DocBuildr

Build beautiful PDF books from online documentation.

DocBuildr is a command-line tool that crawls documentation websites, merges pages into a single book, and generates professional-quality Markdown, HTML, and PDF outputs.

Designed for developers, researchers, engineers, and scientists who want offline documentation with clean typography, mathematical rendering, and print-friendly layouts.

---

Features

• 📖 Crawl documentation websites automatically
• 📚 Merge multiple pages into a single book
• 📝 Generate clean Markdown output
• 🌐 Export standalone HTML
• 📄 Export print-ready PDF
• 🎨 Professional book layout
• 🖼 Responsive images
• 📊 Smart table formatting
• 💻 Optimized code blocks
• 📑 Automatic table of contents
• ➗ Offline KaTeX math rendering
• ✅ Unit-tested core components
• 🔄 GitHub Actions continuous integration
• ⚡ Simple command-line interface

---

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/<YOUR_USERNAME>/docbuildr.git

cd docbuildr

Create a virtual environment

python -m venv .venv

source .venv/bin/activate

Install

pip install -e ".[dev]"

---

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Playwright
• Chromium browser

Install Chromium

playwright install chromium

---

Quick Start

Generate a book

docbuildr https://gthlab.au/panaroo

---

Examples

Run the bundled KaTeX demo

python examples/math_demo.py

The example generates a standalone HTML document demonstrating inline and display mathematics rendered entirely offline.

---

Command Line Options

Specify a custom title

docbuildr URL \
    --title "Panaroo User Guide"

Generate HTML only

docbuildr URL \
    --html-only

Specify output directory

docbuildr URL \
    --output-dir build

Specify output filename

docbuildr URL \
    --output-name panaroo

Verbose mode

docbuildr URL \
    --verbose

---

Output

output/

├── book.md
├── book.html
├── book.pdf
└── viewer.html

---

Project Structure

docbuildr/

├── src/
├── templates/
├── tests/
├── examples/
├── .github/
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── RELEASE.md
└── pyproject.toml

---

Build Pipeline

Documentation Website

        │

        ▼

Site Adapter

        │

        ▼

MarkdownCrawler

        │

        ▼

MarkdownPreprocessor

        │

        ▼

BookBuilder

        │

        ▼

MarkdownRenderer

        │
        ├── HTML
        ├── Viewer
        └── Vendor Assets

        ▼

PDFExporter

---

Current Features

Feature	Status
Documentation crawler	✅
Markdown export	✅
HTML export	✅
PDF export	✅
Table of contents	✅
Cover page	✅
Smart tables	✅
Print layout	✅
Viewer	✅
Professional CLI	✅
Offline KaTeX rendering	✅
Unit tests	✅
GitHub Actions CI	✅
Syntax highlighting	🚧
Theme engine	🚧
EPUB export	🚧

---

Roadmap

Alpha

• Professional CLI
• Professional print layout
• Offline KaTeX
• Mermaid diagrams
• Syntax highlighting

Beta

• Theme engine
• EPUB export
• Search index
• Plugin system

Version 1.0

• Stable API
• Multiple documentation platforms
• Production-ready release

---

Development

Install development dependencies

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Compile source

python -m compileall src

Run tests

python -m pytest

Run coverage

python -m pytest --cov=docbuildr

Run DocBuildr

docbuildr https://gthlab.au/panaroo

---

Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.

---

License

MIT License

---

Author

Developed by Moss.kw

Built with Python, Playwright, and modern web technologies.