kindle-book

A Claude skill that converts Markdown manuscripts into Amazon KDP-ready files: EPUB3 for Kindle and print-ready PDF for paperback.

One command. Markdown in, two publishable files out.

What it does

Drop a .md or .txt file into Claude (desktop app, Cowork mode) and say “make it a Kindle book.” The skill:

1. Parses your manuscript (headings → chapters, frontmatter → metadata)
2. Builds a valid EPUB3 via pandoc (table of contents, proper structure, clean CSS)
3. Builds a print-ready PDF via pandoc + XeLaTeX with correct KDP margins for your trim size
4. Outputs both files ready to upload to Amazon KDP

Supported trim sizes

Margins auto-calculate based on trim size and page count per KDP specs.

Installation

1. Download kindle-book.skill from Releases
2. Open Claude desktop app
3. Drag the .skill file into Claude, or place it in your skills directory

Or clone and use directly:

git clone https://github.com/nikmcfly/kindle-book-skill.git

Prerequisites

The skill runs inside Claude’s environment, which has these pre-installed:

• pandoc (Markdown → EPUB/PDF conversion)
• xelatex (PDF typesetting)
• python3 (build script)

If running the build script standalone outside Claude, install these first.

Usage

Inside Claude (recommended)

Just tell Claude:

• “Make this a Kindle book”
• “Convert my manuscript to KDP format”
• “I want to publish this on Amazon”

Claude reads the skill instructions and handles everything.

Standalone

python3 scripts/build_kindle.py \
  --input manuscript.md \
  --output ./output/ \
  --title "My Book" \
  --author "Author Name" \
  --trim 6x9

Optional flags:

--cover cover.jpg      # EPUB cover image
--publisher "Name"     # Publisher metadata
--trim 5x8             # Trim size (default: 6x9)
--font-size 12         # Body font size in pt
--epub-only            # Skip PDF generation
--pdf-only             # Skip EPUB generation

Manuscript format

Write in Markdown. Each # heading becomes a chapter. Optionally add YAML frontmatter:

---
title: "My Book Title"
author: "Author Name"
language: en-US
publisher: "Publisher Name"
rights: "© 2026 Author Name. All rights reserved."
description: "One-line book description."
trim_size: "6x9"
cover_image: "cover.jpg"
---

File structure

kindle-book-skill/
├── SKILL.md                    # Claude skill definition
├── scripts/
│   └── build_kindle.py         # Main build script
├── assets/
│   ├── epub-styles.css         # EPUB typography
│   └── print-template.tex      # LaTeX template for print PDF
└── references/
    └── trim-sizes.md           # KDP margin specs

Output

The script produces: