User Help

Presto is a desktop application that lets you write content in Markdown, pick a template, and generate beautifully typeset PDF documents with one click. No need to learn layout software or manually adjust formatting --- write your content and let Presto handle the rest.

---

Part 1: Installation

Quick command-line installation for each platform:

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install --cask brewforge/more/presto

Linux

# Download the latest version from GitHub Releases
curl -sL https://github.com/mrered/Presto/releases/latest/download/Presto-linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar -xz
./Presto

Windows users: please download the ZIP file directly. See the Windows Installation section below.

For manual installation or if you encounter issues, refer to the detailed instructions for each platform below.

macOS Installation

macOS offers two installation methods --- choose either one.

Minimum system requirement: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later.

Option 1: Install via Homebrew (Recommended)

If your Mac already has Homebrew (a popular package manager) installed, run the following in Terminal:

brew install --cask brewforge/more/presto

After installation, open Launchpad. If you see the Presto icon, the installation was successful.

Option 2: Manual Download

1. Go to the GitHub Releases page and download the latest .dmg file
2. Double-click to open the DMG file
3. Drag the Presto icon into the Applications folder

Important: Bypassing macOS Gatekeeper

When opening Presto for the first time, macOS may display a warning: "Cannot verify the developer" or "Cannot be opened because it cannot be verified for malware."

This is not because there is anything wrong with Presto. The reason is that macOS Gatekeeper requires apps to be certified by Apple (which requires the developer to join the Apple Developer Program at $99/year). Presto currently uses ad-hoc signing (self-signed) --- the functionality and security are exactly the same; it simply hasn't been certified by Apple yet.

Solution (choose one):

Method A: Terminal Command (Recommended, one-time fix)

Open the Terminal app (search for "Terminal" in Launchpad) and paste the following command, then press Enter:

xattr -cr /Applications/Presto.app

This command removes the "unverified" attribute that the system applied to Presto. After running it, you can open Presto normally.

Method B: Right-click to Open

1. Find Presto in the Applications folder
2. Hold the Control key and click (or right-click) the Presto icon
3. Select "Open" from the context menu
4. Click "Open" again in the confirmation dialog

Windows Installation

1. Go to the GitHub Releases page and download the latest .zip file
2. Right-click the ZIP file and select "Extract All"
3. Open the extracted folder and double-click Presto.exe to run

Note: On first launch, Windows SmartScreen may display a blue warning window. This is similar to the macOS situation --- the app doesn't have a commercial code-signing certificate. Click "More info," then click "Run anyway."

Linux Installation

1. Go to the GitHub Releases page and download the latest .tar.gz file

2. Extract the file:

   tar -xzf Presto-linux-*.tar.gz

3. Run Presto:

   ./Presto

Docker Deployment (Web)

This section is intended for users with some technical background. Docker deployment provides a web version of Presto, suitable for team sharing or server deployment.

Quick start:

docker compose up -d

Or use a pre-built image:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
  -v presto-data:/home/presto/.presto \
  ghcr.io/mrered/presto

Once started, visit http://localhost:8080 to use Presto.

HTTPS deployment: Update the domain in Caddyfile to your actual domain, then run:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.tls.yml up -d

Security features: The container runs with a read-only filesystem by default, uses a non-root user, drops all Linux capabilities (cap_drop: ALL), and binds to localhost only.

---

Part 2: Basic Usage

Core Workflow

1. Open Presto --- you'll see a split-pane interface

2. Write your document content in the left-side editor (using Markdown syntax with syntax highlighting)

3. Click the dropdown menu at the top to select a template

4. The right side displays a real-time preview of the typeset result (multi-page SVG rendering with synchronized scrolling between panes)

5. Press Cmd+E (macOS) or Ctrl+E (Windows/Linux) to export as PDF

YAML Front Matter

Frontmatter is the metadata section at the very top of your document, enclosed by ---. It tells the template the basic information about your document.

• The template field is used for automatic template matching --- if you specify a template name in the frontmatter, Presto will automatically select it
• Template-specific fields (such as title, author, date, etc.) are defined by each template. Refer to the template documentation for supported fields

Here is a frontmatter example for the gongwen (official document) template:

---
template: gongwen
title: Notice on Conducting Safety Inspections
author: Administrative Office
date: "2025-03-15"
signature: true
---

Built-in Templates

Presto comes with two built-in templates, ready to use after installation:

• gongwen --- Official document template following the GB/T 9704-2012 style, suitable for notices, reports, correspondence, and other formal documents
• jiaoan-shicao --- Hands-on lesson plan table template, suitable for teaching plans, lab reports, and other tabular documents

---

Part 3: Template Management

Installing Templates

Presto supports 5 ways to install new templates:

1. Template Store --- Open Settings > Template Store, browse available templates, and install with one click
2. GitHub Search --- Search GitHub for repositories with the presto-template topic, find a template you like, and follow the repository instructions to install
3. ZIP File Import --- Open Settings > Template Management > Import from ZIP, and select a downloaded template ZIP file
4. Drag and Drop ZIP --- Drag a template ZIP file directly into the Presto window for automatic detection and installation
5. Deep Link --- Click a link in the presto://install/{template-name} format (usually found on a webpage), and Presto will automatically open and install the corresponding template

Managing Installed Templates

Open Settings > Template Management to view all installed templates. Here you can uninstall templates you no longer need or rename templates.

Community Templates

In addition to official templates, Presto supports templates created by community developers. Before using community templates, you need to enable the "Community Templates" toggle in Settings.

Security note: Community templates are provided by third-party developers, and Presto cannot guarantee their safety. It is recommended to only install templates from trusted sources and pay attention to the trust level indicator of each template.

---

Part 4: Advanced Features

Batch Conversion

When you have multiple documents to convert, there's no need to process them one by one:

1. Drag multiple Markdown files or a ZIP archive into Presto
2. Presto will automatically group files based on the template field in each file's frontmatter
3. You can Cmd+click (macOS) or Ctrl+click (Windows) to select multiple files, use Shift+click for range selection, or drag to rearrange groups
4. After clicking convert, Presto processes files concurrently (3 parallel workers). Once complete, you can download each PDF individually or as a ZIP archive

Drag and Drop Support

Presto supports dragging files directly into the window:

• Supported file formats: .md, .markdown, .txt, .zip
• Dragging a single file --- opens it in the editor
• Dragging multiple files --- enters batch conversion mode
• Dragging a ZIP file --- auto-detects content: if it's a template, it installs it; if it contains documents, it extracts them and enters batch conversion

Auto Update

Presto supports in-app update checking: open Settings > About > Check for Updates.

When a new version is found, the update process varies by platform:

• macOS --- Downloads the new DMG and replaces automatically
• Windows --- Downloads the update package and replaces via batch script
• Linux --- Downloads the new version and overwrites the installation

Note: Development builds (dev) will not receive update notifications.

---

Part 5: Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut (macOS / Windows)	Function
Cmd+O / Ctrl+O	Open file
Cmd+E / Ctrl+E	Export PDF
Cmd+, / Ctrl+,	Open settings
Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T	Template manager
Cmd+F / Ctrl+F	Search in editor
Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z	Undo
Cmd+M / Ctrl+M	Minimize window

---

Part 6: FAQ

Installation Issues

macOS says "Cannot verify the developer"

• Symptom: A security warning appears when double-clicking to open Presto
• Cause: The app uses ad-hoc signing and hasn't been certified by Apple
• Solution: Run xattr -cr /Applications/Presto.app in Terminal, or right-click the app and select "Open." See Bypassing macOS Gatekeeper above for details

Windows SmartScreen blocks the app

• Symptom: A blue warning window appears on first launch
• Cause: The app doesn't have a commercial code-signing certificate
• Solution: Click "More info," then click "Run anyway"

Usage Issues

Images not displaying

• Symptom: Image areas are blank in the preview or exported PDF
• Cause: Incorrect image path
• Solution:
  • If you opened a .md file with Cmd+O, use relative paths for images
  • If you pasted content directly into the editor, use absolute paths for images

Preview area is blank

• Symptom: The right-side preview area shows nothing
• Cause: No template selected, or frontmatter format is incorrect
• Solution:
  • Check that a template is selected at the top
  • Check that frontmatter is properly enclosed with --- and the YAML syntax is correct (note: a space is required after colons)

PDF export fails

• Symptom: No file is generated or an error occurs after clicking export
• Cause: Template not installed correctly, or Markdown content has syntax issues
• Solution:
  • Confirm the template is installed in Settings > Template Management
  • Check that the Markdown syntax is correct

Template Issues

Installation fails with "no binary found"

• Symptom: Error when installing a template
• Cause: The template doesn't provide a binary for your current OS/architecture
• Solution: Contact the template author and request support for your platform

Installation fails with "SHA256 mismatch"

• Symptom: Checksum verification fails during template installation
• Cause: The downloaded binary doesn't match the expected checksum --- the file may have been tampered with or the download was incomplete
• Solution: Try downloading again; if it still fails, contact the template author for confirmation

Font missing warning

• Symptom: A warning about a missing font appears during conversion
• Cause: The template requires a specific font that is not installed on your system
• Solution: Download and install the required font as indicated in the warning message

Conversion timeout

• Symptom: The conversion process hangs or times out with an error
• Cause: The document is too long or the template processing logic is complex
• Solution: Try splitting the document into shorter sections and converting them separately

Size Limits

• Maximum single Markdown file size: 10 MB
• Maximum ZIP upload size: 100 MB