rudoc

Fast dependency-free document converter (Pandoc alternative)

TLDR

Convert Markdown to DOCX (formats auto-detected from extensions)

$ rudoc [README.md] [README.docx]

Convert DOCX to PDF

$ rudoc [report.docx] [report.pdf]

Convert Markdown to HTML with explicit formats

$ rudoc -f md -t html [README.md]

Write output to a path

$ rudoc [README.md] -o [/tmp/readme.pdf]

Convert CSV to XLSX

$ rudoc [data.csv] [report.xlsx]

Convert Markdown to PowerPoint slides

$ rudoc [notes.md] [slides.pptx]

Pipe Markdown to HTML on stdout

$ cat [README.md] | rudoc -f md -t html

Merge multiple Markdown files into one document

$ rudoc [ch1.md] [ch2.md] [ch3.md] -t html -o [book.html]

SYNOPSIS

rudoc [-f FORMAT] [-t FORMAT] [-o FILE] [options] [input...]

rudoc is a small, static Rust document converter aimed at the common conversions people use every day. It is designed as a focused alternative to pandoc: a few megabytes, sub-5 ms startup, no language runtime, and a curated set of formats rather than dozens of backends.Supported rich-text conversions are bidirectional among Markdown, HTML, plain text, DOCX, Typst (.typ), and PDF (PDF input is text extraction only; layout is not preserved). Presentations go Markdown → PPTX, with heading levels controlling slide boundaries. Tabular data converts CSV ↔ XLSX. Structured data converts XML ↔ OPML ↔ JSON with lossless round-trips inside that group.Formats are usually inferred from file extensions, so many invocations need no flags. Explicit -f / -t overrides, stdin/stdout piping, multi-file Markdown merge, and PDF paper/font options cover scripted and batch use. For PDF output, rudoc prefers the typst CLI when present, can use a built-in printpdf path when compiled with the pdf feature, and otherwise prints install guidance.

PARAMETERS

-f, --from FORMAT

Input format (auto-detected from file extension when omitted). Names are case-insensitive; aliases include md/markdown/gfm, html, txt, docx, typ/typst, pdf, pptx, csv, xlsx, xml, opml, json.

-t, --to FORMAT

Output format (auto-detected from the output path or second path argument when omitted).

-o, --output FILE

Output path. Default is stdout when formats allow streaming.

--standalone

Emit a full HTML document with head metadata and CSS.

--slide-level N

Heading level that starts a new slide when writing pptx (default: 1).

--sheet NAME

Sheet name for XLSX input/output (default: Sheet1).

--pdf-paper SIZE

Paper size for PDF: a4, a3, a5, us-letter, us-legal (default: a4).

--pdf-font NAME

Body font for Typst/PDF output (default: Arial).

--wrap COLS

Line-wrap width for md/txt output (0 = off).

-q, --quiet

Suppress progress messages.

-v, --verbose

Show intermediate IR stats and timing.

-h, --help

Print help.

--version

Print version.

CAVEATS

Rudoc intentionally supports fewer formats than pandoc (roughly a dozen focused paths). PDF reading extracts text only and does not preserve layout. Highest-quality PDF writing works best with typst on PATH; without it you need a build that includes the optional built-in PDF feature, or conversion stops with an error. Presentation export is Markdown → PPTX only (not full bidirectional slide conversion).

RESOURCES

Source code