kaffesky-markdown-templates/convertion_templates_pandoc/template_pdf-via-xelatex/template_first-skyfritt-example.md

# template_first-skyfritt-example.tex

Pandoc template for generating PDFs via XeLaTeX. Produces a document with a title page, table of contents, Roboto font, A4 format, 2.5 cm margins, and page numbering.

---

## Requirements

- [Pandoc](https://pandoc.org)
- A TeX Live installation with XeLaTeX
- Homebrew (for installing fontconfig)
- Roboto and Roboto Mono fonts

---

## macOS Installation

### 1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed)

```bash
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
```

### 2. Install Pandoc

```bash
brew install pandoc
```

### 3. Install MacTeX / TeX Live

Download and install [MacTeX](https://tug.org/mactex/) from `https://tug.org/mactex/`, or install the lighter BasicTeX:

```bash
brew install --cask basictex
```

After installation, open a new terminal session so that `/Library/TeX/texbin` is on your PATH.

### 4. Update tlmgr and install LaTeX packages

```bash
sudo tlmgr update --self

sudo tlmgr install \
  titlesec \
  tocloft \
  booktabs \
  tools \
  fancyhdr \
  parskip \
  float \
  listings \
  fancyvrb \
  caption \
  hyperref \
  xcolor \
  fontspec \
  geometry \
  babel
```

### 5. Install fontconfig

`fc-list` and `fc-cache` are needed for font verification and are not included on macOS by default:

```bash
brew install fontconfig
```

### 6. Install fonts

Download Roboto and Roboto Mono from Google Fonts and install them into `~/Library/Fonts/`:

```bash
curl -L "https://fonts.google.com/download?family=Roboto" -o roboto.zip && \
curl -L "https://fonts.google.com/download?family=Roboto+Mono" -o roboto-mono.zip && \
unzip roboto.zip -d ~/roboto && \
unzip roboto-mono.zip -d ~/roboto-mono && \
cp ~/roboto/static/*.ttf ~/Library/Fonts/ && \
cp ~/roboto-mono/static/*.ttf ~/Library/Fonts/ && \
fc-cache -f -v
```

Clean up:

```bash
rm -rf roboto.zip roboto-mono.zip ~/roboto ~/roboto-mono
```

### 7. Verify fonts are available to XeLaTeX

```bash
fc-list | grep -i roboto
```

You should see several lines listing the Roboto and Roboto Mono font files. If nothing appears, double-check that the `.ttf` files are present in `~/Library/Fonts/`.

### 8. Verify LaTeX packages are installed

```bash
kpsewhich titlesec.sty tocloft.sty fancyhdr.sty caption.sty
```

Each line should return a file path. If any are blank, install the missing package individually:

```bash
sudo tlmgr install <packagename>
```

---

## Usage

Add a YAML front matter block to the top of your Markdown file:

```yaml
---
title: "My Document"
subtitle: "An optional subtitle"
author: "Jane Doe"
date: "March 2026"
description: "An optional blurb shown at the bottom of the title page."
---
```

Then compile with:

```bash
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf \
  --pdf-engine=xelatex \
  --template=template_first-skyfritt-example.tex
```

---

## Fonts used

| Role       | Font         | Source                                          |
|------------|--------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Main text  | Roboto       | https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto        |
| Monospace  | Roboto Mono  | https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto+Mono   |

Both fonts are open source and licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

---

## Troubleshooting

**`xelatex: createProcess: find_executable: failed`**
XeLaTeX is not installed or not on your PATH. Install MacTeX or BasicTeX and open a new terminal session.

**`The font "Roboto" cannot be found`**
The font is not installed. Follow step 6 above.

**`File 'titlesec.sty' not found`**
A required LaTeX package is missing. Run the `tlmgr install` command in step 4.

**`No counter 'none' defined`**
A known pandoc + longtable bug. The template includes a fix for this — make sure you are using the latest version of `template_first-skyfritt-example.tex`.

**`fc-list: command not found`**
fontconfig is not installed. Run `brew install fontconfig`.