md-document — Long-form Markdown to HTML
The general-purpose converter — handles the 90% case Shihipar describes (specs, plans, RFCs, reports, explainers). Three stdlib tools pipeline together:
markdown_parser.py → html_renderer.py → interactivity_injector.py
(md → JSON AST) (AST + tokens → HTML) (HTML + JS behavior)
Output is one .html file with sticky TOC, search filter, scrollspy, code-copy buttons, and the user's 12 derived brand tokens. Externals limited to Google Fonts CSS + Prism.js CDN.
When to invoke
| Symptom | Action |
|---|---|
markdown-html-orchestrator routes input as DOCUMENT | Invoke this skill |
User runs /cs:md-document <path>.md directly | Invoke this skill |
| User says "convert this spec/report/RFC/plan to HTML" | Invoke this skill |
Input is a code review (has ```diff blocks) | Route to md-review instead |
Input is a slide deck (clear --- boundaries) | Route to md-slides instead |
| Input is < 100 lines | Refuse (Shihipar threshold — markdown still wins) |
| Design-system not onboarded | Refuse, surface /cs:design-system |
Pipeline
# 1. Parse markdown → JSON AST
python3 markdown-html/skills/md-document/scripts/markdown_parser.py \
--input <path>.md --output sections.json
# 2. Render AST + design-system config → single-file HTML
python3 markdown-html/skills/md-document/scripts/html_renderer.py \
--sections sections.json --output document.html
# 3. Inject lightweight JS (search, copycode, smoothscroll, scrollspy)
python3 markdown-html/skills/md-document/scripts/interactivity_injector.py \
--file document.html \
--features search,copycode,smoothscroll,scrollspy
Or all-in-one (sample render):
python3 markdown-html/skills/md-document/scripts/html_renderer.py --sample \
| python3 markdown-html/skills/md-document/scripts/interactivity_injector.py \
--file /dev/stdin --output document.html
What gets rendered
CommonMark subset sufficient for agent-generated artifacts:
- Headings H1-H6 (every H2+ gets an anchor id and TOC entry)
- Paragraphs with inline bold / italic /
code/ links / - Fenced code blocks (
```python) with Prism.js highlighting on demand - GFM tables with per-column alignment
- GFM callouts (
> [!NOTE],> [!TIP],> [!IMPORTANT],> [!WARNING],> [!CAUTION]) - Blockquotes, ordered + unordered lists (single-level), horizontal rules
Out of scope: nested lists, HTML inlines, footnotes, definition lists, task list checkboxes (rendered as plain text), reference-style links.
Hard rules
- Refuses input < 100 lines. Markdown wins below the threshold (Shihipar).
- Refuses without onboarding.
config_loader.setup_completed()must returnTrue. Otherwise surface/cs:design-system. - Single-file output. All CSS + JS inline. Only externals are
fonts.googleapis.comandcdn.jsdelivr.net(Prism). Anything else is a regression. - Customization must change behavior.
design_style=editorialproduces 720px-wide layout with 1.75 line-height;playfulrounds the callouts and adds shadow;technicalis dense with 0.875rem code. Smoke-tested. - WCAG-compliant tokens. Inherits the design-system's WCAG AA palette — body text ≥ 4.5:1 contrast, links iteratively walked to 4.5:1.
- Idempotent injection. Re-injecting interactivity is a no-op (marker check). Re-rendering with a different design_style works cleanly.
Forcing-question library (Matt Pocock grill discipline)
- What's the document for — skim, decide, or deep-read? Recommended: name it; density follows. Canon: Shihipar; Tufte Envisioning Information.
- Sticky-sidebar TOC or collapsible-top? Recommended: sticky-sidebar for > 800 words / 4+ H2s; collapsible-top for shorter mobile-first docs. Canon: NN/g TOC Best Practices (2023).
- All four interactive features, or a subset? Recommended: all four — none of them cost more than ~1 KB. Canon: Wattenberger Why React isn't great for actually building websites.
- Code theme — light, dark, or auto? Recommended: auto (follows OS
prefers-color-scheme). Canon: WCAG 2.2 §1.4.3. - Does the document have a clear H1 title? Recommended: yes — H1 becomes the page
<title>and is excluded from the TOC.
Distinct from
md-review— that converter renders diff blocks + severity-tagged margin annotations. This one renders prose + tables + code + callouts.md-slides— that converter splits on---boundaries into slides. This one renders one continuous document.marketing/landing/— that generates landing pages from scratch (no markdown input). This converts existing markdown.
Output artifact
{default_output_dir}/doc-{slug}.html (path resolved by orchestrator's output_path_resolver.py; collision suffix -2, -3, … by default).
References
- Shihipar — Claude Code HTML output (Medium, 2026)
- Tufte — Envisioning Information (1990), ch. 2 "Micro/Macro Readings"
- NN/g — Table of Contents Best Practices (2023)
- WCAG 2.2 — §1.4.3 contrast, §2.4.5 multiple ways
- Wattenberger — Why React isn't great for actually building websites
- See
references/for full citations