Quarkdown is a typesetting system built on top of Markdown. One source file compiles to a paged PDF, a reveal.js slide deck, a wiki-style site, or a print-ready book — pick the target at compile time.

The clever bit is the function syntax. CommonMark plus a leading dot turns Markdown into something Turing-complete: .somefunction {arg1} {arg2} calls into a standard library that ships layout builders, math, conditionals, and loops. You can define your own functions inline, in the same .qmd file — no preamble, no separate template language. It’s the Typst idea, but the host syntax is still Markdown you’d recognize.

What I’d steal first is the multi-target compile model. Same source, different output: --target pdf, --target slides, --target docs. LaTeX assumes you’re writing a paper. Reveal assumes you’re writing slides. Quarkdown doesn’t pick for you. That alone is worth the install for anyone who ends up rewriting the same content three times a year.

The footprint is bigger than I’d like — Java 17+ for the compiler, plus Node and Puppeteer if you want PDF export. Not a single static binary. There’s a VS Code extension with live preview, which softens the friction, and brew install quarkdown-labs/quarkdown/quarkdown gets you running on macOS in one line.

13.8k stars, GPL-3.0 (CLI is AGPLv3). Worth a look if you’re tired of choosing between Markdown and a real typesetter.