Quarto is an open-source scientific and technical publishing system built on Pandoc that lets you weave executable code (Python, R, Julia, Observable JS) with narrative prose to produce reproducible reports, websites, books, dashboards, and presentations from a single source. Unlike R Markdown, Quarto is language-agnostic and works with VS Code, RStudio, Positron, Jupyter, and any text editor. The core insight is that a .qmd file is both the computation script and the final document — changing an assumption reruns everything and rebuilds the output automatically. Quarto 1.6–1.9 introduced major capabilities: a unified _brand.yml branding system, native Python inline code, light/dark computational outputs, PDF/UA accessibility standards, LLM-friendly website output, and the Posit Connect Cloud publish target.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 16 focused tables and 180 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
Table 1: Core Document Types
Quarto's output format is declared in YAML front matter with format: and covers formats from single-page HTML reports to multi-chapter books and live dashboards. Choosing the right format early avoids structural rework — a website and a book share a directory layout but have very different navigation models.
| Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
format: html | • Default output • self-contained with embedded assets via embed-resources: true• best for sharing reports via email or web | |
format: pdf | • LaTeX-based PDF • use format: typst for faster, no-TeX alternative• great for formal reports and submissions | |
format: revealjs | • Interactive HTML slidedeck • --- separates slides• supports speaker notes, fragments, and embedded code execution | |
project: type: website | • Multi-page site with shared navigation • supports blog listings, search, announcement bars, and Plausible analytics | |
project: type: book | • Multi-chapter document rendered to HTML, PDF, or Typst • chapters declared in _quarto.yml under chapters:. | |
format: docx | • .docx output• use a reference document ( reference-doc: template.docx) to apply corporate styles | |
format: typst | • Modern, fast PDF typesetting engine — no LaTeX required • supports custom themes, theorem environments, and Typst books | |
format: dashboard | • Static or Shiny-backed interactive dashboard • layout controlled by rows, columns, and tabs without JavaScript |