What it does
Pandoc is a document-conversion engine with both a command-line program and a Haskell library. It reads one supported format and writes another, making it useful for moving technical content between a repository, a publishing workflow, and office-document review. Its enhanced Markdown dialect can represent details such as citations, metadata, tables, footnotes, and math. Pandoc is a converter rather than a visual word processor, so the source format and conversion options determine what appears in the output.
Choose the source and destination first
Pandoc works by pairing a reader with a writer. The manual lists supported formats and documents the --from and --to options. For example, pandoc -o review.docx notes.md is an illustrative conversion from Markdown to Word. A useful first task is to convert one representative file, then inspect the result in the application that will receive it. ### Preserve the details that matter
The Markdown extensions can carry metadata, citations, tables, notes, and math, but the destination format has its own model. Check the relevant reader and writer options when a conversion depends on those details, and verify the produced document rather than assuming every format represents them identically. The same engine can be used as a Haskell library when conversion needs to be embedded in another program. Pandoc is command-line software, not a page-layout editor. A conversion workflow is strongest when documents are structured and repeatable; a complex layout may need additional adjustment in the destination application. The project site describes Pandoc as free software under the GPL, and the repository copyright file states GPL version 2 or later with listed exceptions. Review the exact notices when redistributing or embedding components.
Strengths
- Reads and writes a broad range of markup and word-processing formats.
- Can be used as a command-line tool or as a Haskell library.
- Enhanced Markdown supports document structures such as citations, metadata, tables, and math.
Watch out for
- Conversion requires choosing appropriate input, output, and format-specific options.
- It is not a visual editor, so readers should inspect output in its destination format.
Best for
- Moving technical documents between Markdown repositories and office formats
- Building repeatable document-conversion steps into a publishing workflow
Sources
- Pandoc project site (Oct 25, 2026)
- Pandoc User’s Guide (Oct 25, 2026)
- jgm/pandoc official repository (Oct 25, 2026)
- Pandoc copyright and license exceptions (Oct 25, 2026)