basic-book-builder/README.md

basic-book-builder (b3)

Attribute	Value
Author	John Haverlack
Copyright	2026 John Haverlack
License	MIT
Version	v1.2.4
Date	2026-02-12

This is a basic book (article) builder template based on a Pandoc build process in conjunction with a number of other tools to generate PDF, DOCX, ODT, HTML, LaTeX, Markdown, and Epub book formats all from a single set of Markdown source content in an Obsidian vault.

Usage

PDF

make pdf

NOTE: Building the PDF also builds the LaTeX version of the book.

HTML

make html

DocX

make docx

NOTE: DocX is a work in progress

ODT

make odt

NOTE: ODT is a work in progress

Other Formats

• Markdown is a work in progress
• EPub is a work in progress

Getting Started

Download PDF or HTML version of the b3 book. Which self documents how to use this template:

• basic-book-builder.pdf
• basic-book-builder.html

Clone Repo

git clone https://github.com/jehaverlack/basic-book-builder.git

cd basic-book-builder

Setup Build Environment

NOTE: b3 has only been tested on Debian based systems.

scripts/setup-linux-deb.sh

Testing Build Environment

make all

If this succeeds you have a build environment.

Create a New Project

./scripts/new-project.sh <PATH_TO_PROJECT>

cd <PATH_TO_PROJECT>

Update Config Files:

1. metadata.yaml
2. templates/pandoc.yaml
3. Edit Chapter Content
4. Build your book

Roadmap

Documentation

• Zotero Integration

Bugs

• TBD

Features

• Windows Build Environment Support
• Build Workflow Scripts
• DocX Formatting
• ODT Formatting