Global Settings

Configure default options for all PDF exports in your Zed settings.json.

Configuration Location

Add settings under context_servers.markdown-pdf.settings:

json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "markdown-pdf": {
      "settings": {
        // Your settings here
      }
    }
  }
}

Complete Example

json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "markdown-pdf": {
      "settings": {
        "page_format": "A4",
        "orientation": "portrait",
        "scale": 1,
        "print_background": true,
        "margin": {
          "top": "20mm",
          "right": "15mm",
          "bottom": "20mm",
          "left": "15mm"
        },
        "font_family": "Georgia, serif",
        "include_default_styles": true,
        "highlight": true,
        "highlight_style": "github.css",
        "emoji": true,
        "open_after_export": false,
        "header": {
          "height": "15mm",
          "left_image": "./logo.svg",
          "left_image_height": "12mm",
          "center_text": "{title}",
          "right_text": "{date:MMMM d, yyyy}"
        },
        "footer": {
          "height": "10mm",
          "center_text": "Page {page} of {pages}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Page Settings

page_format

Paper size for the PDF.

Value	Description
`"A4"`	210 × 297 mm (default)
`"Letter"`	8.5 × 11 inches
`"Legal"`	8.5 × 14 inches
`"Tabloid"`	11 × 17 inches
`"A3"`	297 × 420 mm
`"A5"`	148 × 210 mm

json

{ "page_format": "Letter" }

orientation

Page orientation.

Value	Description
`"portrait"`	Vertical (default)
`"landscape"`	Horizontal

json

{ "orientation": "landscape" }

scale

Zoom factor for page rendering.

Type: number
Range: 0.1 to 2
Default: 1

json

{ "scale": 0.9 }

margin

Page margins as CSS length values.

json

{
  "margin": {
    "top": "20mm",
    "right": "15mm",
    "bottom": "20mm",
    "left": "15mm"
  }
}

Supported units: mm, cm, in, px, pt

page_ranges

Print only specific pages.

Type: string
Default: "" (all pages)

json

{ "page_ranges": "1-5, 8, 10-12" }

print_background

Include background colors and images.

Type: boolean
Default: true

json

{ "print_background": true }

Content Settings

font_family

CSS font-family for the document body and header/footer.

Type: string | null
Default: null (system fonts)

json

{ "font_family": "Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif" }

include_default_styles

Include the built-in neutral stylesheet.

Type: boolean
Default: true

json

{ "include_default_styles": false }

Set to false to use only your custom stylesheet.

stylesheet_path

Path to a custom CSS file.

Type: string | null
Default: null

json

{ "stylesheet_path": "./styles/custom.css" }

Relative paths are resolved from the Markdown file's directory.

breaks

Convert single newlines to <br> elements.

Type: boolean
Default: false

json

{ "breaks": true }

emoji

Render emoji shortcodes (:smile: → 😄).

Type: boolean
Default: true

json

{ "emoji": true }

Syntax Highlighting

highlight

Enable syntax highlighting for code blocks.

Type: boolean
Default: true

json

{ "highlight": true }

highlight_style

Highlight.js theme filename.

Type: string
Default: "github.css"

json

{ "highlight_style": "atom-one-dark.css" }

Popular themes:

Theme	Style
`github.css`	Light GitHub (default)
`github-dark.css`	Dark GitHub
`monokai.css`	Classic Monokai
`atom-one-dark.css`	Atom One Dark
`nord.css`	Nord
`vs.css`	VS Light
`vs2015.css`	VS Dark

Browse all themes at highlightjs.org/demo.

Header & Footer

Structured header configuration.

Type: object | null
Default: null

json

{
  "header": {
    "height": "15mm",
    "padding": "0 10mm",
    "font_size": "9px",
    "left": { "type": "image", "src": "./logo.svg", "height": "12mm" },
    "center": { "type": "title" },
    "right": { "type": "date", "format": "MMMM d, yyyy" }
  }
}

See Header & Footer for complete documentation.

Structured footer configuration.

Type: object | null
Default: null

json

{
  "footer": {
    "height": "10mm",
    "center": { "type": "text", "content": "Page {page} of {pages}" }
  }
}

Shorthand Syntax

For simple headers/footers:

json

{
  "header": {
    "height": "15mm",
    "left_image": "./logo.svg",
    "left_image_height": "12mm",
    "center_text": "{title}",
    "right_text": "{date:yyyy-MM-dd}"
  }
}

Output Settings

assets_directory

Global directory for shared assets (images, logos). Supports ~ for home directory.

Type: string | null
Default: null

json

{ "assets_directory": "~/.config/zed-markdown-pdf/assets" }

Paths starting with @/ in image sources are resolved relative to this directory:

json

{
  "assets_directory": "~/.config/zed-markdown-pdf/assets",
  "header": {
    "left_image": "@/company-logo.svg"
  }
}

The ~ expands to your home directory on all platforms:

macOS/Linux: $HOME (e.g., /Users/john)
Windows: %USERPROFILE% (e.g., C:\Users\john)

output_directory

Default directory for output PDFs.

Type: string | null
Default: null (same directory as source)

json

{ "output_directory": "./build" }

open_after_export

Open the PDF in the default viewer after export.

Type: boolean
Default: false

json

{ "open_after_export": true }

Priority Order

Settings are applied in this order (later overrides earlier):

Extension defaults — Built-in sensible defaults
Global settings — Your settings.json configuration
Front matter — Per-document pdf: block
Tool arguments — Options passed in the prompt

Minimal Configuration

A minimal setup with header and footer:

json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "markdown-pdf": {
      "settings": {
        "header": {
          "center_text": "{title}",
          "right_text": "{date:yyyy-MM-dd}"
        },
        "footer": {
          "center_text": "Page {page} of {pages}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Organization-Wide Settings

For consistent branding across all documents, use the global assets directory:

json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "markdown-pdf": {
      "settings": {
        "assets_directory": "~/.config/zed-markdown-pdf/assets",
        "font_family": "Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif",
        "header": {
          "height": "20mm",
          "padding": "0 15mm",
          "border_bottom": "2px solid #0066cc",
          "left_image": "@/logos/company-logo.svg",
          "left_image_height": "15mm",
          "right_text": "{date:MMMM d, yyyy}"
        },
        "footer": {
          "height": "12mm",
          "padding": "0 15mm",
          "font_size": "8px",
          "color": "#666",
          "left_text": "© 2025 Company Name",
          "center_text": "Page {page} of {pages}",
          "right_text": "Confidential"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Each team member places their copy of the brand assets in the configured assets_directory.

Team Setup

Share a ZIP of your brand assets with team members. They extract it to ~/.config/zed-markdown-pdf/assets/ and the same settings work for everyone.

Next Steps

Front Matter — Per-document overrides
Header & Footer — Complete header/footer guide
Custom Styling — CSS customization

Global Settings ​

Configuration Location ​

Complete Example ​

Page Settings ​

page_format ​

orientation ​

scale ​

margin ​

page_ranges ​

print_background ​

Content Settings ​

font_family ​

include_default_styles ​

stylesheet_path ​

breaks ​

emoji ​

Syntax Highlighting ​

highlight ​

highlight_style ​

Header & Footer ​

header ​

footer ​

Shorthand Syntax ​

Output Settings ​

assets_directory ​

output_directory ​

open_after_export ​

Priority Order ​

Minimal Configuration ​

Organization-Wide Settings ​

Next Steps ​

Global Settings

Configuration Location

Complete Example

Page Settings

page_format

orientation

scale

margin

page_ranges

print_background

Content Settings

font_family

include_default_styles

stylesheet_path

breaks

emoji

Syntax Highlighting

highlight

highlight_style

Header & Footer

header

footer

Shorthand Syntax

Output Settings

assets_directory

output_directory

open_after_export

Priority Order

Minimal Configuration

Organization-Wide Settings

Next Steps