autorpt

autorpt is an automated word, html, and pdf report generator using Excel and Markdown files

Choose your workflow:

• Web Interface: User-friendly interface in your browser - perfect for non-technical users

• Command Line: Fast, scriptable automation for power users

• User works from a folder with two files in the reports folder of this repo: content.md and budget.xlsx. The two files can be downloaded at the links provided and copied to a folder on your local drive.

• Copy and adapt the files or add your own files to generate the reports.

• See basic usage section below for how to set it up. Videos coming soon.

• Documentation: https://VRConservation.github.io/autorpt.

Features

• Web Interface: Modern, browser-based interface with visual editor
  • Familiar Experience: WYSIWYG editor similar to Word/Google Docs
  • Drag & Drop: Easy Excel file uploads
  • Tabbed Layout: Report, Budget, and Preview tabs in a collapsible side panel
  • Report Templates: Pre-built sections for common report types
  • Text Snippets: Save and reuse frequently used text
  • File History: Track all generated reports
  • Multiple Formats: Export to Word, PDF, HTML, or Markdown
• Auto-Discovery: Automatically finds and combines all .md and .xlsx files in your content folder
• Excel Table Integration: Any Excel file becomes a formatted table in your report
• Markdown Content: Write content in markdown format for easy editing and version control
• Mixed Content Support: Combine multiple markdown files and Excel tables in one report
• Customizable Content: Use example files or create your own content structure
• Command Line Interface: Simple commands for different workflows
• Python API: Use programmatically in your own scripts
• Visual Charts: Automatically generates budget comparison charts
• Professional Formatting: Clean, business-ready Word document output
• PDF Conversion: Built-in PDF generation from Word documents

Quick Start

Option 1: Web Interface (Recommended for Most Users)

Launch the web interface in your browser:

auto start

This opens a user-friendly web interface where you can:

• Write and edit report content with a visual editor
• Upload Excel budget files with drag & drop
• Preview your report in real-time
• Generate reports in Word, PDF, HTML, or Markdown format
• Save text snippets for reuse
• View history of generated reports

Perfect for: Non-technical users, collaborative editing, quick report generation

Option 2: Command Line (For Power Users & Automation)

1. Prepare your content in the reports/ folder:

   • Edit the provided example files:
     • reports/budget.xlsx (your budget data)
     • reports/content.md (report content with YAML frontmatter)

2. Generate a Word document report:

   auto
   

   • This creates a Word document (report_YYYY-MM-DD.docx) in the reports/ folder
   • Content is read from content.md with budget table inserted at the [insert budget from budget.xlsx here] placeholder

3. Generate a PDF report (requires Typst):

   auto --typst
   

   • This creates a PDF (report_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf) in the reports/ folder
   • Uses report.typ Typst template for professional PDF formatting

4. Generate both Word and PDF:

   auto --all
   

Perfect for: Automation scripts, batch processing, CI/CD pipelines

Installation File Structure

Your project directory should contain:

autorpt/
├── reports/                         # Content folder for your report files
│   ├── budget.xlsx                  # Your budget data
│   ├── content.md                   # Report content with YAML frontmatter
│   ├── report.typ                   # Typst template for PDF (auto-generated)
│   ├── report_YYYY-MM-DD.docx  # Generated Word documents
│   └── report_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf        # Generated PDF documents
├── autorpt/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── autorpt.py                   # Main script
└── setup.py

Content Format

reports/content.md format:

---
title: Monthly Report
date: May 08, 2026
---

# Monthly Report

# Summary

Your summary content here...

# Budget

The current budget is shown below

[insert budget from budget.xlsx here]

## Budget Comments

Additional notes about budget...

# Deliverables Progress

Progress details...

- Item 1
- Item 2

# Challenges

Current challenges...

# Next Period Activities

Planned activities...

The [insert budget from budget.xlsx here] placeholder will be automatically replaced with a formatted budget table in both Word and PDF formats.

Command Line Options

# Web Interface (opens browser automatically)
auto start

# Start web server without opening browser
auto start --no-browser

# Specify custom port for web server
auto start --port 5000

# Generate Word document from content.md and budget.xlsx
auto

# Generate PDF from content.md using Typst
auto --typst

# Generate both Word and PDF
auto --all

# Enable verbose output
auto --verbose
auto start --verbose

The web server auto-clears any stale process on the configured port before starting, so you'll never hit "port in use" errors.

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• python-docx: For Word document generation
• pandas + openpyxl: For reading Excel budget files
• Typst (optional, for PDF generation): https://github.com/typst/typst

Install Typst for PDF support:

• macOS: brew install typst
• Linux: Follow instructions at https://github.com/typst/typst
• Windows: Download from https://github.com/typst/typst/releases

Output

The package generates:

• Word Document (report_YYYY-MM-DD.docx): Professional formatted report with budget table
• PDF Document (report_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf): Clean PDF version using Typst template
• Both formats include formatted budget tables with proper alignment and styling
• Reports are created in the reports/ folder