Conversion Service
MarkFoundry is hosted on Vercel. Heavy conversions are handled by a separate Docker service running Pandoc.
Architecture
Why conversion is separated
PDF and DOCX conversion requires heavy processing that is unreliable within serverless function time limits. A dedicated conversion service provides better reliability and output quality.
Why Pandoc
Pandoc is a universal document converter supporting dozens of formats. It produces high-quality DOCX and PDF output from Markdown source.
Why Docker
Docker packages Pandoc and its dependencies in a consistent environment, making deployment predictable across platforms.
How Vercel connects
The MarkFoundry Vercel app sends conversion requests to API routes, which forward content to the Docker conversion service and return generated files to the browser.
Supported conversions
- Markdown → PDF
- Markdown → DOCX
- Markdown → HTML
- DOCX → Markdown (import)
Data handling
On your device: Markdown, JSON, and YAML editing, live preview, validation, workspace state, recent files, and unsaved draft recovery all run in your browser. No account is required.
Sent to the conversion service: Only when you request PDF or DOCX export, or DOCX import — your document content is transmitted over HTTPS, processed temporarily, and returned. It is not stored permanently by default.
See the Privacy Policy for retention and encryption details.
Security notes
Conversion requests use secure HTTPS (TLS) connections. Files are processed temporarily and should not be stored permanently by default. See the Privacy Policy for full retention and encryption details.
Deployment options
The conversion service can be deployed on:
- Render
- Railway
- Fly.io
- DigitalOcean
- AWS
- VPS