6,016 stars · MIT · v1.10.18, read from /releases/latest as '24 Jul' with no year; ungh.cc dates the same tag 2026-07-24. Code pushed 22 September 2026 · Track this in Scout
One source file rendered into a web page, a PDF and a slide deck, with Python code executed inside the document.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
Quarto is a publishing system built on Pandoc. You write one file, then say which formats you want. It runs code blocks in Python, R or Julia and puts the output into the finished document.
What it is good for. Publishing the same thing three times is common. The video needs slides. The site needs a post. The email list needs something to download. Slidev (Ed. 5 #4) makes slides. Typst (Ed. 8 #7) makes PDFs. Neither makes the other. Quarto makes both from one source, which is the only version of this that actually saves time. The second reason is reporting. A report that rebuilds itself with fresh numbers, as a real document rather than a notebook screenshot, is exactly what Quarto was built for.
- One source file, several finished formats. That is the whole reason to use it.
- It runs your Python inside the document, so numbers and charts are never out of date.
- MIT licence, and releases every few weeks.
- It is a large install, several hundred megabytes, because it carries Pandoc and a JavaScript runtime with it.
- The default look is academic. Making it match your brand takes real CSS work.
- Its website output overlaps Astro (Ed. 3 #4). Use Quarto for documents and slides. Do not rebuild your site with it.
brew install --cask quarto quarto render lesson.qmd --to html quarto render lesson.qmd --to pdf quarto render lesson.qmd --to revealjs
