Markdown to HTML Converter
This utility converts Markdown files (.md) into HTML files using the markdown library. It supports standard Markdown syntax and can optionally wrap the output in a full HTML document structure with CSS support.
Modules Used:
markdown: To parse Markdown text and convert it to HTML.- argparse: To handle command-line arguments.
- pathlib: For file path manipulation.
Installation
pip install markdownThe Code
Save this as md_to_html.py.
import markdown
import argparse
from pathlib import Path
def convert_md_to_html(input_file, output_file, full_document=False, css_file=None):
input_path = Path(input_file)
if not input_path.exists():
print(f"Error: Input file '{input_file}' not found.")
return
# Read Markdown content
try:
text = input_path.read_text(encoding='utf-8')
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error reading file: {e}")
return
# Convert to HTML
# 'extra' extension adds support for tables, footnotes, fenced code blocks, etc.
html_body = markdown.markdown(text, extensions=['extra'])
final_html = html_body
# Wrap in full HTML structure if requested
if full_document:
css_link = ""
if css_file:
css_link = f'<link rel="stylesheet" href="{css_file}">'
final_html = f"""<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>{input_path.stem}</title>
{css_link}
<style>
body {{ font-family: sans-serif; max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px; line-height: 1.6; }}
pre {{ background: <a href='/?search=%23f4f4f4' class='obsidian-tag'>#f4f4f4</a>; padding: 10px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto; }}
code {{ background: <a href='/?search=%23f4f4f4' class='obsidian-tag'>#f4f4f4</a>; padding: 2px 5px; border-radius: 3px; }}
table {{ border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; }}
th, td {{ border: 1px solid <a href='/?search=%23ddd' class='obsidian-tag'>#ddd</a>; padding: 8px; }}
th {{ background-color: <a href='/?search=%23f2f2f2' class='obsidian-tag'>#f2f2f2</a>; }}
</style>
</head>
<body>
{html_body}
</body>
</html>"""
# Determine output path
if output_file:
out_path = Path(output_file)
else:
out_path = input_path.with_suffix('.html')
# Write to file
try:
out_path.write_text(final_html, encoding='utf-8')
print(f"Successfully converted '{input_file}' to '{out_path}'")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error writing output: {e}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Markdown to HTML Converter")
parser.add_argument("input", help="Input Markdown file")
parser.add_argument("-o", "--output", help="Output HTML file (default: same name as input)")
parser.add_argument("--full", action="store_true", help="Generate a full HTML document (with <head> and <body>)")
parser.add_argument("--css", help="Path to a CSS file to link (requires --full)")
args = parser.parse_args()
convert_md_to_html(args.input, args.output, args.full, args.css)Usage
# Basic conversion (fragment only)
python md_to_html.py README.md
# Full HTML document with default styling
python md_to_html.py README.md --full
# Full HTML with custom CSS
python md_to_html.py README.md --full --css styles.css