Book Builder

Docker container for building books in multiple formats (PDF, EPUB, MOBI, HTML).

Overview

This container provides all necessary tools to convert Markdown files into various book formats, handling formatting, image inclusion, and proper metadata. It encapsulates the complexity of the book-building process, including all required dependencies.

Features

• Generate PDFs with proper formatting and typography
• Create EPUBs with reliable image inclusion
• Convert EPUBs to MOBI format for Kindle
• Build standalone HTML versions
• All necessary tools pre-installed and configured

Usage

Basic Usage

docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace iksnae/book-builder ./build.sh

Specific Format

docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace iksnae/book-builder ./build.sh --format pdf

Advanced Options

docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace iksnae/book-builder ./build.sh \
  --config my-config.yml \
  --output ./my-books \
  --lang es

Included Utilities

The container includes several specialized tools:

generate-epub - Reliable EPUB Generation

This utility ensures images are properly included in EPUB files:

generate-epub --title "My Book" --cover cover.png input.md output.epub

Options:

• --title - Book title
• --author - Book author/creator
• --publisher - Book publisher
• --cover - Path to cover image
• --language - Book language code (e.g., en, es)
• --resource-path - Resource search paths (colon-separated)
• --toc-depth - Table of contents depth
• --verbose - Show detailed processing information

Directory Structure

When using this container, organize your book project with this recommended structure:

.
├── book/
│   ├── en/              # English content
│   │   ├── chapter-01/  # Chapters
│   │   │   ├── 00-introduction.md
│   │   │   └── 01-content.md
│   │   └── images/      # English-specific images
│   ├── es/              # Spanish content
│   │   └── ...
│   └── images/          # Shared images
├── art/
│   └── cover.png        # Cover image
├── config/
│   └── book-config.yml  # Configuration
└── build.sh             # Build script

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Use the --verbose flag with utilities for detailed output
2. Check image paths and ensure they're accessible
3. Verify your Markdown syntax is correct
4. Run the container with the -it flag to interactively debug

Building the Image

To build this Docker image locally:

git clone https://github.com/iksnae/book-builder.git
cd book-builder
docker build -t iksnae/book-builder:latest .

License

See LICENSE file.