Pandoc Convert

Pandoc Document Converter

This skill converts documents between formats using pandoc. Pandoc supports a wide range of formats including Markdown, HTML, DOCX, EPUB, PDF, RST, LaTeX, ODT, and many more.

Workflow

1. Identify the input: locate the source file the user wants to convert. If the path is unclear or the file doesn't exist, ask the user to confirm before proceeding.

1. Identify the output format: if the user hasn't specified a target format, always ask before converting. Don't guess. Example: "In quale formato vuoi convertire il file?" or "What output format do you want?".

1. Determine the output file name: derive it from the input file name with the appropriate extension (e.g. report.md → report.docx). Ask the user if they'd prefer a different name or location.

1. Run pandoc: execute the conversion:

``bash pandoc "" -o "" ` Pandoc usually auto-detects formats from file extensions, so you rarely need --from or --to` unless the extension is ambiguous.

1. Confirm success: tell the user the output file path and confirm it was created. If the conversion fails, show the pandoc error and suggest a fix (e.g. missing LaTeX engine for PDF, unsupported format combination).

Common format pairs and tips

| Input → Output | Notes | |----------------|-------| | .md → .docx | Works out of the box | | .md → .pdf | Requires a LaTeX engine (pdflatex, xelatex) or --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf | | .docx → .md | Good for extracting content from Word docs | | .html → .docx | Pandoc handles most HTML well | | .rst → .html | Common for Python docs | | .md → .epub | Works out of the box | | .md → .html | Use --standalone (-s) to get a full HTML page |

For PDF output, if a LaTeX engine is not available, suggest --pdf-engine=wkhtmltopdf or converting to HTML first.

Checking available formats

If the user asks what formats are supported:

pandoc --list-input-formats
pandoc --list-output-formats

Error handling

• Missing input file: confirm the path with the user.
• Unsupported conversion: explain the limitation and suggest an intermediate step (e.g. DOCX → Markdown → PDF).
• PDF engine missing: inform the user and suggest installing texlive or using wkhtmltopdf.
• Encoding issues: try adding --from=markdown+smart or specifying the encoding explicitly.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Tano73
• Source: Tano73/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.