Build a pdf from markdown in sublimetext with WSL

How to build a pdf File from a markdown file using WSL in Sublimetext

July 17, 2024 3 min read webdev, howto, sublimetext, wsl

Intro

Today I wanted to build a pdf File from a markdown File without having to litter my Windows. So I wanted to use WSL.

Since I use Sublime Text as my Editor of Choice it should be used as well.

Install Preqrequisites

Pandoc

First of we need a tool to convert Files. For this the most common would be Pandoc:

Install Instructions:

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wget https://github.com/jgm/pandoc/releases/download/3.2.1/pandoc-3.2.1-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -xvzf pandoc-3.2.1-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv -v pandoc-3.2.1 /usr/local
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/pandoc-3.2.1/bin' >> ~/.bashrc

PDF-Engine

Now we need an PDF-Engine, there are quite a few to choose from but the first one I found after googling was xelatex. Straight forward: sudo apt-get install texlive-xetex

Take a look at the Pandoc Documentation regarding the pdf-engine.

Sublime WSLBuild Plugin

Everything is already premade for us, we just have to Install this Plugin: https://packagecontrol.io/packages/WslBuild

Create a Build

The final step is to create a Sublime Build, go to: Tools - Build System - New Build System…

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{
    "target": "wsl_exec",
    "cancel": {"kill": true},
    "wsl_cmd": "/usr/local/pandoc-3.2.1/bin/pandoc --verbose --pdf-engine=xelatex --citeproc -o '$file_base_name.pdf' '$file_name' && explorer.exe $(wslpath -w $unix_file_path); explorer.exe $(wslpath -w $unix_file_path/$file_base_name.pdf)",
    "wsl_working_dir": "$unix_file_path"
}

Finally just use this build on the markdown File with CTRL + b.

Outsource the config

To outsource common Config settings you can adjust the build, by creating a includes file and add it in front of the input: $unix_packages/User/builds/incl/header-includes.yaml. In my User Folder I created a build/incl/header-includes.yaml file. In Sublime Build you can access your Packages path with the $packages variable and the WSLBuild Plugin includes the WSL equivalent.

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{
    "target": "wsl_exec",
    "cancel": {"kill": true},
    "wsl_cmd": "/usr/local/pandoc-3.2.1/bin/pandoc -o '$file_base_name.pdf' $unix_packages/User/builds/incl/header-includes.yaml '$file_name' --verbose --pdf-engine=xelatex --citeproc -f markdown-implicit_figures && explorer.exe $(wslpath -w $unix_file_path/$file_base_name.pdf)",
    "wsl_working_dir": "$unix_file_path"
}

and a example config:

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---
linkcolor: "blue"
toc: true
geometry: 
  - top=2cm
  - bottom=1.5cm
  - left=2.5cm
  - right=2.5cm
header-includes: |
  \usepackage{enumitem}
  \setlistdepth{9}
  \setlist[itemize,1]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,2]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,3]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,4]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,5]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,6]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,7]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,8]{label=$\bullet$}
  \setlist[itemize,9]{label=$\bullet$}
  \renewlist{itemize}{itemize}{9}
  \setlist[enumerate,1]{label=$\arabic*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,2]{label=$\alph*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,3]{label=$\roman*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,4]{label=$\arabic*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,5]{label=$\alpha*$}
  \setlist[enumerate,6]{label=$\roman*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,7]{label=$\arabic*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,8]{label=$\alph*.$}
  \setlist[enumerate,9]{label=$\roman*.$}
  \renewlist{enumerate}{enumerate}{9}
---

Afterwords

… and voila you got yourself a pdf. =)