quarto-qmd-cli-rendering

Goal

When asked to “render”, “build”, “preview”, or “compile” a Quarto .qmd, respond with quarto CLI commands that are copy-pastable and include brief, practical notes.

Include a short note that the terminal will show per-cell progress lines like:

Cell 1/3 '{cell-label}'.....Done
Cell 2/3 '{cell-label}'.....Done
Cell 3/3 '{cell-label}'.....Done

Output created: {file-name}

Some cells finish quickly while others can take a long time; the agent should be patient and wait for completion. For example, the following terminal indicates that cell 2 is still running:

Cell 1/3 '{cell-label}'.....Done
Cell 2/3 '{cell-label}'.....

Assumptions

• Quarto CLI is installed and available as quarto.
• The user can run commands from a terminal in the relevant directory, or will provide an explicit path.
• The target output format is either defined in YAML, or the user will specify it.

Core rules

• Single-file render: use quarto render <file.qmd>.
• Project/directory render: use quarto render or quarto render <dir> (named project directory).
• Prefer explicit success signaling in scripts, but match the user's shell:
  • PowerShell: append ; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { echo "Render finished" }
  • bash/sh: append && echo "Render finished"
• If the user says “render sequentially” or “low RAM”, render one file at a time (do not suggest parallel execution).

Render a single .qmd

Minimal pattern:

quarto render <file.qmd>

Optional explicit success signal (choose ONE depending on shell):

quarto render <file.qmd> ; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { echo "Render finished" }

quarto render <file.qmd> && echo "Render finished"

Sequential rendering (low RAM)

Use sequential rendering when the user requests:

• “One at a time.”
• “No parallelism.”
• “Low RAM” or “don’t run everything at once.”
• “Render each qmd and stop on error.”

Instructions:

1. Render exactly one file:
   • PowerShell: quarto render <file.qmd> ; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { echo "Render finished" }
   • bash/sh: quarto render <file.qmd> && echo "Render finished"
2. Wait until the command exits (i.e., when the terminal shows "Render finished") before proceeding to the next file.
3. If it fails, fix the current .qmd, then re-run the same command until it succeeds.
4. Continue to the next .qmd only after the current one succeeds.
5. The command succeeds when there are no error messages in the terminal and you see Render finished.

Skill scope

Use this skill when:

• The user mentions .qmd, Quarto, “render/build/compile/preview”, CI, Makefiles, or scripting.

Do not use this skill when:

• The user explicitly wants GUI-only steps (RStudio/VS Code) with no CLI commands.