Simple Doc Lite v1.1.2

A free, open-source Markdown-to-PDF template. Write in plain Markdown, configure in a single YAML file, run a build script, get a polished PDF. No LaTeX knowledge required.

Built on: Pandoc + XeLaTeX

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Quick Start

1. Install prerequisites

• Pandoc 3.0+ — pandoc.org/installing
• A TeX distribution with XeLaTeX — TeX Live (Linux/macOS) or MiKTeX (Windows)
• Noto Sans fonts:
  • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install fonts-noto-core fonts-noto-mono
  • macOS: brew install --cask font-noto-sans font-noto-sans-mono
  • Windows: fonts.google.com/noto

2. Set up your project

my-project/
├── template.tex
├── titlepage.tex
├── gfm-to-latex.lua
├── build.sh
├── master.yaml        ← template defaults (no need to edit this)
├── project.yaml       ← your project config (edit this)
├── content/
│   └── 01-introduction.md
└── images/
    └── logo.png

3. Configure project.yaml

output: "../output.pdf"

input-files:
  - content/01-introduction.md
  - content/02-main-body.md

title:  "My Document"
author: "Your Name"
date:   "2025-06-15"

project.yaml only needs the fields you want to set or change. master.yaml supplies defaults for everything else — you don't need to touch it.

4. Build

chmod +x build.sh
./build.sh

Your PDF appears at the path you set in output:. To use a different config file:

./build.sh configs/client-acme.yaml

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Document layouts

Two layouts controlled by one YAML setting:

• Long-form (short-form: false, default) — Full title page on its own, TOC on a second page, then the body. Best for reports, manuals, and anything over five pages.
• Short-form (short-form: true) — Compact header block at the top of page 1, body flows beneath, disclaimer suppressed. Best for memos, letters, and briefs (1–5 pages). Set toc: false for best results.

Recommended image sizes

Layout	Target size	Aspect ratio	Notes
Long-form	1500 × 1500 px	Square/portrait	Centered on title page
Short-form	2000 × 600 px	~3:1 to 4:1	Landscape banner, full text width

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Writing content

Standard Markdown, plus:

GFM-style callouts

> [!NOTE]
> Supplementary information.

> [!WARNING] Custom title
> Add custom text on the marker line.

Available types: NOTE, TIP, WARNING, IMPORTANT, CAUTION, SUMMARY, EXAMPLE.

Images — auto-centered, width-constrained:

![Caption](images/photo.png){ width=60% }

Tables — standard pipe tables with automatic column widths.

Code blocks — fenced with optional language tag for syntax highlighting.

Page breaks — every # H1 starts a new page automatically. Exception: in short-form mode, H1s do not force page breaks (so a multi-section memo flows continuously). Use \newpage for a manual break.

Multi-file documents — list files in order under input-files: in your project.yaml:

input-files:
  - content/01-introduction.md
  - content/02-methodology.md
  - content/03-conclusion.md

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Core configuration

All settings go in project.yaml. Every field is optional except output and input-files.

Field	Default	Description
output	../output.pdf	Output PDF path
input-files	(required)	Ordered list of Markdown files
title, author, date	—	Document metadata
version	(empty)	Version string on title page
short-form	false	Compact page-1 header vs full title page
short-form-image-height	2.2in	Max banner height in short-form
logo	(empty)	Path to logo image
disclaimer	(empty)	Disclaimer box (long-form only)
toc	true	Show table of contents
toc-depth	2	TOC heading levels (1–6)
secnumdepth	2	Section numbering depth
papersize	letter	letter or a4
fontsize	11pt	Base font size
font-body	Noto Sans	Body text font
font-heading	Noto Sans	Heading font
font-mono	Noto Sans Mono	Monospace font
color-heading	25,55,120	Heading color, R,G,B
color-link	40,80,180	Link color, R,G,B

Callout colors (color-note, color-tip, etc.) accept LaTeX color names: red, blue, green, orange, yellow, violet, black, gray.

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Troubleshooting

"Config file not found: project.yaml" — Create a project.yaml in your project directory (use the included one as a starting point), or pass a config file explicitly: ./build.sh my-config.yaml

"No input files listed" — Make sure your project.yaml has an input-files: list with at least one file.

"Font not found" — Install Noto Sans (see Quick Start). Check what's installed with fc-list | grep -i noto.

"xelatex not found" — Install a TeX distribution.

"pandoc: Unknown reader: gfm-alerts" — Your Pandoc is too old. Update to 3.0+.

Callouts rendering as plain blockquotes — Make sure build.sh uses --from gfm-alerts.

Permission denied on build.sh — chmod +x build.sh

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Upgrade to Simple Doc Pro

This Lite version covers everything you need for most documents. If you want the following features, check out Simple Doc Pro:

• Watermarks — "DRAFT", "CONFIDENTIAL", or any text, angled across every page
• Page X of Y — total page count in the footer
• Custom headers — left/center/right header content on every page
• Auto-date — use today's date automatically on every build
• H2 page breaks — start each subsection on a fresh page
• Font fallback system — NF (Nerd Font) primary with automatic standard-Noto fallback when NF isn't installed
• Working example project with a prebuilt sample PDF
• Complete user guide with in-depth configuration reference and customization tips

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License

MIT — see LICENSE. Use it however you like.