options, check out the [CLI options](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/cli-options) wiki page.
---
## Mock document
***Mock***, written in Quarkdown, is a comprehensive collection of visual elements offered by the language,
making it ideal for exploring and understanding its key features — all while playing and experimenting hands-on with a concrete outcome in the form of pages or slides.
- The document's source files are available in the [`mock`](mock) directory, and can be compiled via `quarkdown c mock/main.qd -p`.
- The PDF artifacts generated for all possible theme combinations are available and can be viewed in the [`generated`](https://github.com/quarkdown-labs/generated) repo.
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please check [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) to know how contribute via issues or pull requests.
## Sponsors
A special thanks to all the sponsors who [supported this project](https://github.com/sponsors/iamgio)!
## Concept
The logo resembles the original [Markdown icon](https://github.com/dcurtis/markdown-mark), with focus on Quarkdown's completeness,
richness of features and customization options, emphasized by the revolving arrow all around the sphere.
What could be mistaken for a planet is actually a **quark** or, more specifically, a **down quark**,
an elementary particle that is a major constituent of matter: they give life to every complex structure we know of,
while also being one of the lightest objects in existence.
This is, indeed, the concept **Quarkdown** is built upon.
## License
By default, Quarkdown and its modules are licensed under [GNU GPLv3](./LICENSE), except for modules that include their own `LICENSE` file:
the CLI (`quarkdown-cli`) and Language Server (`quarkdown-lsp`) modules and binaries are licensed under GNU AGPLv3.
## Footnotes
---
## File: mock/README.md
# Mock
***Mock***, written in Quarkdown, is a comprehensive collection of visual elements offered by the language,
making it ideal for exploring and understanding its key features — all while playing with a concrete outcome in the form of pages or slides.
This document is also a great theme testing site.
To compile: `quarkdown c mock/main.qd`
- Add `-p` to open in-browser. Add `-p -w` to enable live reloading.
- Add `--pdf` to compile to PDF.
---
## File: quarkdown-html/README.md
# html
This module provides an extension to render Quarkdown ASTs to:
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript;
- PDF (via [Puppeteer](https://pptr.dev)).
## Options
- `--render html` for HTML rendering
- `--render html --pdf` or `--render html-pdf` for PDF rendering.
`-r` is short for `--render`.
Note that Quarkdown's CLI uses `--render html` by default, hence PDF rendering can be achieved via just `--pdf`.
---
## File: quarkdown-interaction/README.md
# interaction
This module provides a library to allow Quarkdown components to interact with third-party services and processes.
---
## File: quarkdown-libs/README.md
# libs
This module contains libraries written in Quarkdown ([main/resources](src/main/resources)).
The Gradle build system will automatically copy the `.qd` files into the `lib/qd` directory of the distribution zip.
At runtime, the CLI option `-l` or `--libs` sets the path to the library directory to use, which clearly defaults to `lib/qd`.
In order to load a library from the library directory, the `.include {name}` function can be used.
After the library is loaded, the functions defined in the library can be used in the main document.
See [wiki: *Importing external libraries*](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/importing-external-libraries) for further information.
---
## File: quarkdown-quarkdoc/README.md
# quarkdoc
This module contains the Quarkdoc plugin for [Dokka](https://github.com/Kotlin/dokka), the Kotlin documentation engine.
Quarkdoc extends Dokka by providing Quarkdown-level documentation for native libraries,
i.e. collections of strongly-typed Quarkdown functions written in Kotlin.
When a module adopts this plugin, its benefits include:
- Quarkdown-syntax function signatures;
- Package generation from Quarkdown modules: in a native Quarkdown library, a `Module` is a single source file.
The plugin generates a pseudo-package for each module, making it easier to navigate library functions by module name;
- Function/parameter name adaptation via `@Name` (Quarkdown's functions don't always match their native signature);
- Listing of enum entries for enum-type function parameters;
- Function's document type constraints via `@OnlyForDocumentType`/`@NotForDocumentType`;
- Suppression of `@Injected` function parameters;
To see all enhancements, [`QuarkdocDokkaPlugin`](src/main/kotlin/com/quarkdown/quarkdoc/dokka/QuarkdocDokkaPlugin.kt) features a complete list.
---
## File: quarkdown-server/README.md
# server
This module contains code for Quarkdown's local webserver,
which serves static files and drives live preview.
Endpoints:
- `/` for static files, relative to the origin directory;
- `/live/[file]` for wrapping HTML files with live preview capabilities;
- `/reload` for live reloading: `GET` opens a Server-Sent Events stream that subscribers (browser clients) listen on,
while `POST` broadcasts a reload event to every active subscriber (used by Quarkdown CLI after each compile).
For architectural details, see [Inside Quarkdown - How does live preview work?](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/inside-live-preview).
---
## File: quarkdown-test/README.md
# test
This module contains unit tests that take actual Quarkdown sources as inputs, making sure they produce the expected
final output by correctly executing each step of the compilation pipeline, from lexing to rendering.
The programs make use of the [stdlib](../stdlib), and libraries from [libs](../libs) can be also included.