Overview

Pandoc is an extremely useful “Swiss army knife” for converting between different types of markup languages from the command line. For example, it readily builds PDFs with LaTeX and Markdown - both of which are heavily used in academic research. This guide will help you install Pandoc. To get started using it, refer to this topic!

How to install Pandoc

Windows

• Visit the Pandoc installing page and click on the blue “Download the latest installer” button.

• Choose the file ending with windows-x86_64.msi to download the Windows Installer package.

• Click on the installer in your download history. A set-up wizard will appear.

• Follow the wizard; accept the conditions and click Install.

• Click Finish to close the setup wizard once the installation is complete.

To make Pandoc available from the command line, we need to update our PATH settings:

• Right-click on “Computer”, select “Properties” and go to “Advanced System Settings”.
• Click on “Environment Variables” and find Path in the list of system variables.

Check if the following path is added:

;C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Pandoc

For Windows 7 or 8: If the path is not added, and you used default settings during installation, add the following string, replacing username with your actual username:

;C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Pandoc

For Windows 10:

If the path is not added, click New and paste the following string, replacing username with your actual username:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Pandoc

Click OK as often as needed to save your changes.

Mac

• Go to the Pandoc installing page and click on the blue “Download the latest installer” button.
• Choose the file ending with macOS.pkg to download the macOS Installer package.
• Navigate to the download folder and double-click the .pkg file to start the installer.
• Follow the installation wizard, agree to the license agreement, and click Install.
• Once the installation is complete, click Close.

Alternatively, you can install Pandoc directly from the command line on a Mac device. Open a terminal window and type:

brew install pandoc

Linux

To install Pandoc from the command line, open a terminal window and type:

sudo apt install pandoc

Verify your installation

To ensure Pandoc is installed correctly, open a new terminal and type:

pandoc --version

The output should start with the version information, such as:

pandoc 3.2

Make sure you have at least version 3.2 installed. If so, you’re all set!

Other installation methods

For instructions on running Pandoc in a Docker container or with GitHub Actions, visit the Pandoc installing page.

Summary

Now that Pandoc is installed, you can start using it. Continue with this topic to learn how to begin working with Pandoc!