README.md

Astro Documentation to PDF Converter

A Python script that automatically generates a well-formatted PDF from Astro's documentation repository. The script clones the documentation, processes all markdown files, and creates a PDF with a table of contents, proper formatting, and consistent styling.

Features

• Automatic repository cloning and updating
• Comprehensive documentation processing
• Table of contents generation
• Code block syntax highlighting
• Image path handling
• Proper page breaks
• Custom header and footer
• Error handling and recovery
• Progress reporting
• Clean temporary file management

Requirements

System Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Git installed and accessible from command line
• Internet connection for repository access

Python Dependencies

Install all required packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Install Playwright's browser:

playwright install chromium

Installation

1. Clone this repository or download the script files:

git clone 
cd 

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt
playwright install chromium

3. Ensure you have the following files in your directory:
   • astro_docs_to_pdf.py (main script)
   • requirements.txt
   • styles.css (will be created automatically if missing)

Usage

Run the script:

python astro_docs_to_pdf.py

The script will:

1. Clone/update the Astro documentation repository
2. Process all documentation files
3. Generate a PDF with proper formatting
4. Create a table of contents
5. Output the final PDF as Astro_Documentation_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf

Output

The generated PDF includes:

• Cover page with title and date
• Table of contents with page numbers
• Formatted documentation content
• Code syntax highlighting
• Properly sized images
• Headers and footers with page numbers
• Consistent styling throughout

Customization

CSS Styling

The script creates a default styles.css file if none exists. You can modify this file to customize the PDF's appearance.

Output Options

You can modify these variables in the script:

repo_dir = "astro-docs"  # Local directory for cloned repo
output_pdf = f"Astro_Documentation_{datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}.pdf"  # Output filename

PDF Format

Adjust the PDF format options in the generate_pdf function:

format_options = {
    'format': 'A4',
    'margin': {
        'top': '50px',
        'right': '50px',
        'bottom': '50px',
        'left': '50px'
    },
    'print_background': True,
    # ... other options
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Git Clone Failures

   • Ensure you have git installed
   • Check your internet connection
   • Verify repository access permissions

2. PDF Generation Errors

   • Check if output PDF is already open
   • Ensure enough disk space
   • Verify Playwright browser installation

3. Image Loading Issues

   • Check internet connection
   • Verify image paths in documentation
   • Ensure Playwright timeouts are sufficient

4. Styling Problems

   • Verify styles.css exists and is readable
   • Check CSS syntax
   • Ensure no conflicting styles

Error Messages

The script provides detailed error messages for common issues:

• Repository cloning failures
• File processing errors
• PDF generation problems
• Resource cleanup issues

Limitations

• Requires active internet connection
• May take several minutes for large documentation sets
• Memory usage scales with documentation size
• Some complex MDX components may not render perfectly

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to:

1. Report bugs
2. Suggest improvements
3. Submit pull requests

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Built using Playwright for PDF generation
• Processes documentation from the official Astro docs repository
• Uses Python's markdown library for processing