bindup v0.5.16
Bindup
npm i -g bindup
A CLI for rendering markdown directories into epub files. This readme will be fleshed out further in time.
Read the full docs at
Configure your book
To properly configure your book for Bindup:
- Keep your book in a
manuscript
folder - Order your folders and files by prepending a number, then the
~
symbol to the front of their titles - Create a json configuration file
Organize your book in a manuscript folder
An example of how your manuscript directory might look is:
manuscript
1~ Dedication.md
2~ Chapter 1.md
3~ Chapter 2.md
The number and ~
will be removed when the book is rendered to an epub.
It works the same for nested folders:
manuscript
1~ Dedication.md
2~ Chapter 1
(Folder)1~ Section A.md
2~ Section B.md
3~ Chapter 2
(Folder)1~ Part 1.md
2~ Part 2.md
Create a json config file
You must customize settings for your book by creating a JSON file with valid properties.
Example book-config.json
:
{
"author": "Benjamin August",
"title": "Book 1: Welcome to the Multiverse",
"manuscript": "./myBookDirectory",
"formats": [
"epub"
]
}
Check the spec for a full list of valid properties.
Required properties:
"title"
-string
The title of the book"author"
-string | string[]
Author(s) of the book. Can be a single string or array of strings if multiple"formats"
-string[]
The formats to export your book to. Only"epub"
is a valid value for now. More formats potentially coming in the future"manuscript"
-string
The relative path to themanuscript
directory, where your book should be stored
Examples of optional properties include:
"description"
-string
The description of the book"date"
-string
The publication date"lang"
-string
The book's language as an ISO language code
Render epubs
Use bindup render book_config_path_here
That will render an epub to the directory the command is being run from.
For example:
bindup render my-book-config.json
Use Frontmatter
You can also use frontmatter within your markdown files to explicitly set options. Doing so allows you to overcome the limitations of what files can be named in Unix, Mac or Windows systems.
For example, say want to use periods in your chapter title:
"Chapter 1.5"
This would not be possible using just the file name because periods are not allowed in file names. Instead, you can add frontmatter to the top of the file where you specify the chapter:
---
title: Chapter 1.5
---
The title in the frontmatter overrides the filename title, meaning even if your file is called:
1~ Chapter 1-5.md
its title in your ebook will be "Chapter 1.5".
Valid frontmatter options
title
: string (optional, default Chapter number) Chapter titleauthor
: string | string Chapter author, generates info below chapter titlecontent
: string HTML String of the chapter content, image sources are downloadedexcludeFromToc
: boolean (optional, default false) Don't list chapter in Table of ContentsbeforeToc
: boolean (optional, default false) List chapter before Table of Contents headingfilename
: string (optional) Custom name for chapter fileurl
: string (optional) External link below chapter title
Use bindup in node
You can use bindup in your Node.js projects
import { generateBook } from 'bindup';
export default async () => {
try {
const epub = await generateBook(configPath);
//generateBook returns a Buffer if successful, void if not.
// Do whatever you want with it from here. You can
// pass it directly to fs.writeFile for example
} catch (error) {
throw new Error(error)
}
}