The usual options, and their catch
- Online converters: quick, but you upload the document to someone else's server, and the result usually looks like a default web page.
- Command-line tools such as Pandoc: powerful and free, but expect to install a toolchain and write a template before the output looks right.
- Print from a code editor's preview: works, with the editor's plain styling and often awkward page breaks.
One step in Lumd
- Open the .md file in Lumd.
- Pick the theme you want the PDF to wear. There are 14, from parchment serif to dark neon.
- Choose File → Export as PDF… or press ⌥⌘E.
The PDF keeps the theme's typography and colors, syntax-highlighted code, tables, diagrams and math. It is made on your Mac, offline, so a confidential document never touches the internet.
Free or Pro
PDF export works in the free version with a small Lumd footer on the page. Lumd Pro removes it, and also unlocks every theme. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.
Tips for a clean PDF
- Start with one
#heading as the title; the outline and the PDF both read better. - Light themes print best on paper. Dark themes look great on screen and in a shared PDF.
- Need an image instead, for a slide or a chat? Lumd can copy the page as an image or as HTML too.