About Pandoc
Pandoc is a universal document converter that runs from the command line. It reads one markup format and writes another, and it supports dozens of input and output types.
What it does
You point Pandoc at a source file and choose an output format, and it produces the converted file. It understands Markdown extensions for document metadata, footnotes, tables and definition lists, and it can use a bibliography file for citations. PDF output is produced through a LaTeX engine or another PDF tool that you install separately.
Key features
- Converts Markdown, reStructuredText and AsciiDoc
- Word, OpenDocument and EPUB output
- Citations from BibTeX and CSL files
- PDF output through LaTeX and other engines
- Custom readers and writers written in Lua
Who it's for
Writers, researchers and developers who move documents between formats. Academic authors who work with citations and reference managers often rely on it because it can handle bibliographies in a single build step.
Pricing and good to know
Pandoc is released under the GPL-2.0 license and is free to use. It is installed as a program on your own machine. Some PDF output needs an extra engine installed separately, such as LaTeX, and the conversion quality depends on the template you choose.
Highlights
- Converts between Markdown, reStructuredText and AsciiDoc
- Writes Word, OpenDocument and EPUB files
- Handles citations from BibTeX and CSL files
- Produces PDF through LaTeX or other engines
- Supports custom readers and writers in Lua
