Bookdown
Bookdown is an open-source R package that facilitates writing books and long-form content with R Markdown. It extends the functionality of R Markdown to easily generate books, reports, websites, presentations, and more with customizable layouts.
authoring
publishing
markdown
rmarkdown
books
Bookdown: Open-Source R Package for Writing Books
Facilitate writing books and long-form content with R Markdown using Bookdown, an open-source R package that extends R Markdown functionality for customizable layouts.
What is Bookdown?
Bookdown is an open-source R package developed by Yihui Xie that greatly simplifies the process of writing books and long-form documents with R Markdown. It builds on top of the functionality provided by R Markdown and knitr packages to convert R Markdown documents into finished books in various formats including PDF, ePub, HTML, or Word.
Some key features of Bookdown include:
- Customizable book themes and layouts using LaTeX and Pandoc templates
- Numbering and cross-referencing figures, tables, sections, equations, etc.
- Multi-page HTML and PDF output with customizable headers/footers
- Content organized into parts and chapters for book-length works
- Supports publishing to GitHub, Amazon S3, and other web platforms
- Extensions for specialized book formats like textbooks, reports, theses, websites, slides and more
Overall, Bookdown makes it very simple for anyone using R Markdown to write books and reports by handling the processing and conversion details behind the scenes. It enables new use-cases for R Markdown beyond single-document output like articles and blog posts. Bookdown has quickly become very popular in the R community for its ease-of-use and flexibility.
Bookdown Features
Features
- Authoring books and long-form content
- Output formats like PDF, HTML, EPUB, Word
- Customizable layouts and themes
- Integrates with R Markdown
- Supports code chunks and LaTeX equations
- Collaboration through GitHub
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Open source and free
Flexible and customizable formatting
Integrates seamlessly with R Markdown
Active development community
Facilitates reproducibility in documents
Good documentation and resources available
Cons
Steep learning curve for beginners
Limited WYSIWYG editing capabilities
Formatting can be time consuming
Collaboration features not as robust as Google Docs
Requires knowledge of Markdown and LaTeX
Official Links
The Best Bookdown Alternatives
Top Education & Reference and Writing & Publishing and other similar apps like Bookdown
Here are some alternatives to Bookdown:
Suggest an alternative ❐
GitBook
GitBook is an open source web-based platform designed for writing and hosting documentation and books with Markdown. It provides a clean and intuitive interface that allows teams to easily create, organize, publish, and maintain documentation projects and technical books.Some key features of GitBook include:Real-time collaboration - Multiple contributors can simultaneously...
Archivy
Archivy is an open-source self-hosted knowledge repository that allows you to safely preserve, organize and reuse your research, notes and website content. It provides the following key features:Web page archiving - Archivy allows you to easily capture and archive web pages to prevent link rot.PDF annotation - You can directly...
MdBook
mdBook is an open-source, command-line utility and Rust crate used to create books and documentation from Markdown files. It is designed to provide an easy way to organize and convert Markdown documents into beautifully formatted books and sites, supporting HTML, PDF, and eBook output formats.Some key features of mdBook include:Simple...
Writerside
Writerside is a writing assistant software designed to help writers improve their content. It provides a variety of tools to enhance writing quality and productivity.Key features of Writerside include:Advanced grammar, punctuation, and spelling correction - it checks for hundreds of common errors and provides correction suggestions to help you fix...
Retype
Retype is a free and open-source text editor and word processor designed for distraction-free writing. It has a simple and minimalistic user interface that focuses on just the essential writing and editing tools, removing unnecessary bells and whistles.Some key features of Retype include:Clean and clutter-free interface to avoid distractionsBasic text...
Notaku
Notaku is an open-source, self-hosted web application that serves as an alternative to Crunchyroll for anime enthusiasts. It allows users to organize and track their anime viewing progress, discover new shows, and even stream anime episodes from various services.Some key features of Notaku include:Anime library management - Users can add...
Hyperbook
Hyperbook is an open-source digital notebook and personal knowledge management software application. It allows users to organize personal notes, web clippings, files, images, and other digital content in an easy-to-navigate interface.Key features of Hyperbook include:Flexible note-taking with support for formatted text, checklists, code snippets, and moreWeb clipping to save content...
Leanpub
Leanpub is an online publishing platform designed for agile content creation and sales of ebooks, online courses and documents. Some key features of Leanpub include:Optimized writing workflow to create books and courses iterativelyEasy formatting using MarkdownIntegrated sales and distribution of PDF, EPUB, MOBI and HTML contentAuthors can set minimum prices...
