Settings Reference

Complete reference for all Markdown PDF settings.

Configuration

Settings are placed in your Zed settings.json:

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

Page Layout

page_format

Paper size for the PDF.

Type	Default	Options
string	"A4"	A4, Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Ledger, A0, A1, A2, A3, A5, A6

{ "page_format": "Letter" }

orientation

Page orientation.

Type	Default	Options
string	"portrait"	portrait, landscape

{ "orientation": "landscape" }

scale

Zoom factor for page rendering.

Type	Default	Range
number	1	0.1 – 2

{ "scale": 0.9 }

margin

Page margins as CSS length values.

Type	Default
object	{ top: "15mm", right: "15mm", bottom: "15mm", left: "15mm" }

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

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

page_ranges

Print only specific pages.

Type	Default
string	"" (all pages)

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

print_background

Include background colors and images.

Type	Default
boolean	true

{ "print_background": true }

Content & Rendering

font_family

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

Type	Default
string | null	null (system fonts)

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

include_default_styles

Include the built-in neutral stylesheet.

Type	Default
boolean	true

{ "include_default_styles": false }

stylesheet_path

Path to a custom CSS file (relative to Markdown file).

Type	Default
string | null	null

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

breaks

Convert single newlines to <br> elements.

Type	Default
boolean	false

{ "breaks": true }

emoji

Render emoji shortcodes (:smile: → 😄).

Type	Default
boolean	true

{ "emoji": true }

Syntax Highlighting

highlight

Enable syntax highlighting for code blocks.

Type	Default
boolean	true

{ "highlight": true }

highlight_style

Highlight.js theme filename.

Type	Default
string	"github.css"

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

Popular themes:

Theme	Description
github.css	Light GitHub (default)
github-dark.css	Dark GitHub
monokai.css	Classic Monokai
atom-one-dark.css	Atom One Dark
atom-one-light.css	Atom One Light
nord.css	Nord
vs.css	Visual Studio Light
vs2015.css	Visual Studio Dark
tokyo-night-dark.css	Tokyo Night
rose-pine.css	Rosé Pine

See highlightjs.org/demo for all 80+ themes.

Header & Footer

header

Structured header configuration.

Type	Default
object | null	null

{
  "header": {
    "height": "15mm",
    "padding": "0 10mm",
    "font_size": "9px",
    "border_bottom": "1px solid #ddd",
    "left": { "type": "image", "src": "./logo.svg", "height": "12mm" },
    "center": { "type": "title" },
    "right": { "type": "date", "format": "MMMM d, yyyy" }
  }
}

See Header/Footer Schema for complete documentation.

footer

Structured footer configuration.

Type	Default
object | null	null

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

Shorthand Properties

For simple configurations:

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

Property	Description
left_text	Text in left zone
left_image	Image path in left zone
left_image_height	Height for left image
center_text	Text in center zone
center_image	Image path in center zone
center_image_height	Height for center image
right_text	Text in right zone
right_image	Image path in right zone
right_image_height	Height for right image

Output

output_directory

Default directory for output PDFs.

Type	Default
string | null	null (same as source)

{ "output_directory": "./build" }

open_after_export

Open PDF in default viewer after export.

Type	Default
boolean	false

{ "open_after_export": true }

Priority Order

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

1. Extension defaults
2. Global settings (settings.json)
3. Front matter (pdf: block)
4. Tool arguments (from prompt)

Minimal Example

{
  "context_servers": {
    "markdown-pdf": {
      "settings": {
        "page_format": "A4",
        "header": {
          "center_text": "{title}",
          "right_text": "{date:yyyy-MM-dd}"
        },
        "footer": {
          "center_text": "Page {page} of {pages}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Full Example

{
  "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": "18mm",
          "padding": "0 15mm",
          "font_size": "9px",
          "border_bottom": "1px solid #ddd",
          "left": {
            "type": "image",
            "src": "./logo.svg",
            "height": "14mm"
          },
          "center": {
            "type": "title",
            "font_weight": "bold"
          },
          "right": {
            "type": "date",
            "format": "MMMM d, yyyy"
          }
        },
        "footer": {
          "height": "12mm",
          "padding": "0 15mm",
          "font_size": "8px",
          "color": "#666",
          "center": {
            "type": "text",
            "content": "Page {page} of {pages}"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}