moritzheiber/briefvorlage

Briefvorlage is a template for turning a simple text file into a polished, properly formatted PDF letter. Instead of fighting with Microsoft Word's layout, adjusting margins, or manually positioning your address and the recipient's address, you just write your letter in plain text with some basic formatting, run one command, and get a clean, professional-looking PDF. The project relies on two tools working together. You write your letter content and sender/recipient details in a text file using Markdown, a lightweight way to add formatting like bold text or headings using plain characters. Then a tool called Pandoc reads that file, applies the template, and uses a typesetting engine called Typst to produce the final PDF. The template handles all the visual layout: where the sender block goes, how the recipient address is positioned, where the date and subject line appear, and so on. You fill in fields like your name, street, postal code, the recipient's details, subject, salutation, and closing, and the template places everything in the right spot. This is aimed at freelancers, small business owners, or anyone in a German-speaking context who writes formal letters regularly, think cover letters, invoices, official correspondence, or business letters. It supports German and English, and it includes fields for practical details like your IBAN and tax number, which are common requirements in German business letters. If you've ever wanted the convenience of writing a letter the way you'd write an email but still need it to look formal on paper, this solves that problem. What's notable is the approach itself: by keeping the content (your words) completely separate from the presentation (the layout), you never accidentally nudge a text box out of alignment or lose formatting between documents. Every letter comes out consistent, and you can version-control your correspondence the same way developers manage code.