CLI Reference

Invocation

If installed globally (npm install -g bentopdf-sh):

bentopdf <command> [options]

If using npx:

npx bentopdf-sh <command> [options]

All examples below use the short bentopdf form.

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bentopdf to-pdf

Convert one or more files to PDF.

bentopdf to-pdf <input...> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Description
<input...>	One or more input file paths. Glob patterns are expanded by your shell.

Options

Flag	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--output	-o	string	—	Output file path (single input) or directory path (multiple inputs). Defaults to same directory as input, same filename with .pdf extension.
--engine	—	string	auto	Force a specific engine: mupdf, pandoc, or libreoffice. By default bentopdf selects the engine based on file extension.
--verbose	—	boolean	false	Show detailed progress output including engine load time and conversion duration.
--overwrite	—	boolean	false	Overwrite existing output files without prompting.

Examples

# Single file, default output location
bentopdf to-pdf report.docx

# Single file, explicit output path
bentopdf to-pdf report.docx -o ~/Desktop/report.pdf

# Multiple files to a directory
bentopdf to-pdf *.pptx -o ./pdfs/

# Force LibreOffice engine
bentopdf to-pdf notes.html --engine libreoffice

# Verbose output
bentopdf to-pdf large-doc.docx --verbose

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bentopdf to-docx

Convert Markdown or HTML files to DOCX (Word) via pandoc-wasm.

bentopdf to-docx <input...> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Description
<input...>	One or more Markdown or HTML files.

Options

Flag	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--output	-o	string	—	Output file path (single input) or directory path (multiple inputs). Defaults to same directory as input, same filename with .docx extension.
--template	-t	string	—	Path to a reference document (.docx) for styling. Controls fonts, heading styles, page layout, and other formatting. Works like pandoc’s --reference-doc.
--verbose	—	boolean	false	Show detailed progress output.

Examples

# Basic conversion
bentopdf to-docx notes.md

# With a branded template
bentopdf to-docx report.md -t company-template.docx -o report.docx

# Batch convert
bentopdf to-docx *.md -o ./docs/

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bentopdf to-pptx

Convert Markdown or HTML files to PPTX (PowerPoint) via pandoc-wasm.

bentopdf to-pptx <input...> [options]

Pandoc splits slides on level-2 headings (##). Each ## heading becomes a new slide title.

Arguments

Argument	Description
<input...>	One or more Markdown or HTML files.

Options

Flag	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--output	-o	string	—	Output file path (single input) or directory path (multiple inputs). Defaults to same directory as input, same filename with .pptx extension.
--template	-t	string	—	Path to a reference document (.pptx) for styling. Controls slide masters, fonts, colors, and layout. Works like pandoc’s --reference-doc.
--verbose	—	boolean	false	Show detailed progress output.

Examples

# Basic conversion
bentopdf to-pptx slides.md

# With a corporate slide template
bentopdf to-pptx pitch.md -t brand.pptx -o pitch-deck.pptx

# Batch convert
bentopdf to-pptx *.md -o ./presentations/

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bentopdf cache

Manage the WASM engine cache.

bentopdf cache <action>

Actions

Action	Description
list	List all cached engines with their version, size, and cache path.
clear	Delete all cached engines. They will be re-downloaded on next use.

Examples

# See what's cached
bentopdf cache list

# Free up disk space
bentopdf cache clear

Cache location: ~/.cache/bentopdf/engines/<name>/<version>/

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Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	All conversions succeeded.
1	One or more conversions failed (file not found, unsupported format, engine error).
2	Bad arguments (missing required input, conflicting flags).
3	Engine download failed (network error while fetching WASM binary).