CI documentation
Turn release notes, manuals, and whole folders of repository Markdown into reproducible build artifacts, on up to 64 threads.
rayomd --batch docs pdf-out --recursive --skip-unchanged
Open source · Apache-2.0 · RayoMD 5.2.5 · GUI 1.4.0
RayoMD
Markdown to PDF in under a millisecond.
A single small executable for Linux and Windows, and a desktop app that shows the real PDF as you type. No browser, no LaTeX, no Pandoc, no runtime.
rayomd --export report.md report.pdf
0.76 ms
A short note, start to exit
0.16 ms
Each export in a running process
727 KB
Linux download, 852 KB Windows
3.4 MiB
Peak memory of an export
RayoMD 5.2.5 on an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650GE, measured on 2026-10-20: a short note as a fresh process; tester.md in a running process and for memory (1.34 ms fresh). Against other tools
The native path
Ship PDFs, not Chromium.
RayoMD parses Markdown and writes PDF bytes directly, in its own C++17 code. It typesets formulas, colours code and draws diagrams itself: nothing starts a browser, a TeX installation, or Pandoc.
01
Markdown bytes
# Report
02
Native parse + layout
C++17
03
Valid PDF bytes
%PDF-1.7
- TeX math typeset natively
- Code coloured in 29 languages
- Mermaid diagrams drawn as vectors
- PDF/A-3b and PDF/UA-1
- Linux binary needs only libc
Real output
Inspect what the engine produces.
Every preview below was exported by RayoMD 5.2.5. Open the Markdown, the generated PDF, and the exact command used.
Generated sample
Technical note
Typeset formulas, a Mermaid flowchart, Python coloured as on GitHub, a task list, and a footnote.
Command
rayomd --export technical-note.md technical-note.pdf native modern normal
RayoMD GUI 1.4.0
Write Markdown. See the real PDF.
The desktop app draws the PDF RayoMD just built, with its own renderer, as you type: not an imitation of it. The Markdown shows in your theme's colours; on Omarchy the app follows the theme as it changes.
- About 2 msfrom a keystroke to the edited page's preview in
tester.md - The real PDF0.5/255 from poppler's rendering, on average over 51 test pages
- Every export optionstyles, page sizes, PDF themes, contents, Obsidian notes, PDF/A and PDF/UA
- Native and smalla 1.6 MB Linux download needing only libc, 2.0 MB for Windows
Focused workloads
Small engine. Specific jobs.
Generated reports
Convert Markdown from backend jobs or AI pipelines without maintaining a browser pool. A running process exports each further document in 0.16 ms.
cat report.md | rayomd --stdin report.pdf
Books and notes
One PDF from an mdBook or GitBook SUMMARY.md, a folder, or an Obsidian note and the notes it links to, with one table of contents.
rayomd --book SUMMARY.md book.pdf --toc --page-numbers
Local and embedded tools
Keep conversion offline and link the C++ exporter into your own application, as RayoMD GUI does.
#include "rayomd/tiny_pdf.h"
Deliberate scope
Fast because the job is smaller.
RayoMD renders a Markdown subset, not every document format. Unsupported input degrades to readable output instead of failing the export.
Use native RayoMD for
- GitHub-style Markdown: tables, task lists, footnotes, alerts
- TeX math, typeset in embedded fonts
- Code in 29 languages and Mermaid flowcharts, sequence and pie charts
- PNG, JPEG, and SVG images
- Tables of contents, themes, headers, footers, and covers
- Books, Obsidian vaults, and batch folders
- PDF/A-3b archives and tagged PDF/UA-1
Use a broader engine for
- HTML and CSS layout
- JavaScript-rendered pages
- Complete LaTeX: packages, macros, numbering
- Citations, bibliographies, and filters
- Right-to-left scripts
- Mermaid beyond flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and pie charts
Dated and reproducible
Performance with the caveats attached.
Each tool converts the same document, tester.md without images, as a fresh process: start, parse, layout, write, exit. The other tools render more, and render it differently.
| Tool | Version | Time | Against RayoMD | Peak memory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RayoMD | 5.2.5 | 1.34 ms | 1x | 3.4 MiB |
| glu | 0.0.46 | 55 ms | 41x | 33 MiB |
| Qt 6 QTextDocument | 6.12.0 | 71 ms | 53x | 39 MiB |
| Pandoc + Typst | 3.11, Typst 0.15.1 | 357 ms | 266x | 239 MiB |
| Pandoc + WeasyPrint | 3.11, 70.0 | 987 ms | 737x | 241 MiB |
| md-to-pdf | 5.2.5, Chromium 154 | 1,821 ms | 1,359x | 205 MiB |
| Pandoc + XeLaTeX | 3.11, TeX Live 2026 | 2,147 ms | 1,602x | 340 MiB |
Optional reversible profile
Exact source in. Exact source out.
RayoMD can attach the original UTF-8 Markdown to its PDF in the rayomd-source/1 profile, check its length and SHA-256 integrity, and recover it byte for byte later.
rayomd --export report.md archive.pdf --embed-source
rayomd --inspect-source archive.pdf
rayomd --recover-source archive.pdf recovered.md
Choose the deployment
Run it yourself, or help define the hosted API.
Open source
Own the binary.
Download the command-line tool for Linux or Windows, the desktop app, or link the C++ exporter into your own program, all under Apache-2.0. The default Linux build needs only libc; a curl build fetches URL images.
Private beta
Put the engine behind HTTPS.
Share your volume, workflow, and one blocking requirement. The beta will be built around verified workloads.