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quarto-dev/quarto-cli

★ 5,626JavaScriptAudience · researcherComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A publishing tool that lets you write documents mixing text and code, then render them as PDFs, websites, books, or slide decks with charts and tables included.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Quarto))
    What it does
      Mix text and code
      Run code in docs
      Cross-references
      Multi-page projects
    Output Formats
      PDF
      HTML website
      Word document
      Slide deck
      Book
    Tech Stack
      Python R Julia
      JavaScript
      Pandoc
    Audience
      Researchers
      Data analysts
      Technical writers
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Write a report in Markdown with embedded Python or R code and export it as a PDF or Word file with charts and computed results included.

USE CASE 2

Build a technical documentation website or book where multiple pages share settings and render together as a unified project.

USE CASE 3

Create slide decks from code-heavy content without copying and pasting results manually.

USE CASE 4

Use the visual editor in VS Code or RStudio to write without touching raw Markdown syntax.

Tech stack

JavaScriptPythonRJuliaPandoc

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires downloading an installer and having a compatible language runtime (Python, R, or Julia) for code execution.

MIT license, use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Quarto is a publishing system for creating documents, reports, websites, and books that mix written text with code and its output. The idea is that you write in a plain-text format called Markdown, embed blocks of code in Python, R, Julia, or JavaScript, and Quarto handles running that code and weaving the results, such as charts, tables, or computed numbers, into the final document. The output can be a PDF, a Word file, an HTML page, a website, a slide deck, or a book. The system is built on top of Pandoc, a widely used document conversion tool, and extends it with features that are particularly useful for technical and scientific writing. These extras include cross-references for figures and tables, footnotes that appear on hover in HTML output, layout panels for arranging multiple figures side by side, and callout boxes for tips or warnings. You can also manage a project that contains many documents at once, apply shared settings across all of them, and render everything together as a unified website or book. Quarto works inside popular coding and writing environments including VS Code, RStudio, and JupyterLab. There is also a visual editor that lets you write without looking at raw Markdown syntax, which makes it more approachable for people who are not comfortable with plain-text authoring. Installing Quarto means downloading an installer from the releases page. For those who want to build from source or contribute to development, the repository includes setup scripts for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The README describes how to clone the repository, run the configure script, and then test changes against the included test suite. Quarto is developed by Posit (the company behind RStudio) and released under the MIT license, which allows free use in personal and commercial projects.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I have a Python data analysis script and want to turn it into a Quarto report that shows my code and the resulting charts in a PDF. Walk me through creating the .qmd file and rendering it.
Prompt 2
Help me set up a Quarto website project with multiple pages, shared navigation, and a consistent theme. What folder structure and config do I need?
Prompt 3
I want to create a slide deck in Quarto using Python code that generates charts. Show me the YAML front matter and how to structure code chunks for a Reveal.js presentation.
Prompt 4
Explain how cross-references work in Quarto so I can label figures and tables and refer to them by number in my report.
Prompt 5
I'm using Quarto in VS Code and want to preview my document live as I write. How do I set that up?
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