Tideflow-md-to-pdf

Tideflow

Fast, offline-first Markdown → PDF desktop app powered by Typst Write on the left, get a beautifully typeset PDF on the right – instantly.

English | 中文

Why I Built It

I wanted a dead-simple, elegant writing tool that outputs print‑ready PDFs without relying on a web service, LaTeX toolchains, or heavy exports. That's that TideFlow is, a simple use editor for quickly editing and formatting markdowns as pdfs.

Features

• Real‑time two-way scroll sync between editor & PDF preview (Has around %85 accuracy)
• Clean, distraction‑lite editor (CodeMirror 6)
• 12 beautiful themes; Default, Minimal, Compact, Elegant, Technical, Magazine, Academic, Creative, Modern, Serif, Notebook, Dark
• Academic writing support with bibliography management (BibTeX/.bib & Hayagriva/.yml) with Pandoc-style citations
• Multiple citation styles to choose; IEEE, APA, Chicago, MLA, Vancouver, and Harvard
• Full LaTeX math rendering support via MiTeX (inline $...$ and display $$...$$)
• Automatic Table of Contents, optional section numbering, and configurable cover page
• Image paste, drag‑drop, and import dialogs
• Full blockquote support with theme-appropriate backgrounds
• Offline: once installed, no network required
• Cross‑platform (Windows / macOS / Linux)
• Fast startup: no giant runtime or Electron bloat

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fea9562b-a315-44c1-abc9-1778ab4cd428

Who Is This For?

Tideflow is designed for people who prefer writing in Markdown and want a reliable way to generate well-formatted PDF documents.

It may be useful for:

• Writers who draft long-form content in Markdown and need a clean export workflow
• Researchers who want structured documents without maintaining complex LaTeX environments
• Developers who are already comfortable with Markdown-based tooling
• Professionals preparing reports or technical documentation in PDF format

Tideflow does not aim to replace advanced publishing systems. Instead, it focuses on providing a practical, lightweight path from Markdown text to a print-ready PDF.

If you regularly write in Markdown and distribute your work as PDFs, Tideflow keeps that process simple and predictable.

Tech Stack

Core

• React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
• Tauri (Rust) shell & command layer
• Typst (bundled binary) for PDF

Editor

• CodeMirror 6 + custom Markdown commands (bold, headings, lists, etc.)

State & Logic

• Zustand store (single slice: editor state, preferences, UI flags)

UI & Layout

• react-resizable-panels (simplified fixed 50/50 split with optional preview toggle)

Rendering Flow

1. User edits Markdown → content in Zustand
2. Debounced timer triggers renderTypst(content) (Tauri invoke)
3. Rust backend writes temp markdown + preferences JSON
4. Typst binary compiles → PDF path returned
5. Store compileStatus.pdf_path updates → PDFPreview component reloads iframe (pdf.js optional later)

Installation

Download Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Windows:

• Download Tideflow_X.X.X_x64-setup.exe from Releases
• Run the installer

Linux:

• Debian/Ubuntu: sudo dpkg -i tideflow_X.X.X_amd64.deb
• Fedora/RHEL: sudo rpm -i tideflow-X.X.X-1.x86_64.rpm
• Universal (Any distro): Download and run tideflow_X.X.X_amd64.AppImage

macOS:

• Download Tideflow_aarch64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or Tideflow_x64.dmg (Intel)
• Open DMG and drag to Applications

Build from Source

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Rust (stable)
• Tauri CLI (cargo install tauri-cli)

Clone & Run

git clone https://github.com/BDenizKoca/Tideflow-md-to-pdf.git
cd Tideflow-md-to-pdf
npm install
npm run tauri:dev

Build (Release Bundle)

npm run tauri:build

Usage

1. New / Open a file (or start with the sample)
2. Write Markdown (math, code, images all supported)
3. Watch instant PDF updates (debounce respects your preferences)
4. Export or copy the generated PDF (use Save PDF As to pick a destination)

Supported Markdown / Extras

• Headings (H1-H6), emphasis (bold, italic, strikethrough)
• Code (inline and fenced blocks with syntax highlighting via Typst)
• Math (inline $...$ and block $$...$$ via LaTeX-style syntax with MiTeX)
• Citations (Pandoc-style [@key], [@key, p. 42], [@key1; @key2] with automatic bibliography generation)
• Lists (ordered, unordered, task lists with - [ ] / - [x])
• Blockquotes (single and multi-line with >)
• Tables (with alignment support)
• Images (paste, drag-drop, import with metadata)
• Horizontal rules (--- or ***)
• Page breaks (via #pagebreak() or <!--raw-typst #pagebreak() -->)
• Links (inline and reference-style)
• HTML comments for Typst directives

Preferences / Configuration

Open the Design modal from the toolbar to adjust layout, typography, and document chrome without leaving the editor.

• Themes – Pick from the bundled Typst themes or continue with your saved custom tweaks.
• Layout – Configure paper size, margins, TOC, numbering, and new cover-page metadata (title, author, hero image).
• Images – Set default width/alignment plus alt-text defaults for imports.
• Debounce & rendering – Fine-tune compile cadence or temporarily pause auto renders.

Changes apply instantly and persist.

Future: As it stands, the current iteration is serving my needs, so I consider this project done but open for future improvements.

Contributing

PRs welcome. Please:

1. Fork
2. Branch: feat/thing
3. Open PR with clear summary + screenshots if UI

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Blank PDF preview	Ensure Typst binary present in src-tauri/bin/typst/<platform>
No re-render on edit	Force render with Ctrl+R, or check debounce settings in preferences
Blockquotes not rendering	Ensure you're using standard > syntax at the start of lines
Images not showing	Check that image paths are relative to the document or use absolute paths
Theme not applying	Switch themes via the toolbar dropdown, changes apply instantly
App won't start	Check that all dependencies are installed: npm install then npm run tauri:dev

Third-Party Notices

Tideflow bundles the official Typst CLI (currently v0.13.1) for macOS, Windows, and Linux so the app works offline out of the box. Typst is available under the MIT OR Apache-2.0 licenses; see the Typst project for details. Our release pipeline downloads the upstream archives, verifies their SHA256 digests, and repackages the binaries into the platform bundles.

LaTeX math rendering is powered by MiTeX, a LaTeX math parser and renderer for Typst. MiTeX is available under the Apache-2.0 license; see the MiTeX project for details.

License

MIT – use, modify, distribute with attribution.

Connect

Email: [email protected] GitHub: @BDenizKoca

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If you create anything cool with Tideflow PLEASE let me know!