Markdown shaped as a quiet, editorial publication, with page geometry written in the envelope and the exact standalone HTML printed through a local browser.
Headings, prose, quotes, code, lists, tables, and visibly handled images pass through one safe block projection. The HTML preview and PDF source are the same document, not parallel renderers.
Fig. 1A field guide set as an editorial pageprint CSS included
field-guide.pdf.md
---
markdownto: [email protected]
title: Field guide to small observatories
page-size: A4
orientation: portrait
margins: generous
style: editorial
toc: true
---
# Field guide to small observatories
The best observatory is not the largest one. It is the one that is dark, used, and close enough
that opening the roof never becomes an expedition.
## Choose the ground
Look for a calm horizon and a path you will still trust without a torch.
> Darkness is infrastructure. Treat every stray light as a leak.
## Build for touch
| Part | Useful default |
|---|---|
| Pier | isolated from the floor |
| Roof | movable with one hand |
| Desk | dim red task light |
## First night
1. Let the mirror cool.
2. Find north.
3. Make one careful observation before changing anything.
rendered · publication previewexact print source
A4portrait · generous marginseditorial
Markdown To publication
Field guide to small observatories
The best observatory is not the largest one. It is the one that is dark, used, and close enough that opening the roof never becomes an expedition.
Choose the ground
Look for a calm horizon and a path you will still trust without a torch.
Darkness is infrastructure. Treat every stray light as a leak.
Build for touch
Part
Useful default
Pier
isolated from the floor
Roof
movable with one hand
Desk
dim red task light
First night
Let the mirror cool.
Find north.
Make one careful observation before changing anything.
§ 02
Page direction belongs with the manuscript
page-size:
A4, Letter, or Legal.
orientation:
Portrait or landscape.
margins:
Compact, standard, or generous.
style:
Editorial, report, or minimal; toc: controls the contents page.
§ 03
A real artifact, atomically delivered
Verb
Meaning
Source edit
build
Renders exact publication HTML, prints it through Chrome/Chromium/Brave, verifies the PDF markers, then atomically replaces the target.
None. Writes .pdf beside the canonical Markdown.
§ 04
Bad publication settings do not reach print
broken.pdf.md
---
markdownto: [email protected]
page-size: Tabloid
orientation: square
margins: enormous
style: neon
---
## Report
These settings are outside the portable vocabulary.
mdto validate
MDTO800errorline 3
page-size: Tabloid
Unknown page size Tabloid: use A4, Letter, or Legal.
MDTO801errorline 4
orientation: square
Unknown orientation value square: use portrait, landscape.
MDTO802errorline 5
margins: enormous
Unknown margins value enormous: use compact, standard, generous.
MDTO803errorline 6
style: neon
Unknown style value neon: use editorial, report, minimal.
Read pdf.md or run mdto spec pdf for the complete contract.