Academic

Markdown to PDF for a thesis

A thesis is more demanding than a paper - longer, deeper structure, citation density. The browser converter is fine for an MA-level thesis in a non-STEM field. For most STEM PhDs, it isn't.

By Elia Kuratli

Updated July 30, 2026·2 min read

Open the converter

Practical workflow

Pick the White Paper template.
Switch design to rcrport.
Switch font family to plex-serif-sans.
Turn on numbered headings, ToC.
Set the footer to your name + thesis title.
Save the configuration to a JSON file early - load it whenever you re-export.
Write the chapters as H1 sections in one Markdown document, or maintain per-chapter files and concatenate at export time.

Performance ceiling

The live preview slows down significantly above ~150 pages. The export still works but the user experience degrades. If your thesis is over 200 pages, consider exporting per chapter and merging the PDFs in a PDF tool, or moving to Pandoc.

What still needs Pandoc

Heavy math.
BibTeX-driven references.
Cross-references and figure auto-numbering.
Index generation.
Custom title-page templates per university.

FAQ

Will my university's title page work?

Universities usually require a specific title page format. The converter's cover-page layouts are flexible but not university-template-specific. Render the title page separately (in InDesign, Word, or LaTeX) and merge with your thesis PDF.

Can I include figures with auto-numbering?

Manual numbering only - Figure 1, Figure 2, etc., as you type them. There's no `\ref{fig:1}`-style auto-update.

What about a 200+ page thesis?

Performance becomes the issue, not output quality. Split into chapters, export each, concatenate the PDFs.

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