---
id: pandoc
version: "2.4"
license: MIT License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# pandoc — Pandoc Documents for Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 756.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Pandoc Python Library is a Python wrapper around Pandoc's document model, allowing you to read, analyze, and write documents programmatically. It exposes Pandoc's internal representation—metadata, blocks, and inline elements—so you can manipulate document structure directly in Python code rather than shelling out to the command-line tool.

The package depends on plumbum for subprocess handling and ply for parsing. It requires the standalone Pandoc tool to be pre-installed on your system; the Python library itself is a thin interface over that external dependency. It's useful for document pipelines, bulk transformations, and programmatic document generation where you need fine-grained control over Pandoc's AST.

Use it for:

- Batch convert documents between formats (Markdown to HTML, LaTeX to Docx) with Python control flow.
- Programmatically modify document structure—rewrite headings, filter content, inject metadata—before converting.
- Build documentation generators or static site builders that need to parse and transform Markdown or other formats.
- Analyze document structure and extract metadata or specific elements from multiple files.
- Integrate Pandoc's conversion capabilities into Python data pipelines or ETL workflows.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Pandoc Python Library wraps the Pandoc document model to analyze, create, and transform documents programmatically in Python.

Yes, if you need programmatic document manipulation with Pandoc's AST and are willing to manage the external Pandoc dependency. No, if you want active maintenance or Python version guarantees—the package is dormant and its compatibility with modern Pandoc versions is unverified. Install only if your Pandoc version is stable and you can tolerate no upstream support.

## Install

pip install pandoc
uv add pandoc
poetry add pandoc

## Installing pandoc

Before you install: High install friction: requires the Pandoc command-line tool (pandoc-2.4 or later) to be installed separately before the Python library can function. Maintenance is dormant—last release was 737 days ago—so expect no active support or updates.

License in practice: MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it safe to adopt in most projects.

Quickstart:

# Install Pandoc system tool first (e.g., conda install -c conda-forge pandoc)
# Then: pip install pandoc
import pandoc
doc = pandoc.read("Hello world!")
print(doc)

Pandoc command-line tool must be installed and available on the system PATH before the Python library can work.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with recent Pandoc versions beyond 2.4, given the long dormancy.
- Python version compatibility details, as requires_python is unspecified in the metadata.

## Package facts

- License: MIT License (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 756.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

document format conversion python, pandoc python wrapper, document parsing and transformation, markdown to html converter, document model manipulation, document-conversion, ast-manipulation

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