#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""markdown_parser.py - CommonMark-subset parser for the md-document converter.
Stdlib-only. Reads a markdown file (or stdin), produces a structured section
tree as JSON that the html_renderer can consume. NO LLM CALLS — pure regex
+ state-machine line tokenization.
Scope (CommonMark subset sufficient for agent-generated specs/reports/RFCs):
- Headings: # / ## / ### / #### / ##### / ###### (1-6 levels)
- Paragraphs (lines separated by blank lines)
- Fenced code blocks (``` with optional language tag)
- Tables (GFM: header row + delimiter row + body rows)
- GFM-style callouts: > [!NOTE], > [!TIP], > [!IMPORTANT], > [!WARNING], > [!CAUTION]
- Plain blockquotes: > text
- Ordered lists: 1. / 2. / 3. (single-level only)
- Unordered lists: - / * / + (single-level only)
- Horizontal rules: --- / *** / ___
- Inline: **bold** / *italic* / `code` / [text](url) / 
Out of scope: nested lists, HTML inlines, footnotes, definition lists, task
list checkboxes (rendered as plain text), reference-style links, hard line
breaks (two-space). These can be added later if a real document needs them.
The output is a JSON object with two keys:
- meta: {title, line_count, heading_count, section_count}
- blocks: ordered list of block nodes; each section H2+ is also stored as
a structural anchor for the TOC + scrollspy.
Usage:
python markdown_parser.py --input report.md
python markdown_parser.py --input - --output sections.json
python markdown_parser.py --sample
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import argparse
import json
import re
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any
CALLOUT_RE = re.compile(r"^>\s*\[!(NOTE|TIP|IMPORTANT|WARNING|CAUTION)\]\s*$", re.IGNORECASE)
HEADING_RE = re.compile(r"^(#{1,6})\s+(.+?)\s*#*\s*$")
FENCE_RE = re.compile(r"^```(\S*)\s*$")
HR_RE = re.compile(r"^(-{3,}|\*{3,}|_{3,})\s*$")
ORDERED_LI_RE = re.compile(r"^(\d+)\.\s+(.+)$")
UNORDERED_LI_RE = re.compile(r"^[-*+]\s+(.+)$")
TABLE_DELIM_RE = re.compile(r"^\|?\s*:?-{3,}:?\s*(\|\s*:?-{3,}:?\s*)+\|?\s*$")
TABLE_ROW_RE = re.compile(r"^\|.*\|\s*$")
BLOCKQUOTE_RE = re.compile(r"^>\s?(.*)$")
INLINE_CODE_RE = re.compile(r"`([^`]+)`")
BOLD_RE = re.compile(r"\*\*([^*]+)\*\*")
ITALIC_RE = re.compile(r"(? str:
"""Convert a heading text to a URL-safe anchor slug."""
text = re.sub(r"<[^>]+>", "", text) # strip any HTML tags
text = re.sub(r"[^a-zA-Z0-9\s-]", "", text)
text = re.sub(r"\s+", "-", text.strip())
return text.lower() or "section"
def render_inline_html(text: str) -> str:
"""Convert inline markdown markup to HTML, with HTML-escaping for safety."""
# HTML-escape first, then re-introduce markup via tokens that won't collide
# with user content. We use placeholder tokens to avoid double-substitution.
out = text
out = out.replace("&", "&").replace("<", "<").replace(">", ">")
# Images first (so the ! prefix isn't eaten by link)
out = IMAGE_RE.sub(lambda m: f'
', out)
# Links
out = LINK_RE.sub(lambda m: f'{m.group(1)}', out)
# Inline code (before bold/italic so backticks short-circuit emphasis)
out = INLINE_CODE_RE.sub(lambda m: f"{m.group(1)}", out)
# Bold
out = BOLD_RE.sub(lambda m: f"{m.group(1)}", out)
# Italic (single * not adjacent to another *)
out = ITALIC_RE.sub(lambda m: f"{m.group(1)}", out)
return out
def parse_table(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Parse a GFM table starting at lines[start]. Returns (node, next_index)."""
header_line = lines[start]
delim_line = lines[start + 1]
body_lines: list[str] = []
i = start + 2
while i < len(lines) and TABLE_ROW_RE.match(lines[i]):
body_lines.append(lines[i])
i += 1
def split_row(row: str) -> list[str]:
cells = row.strip().strip("|").split("|")
return [c.strip() for c in cells]
headers = split_row(header_line)
aligns = []
for cell in split_row(delim_line):
s = cell.strip()
if s.startswith(":") and s.endswith(":"):
aligns.append("center")
elif s.endswith(":"):
aligns.append("right")
else:
aligns.append("left")
rows = [split_row(r) for r in body_lines]
return ({"type": "table", "headers": headers, "aligns": aligns, "rows": rows}, i)
def parse_list(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Parse a single-level ordered or unordered list starting at start."""
first = lines[start]
ordered = bool(ORDERED_LI_RE.match(first))
items: list[str] = []
i = start
while i < len(lines):
if ordered:
m = ORDERED_LI_RE.match(lines[i])
if not m:
break
items.append(m.group(2))
else:
m = UNORDERED_LI_RE.match(lines[i])
if not m:
break
items.append(m.group(1))
i += 1
return ({"type": "list", "ordered": ordered, "items": items}, i)
def parse_callout(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Parse a GFM-style callout starting at start.
Pattern:
> [!NOTE]
> Body line 1
> Body line 2
"""
m = CALLOUT_RE.match(lines[start])
kind = m.group(1).upper() if m else "NOTE"
body: list[str] = []
i = start + 1
while i < len(lines):
bq = BLOCKQUOTE_RE.match(lines[i])
if not bq:
break
body.append(bq.group(1))
i += 1
return ({"type": "callout", "kind": kind, "body_lines": body}, i)
def parse_blockquote(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Parse a plain blockquote (no callout marker)."""
body: list[str] = []
i = start
while i < len(lines):
bq = BLOCKQUOTE_RE.match(lines[i])
if not bq:
break
body.append(bq.group(1))
i += 1
return ({"type": "blockquote", "body_lines": body}, i)
def parse_code_block(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Parse a fenced code block starting at start (which is the opening fence)."""
m = FENCE_RE.match(lines[start])
language = m.group(1).strip() if m else ""
body: list[str] = []
i = start + 1
while i < len(lines):
if FENCE_RE.match(lines[i]):
i += 1
break
body.append(lines[i])
i += 1
return ({"type": "code", "language": language, "body": "\n".join(body)}, i)
def parse_paragraph(lines: list[str], start: int) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], int]:
"""Collect consecutive non-empty, non-block lines into a paragraph."""
body: list[str] = []
i = start
while i < len(lines):
ln = lines[i]
if not ln.strip():
break
# Stop if we hit a block-level construct
if (HEADING_RE.match(ln) or FENCE_RE.match(ln) or HR_RE.match(ln) or
CALLOUT_RE.match(ln) or BLOCKQUOTE_RE.match(ln) or
ORDERED_LI_RE.match(ln) or UNORDERED_LI_RE.match(ln) or
TABLE_ROW_RE.match(ln)):
break
body.append(ln)
i += 1
text = " ".join(s.strip() for s in body)
return ({"type": "paragraph", "text": text}, i)
def parse_markdown(text: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
"""Top-level parse — returns {meta, blocks}."""
lines = text.splitlines()
blocks: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
i = 0
title = ""
heading_count = 0
section_count = 0
while i < len(lines):
line = lines[i]
if not line.strip():
i += 1
continue
# Heading
h = HEADING_RE.match(line)
if h:
level = len(h.group(1))
text_inline = h.group(2).strip()
anchor = slugify(text_inline)
heading_count += 1
if level == 1 and not title:
title = text_inline
if level >= 2:
section_count += 1
blocks.append({
"type": "heading",
"level": level,
"text": text_inline,
"anchor": anchor,
})
i += 1
continue
# HR
if HR_RE.match(line):
blocks.append({"type": "hr"})
i += 1
continue
# Fenced code
if FENCE_RE.match(line):
node, next_i = parse_code_block(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
continue
# Callout (more specific than blockquote — must match first)
if CALLOUT_RE.match(line):
node, next_i = parse_callout(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
continue
# Plain blockquote
if BLOCKQUOTE_RE.match(line):
node, next_i = parse_blockquote(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
continue
# Table (header row + delim row check ahead)
if TABLE_ROW_RE.match(line) and i + 1 < len(lines) and TABLE_DELIM_RE.match(lines[i + 1]):
node, next_i = parse_table(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
continue
# Lists
if ORDERED_LI_RE.match(line) or UNORDERED_LI_RE.match(line):
node, next_i = parse_list(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
continue
# Paragraph (fallback)
node, next_i = parse_paragraph(lines, i)
blocks.append(node)
i = next_i
return {
"meta": {
"title": title,
"line_count": len(lines),
"heading_count": heading_count,
"section_count": section_count,
},
"blocks": blocks,
}
SAMPLE_MARKDOWN = """# Sample Specification
## Table of Contents
- Goals
- Architecture
- Risks
## Goals
We will integrate **Stripe Connect** with the existing checkout flow.
| Phase | Timeline | Owner |
|-------|----------|-------|
| Design | Week 1 | jane |
| Build | Week 2-3 | dev team |
| Ship | Week 4 | jane |
## Architecture
The integration uses webhooks for async events.
```python
def handle_webhook(event):
if event.type == "payment.succeeded":
mark_paid(event.data.object.id)
```
> [!NOTE]
> All webhook handlers must be idempotent.
> [!WARNING]
> Tax calculation has edge cases for digital goods in the EU.
## Risks
1. Webhook delivery delays
2. Tax calculation edge cases for VAT
3. Refund cascading across multi-party transfers
See [Stripe Connect docs](https://stripe.com/docs/connect) for details.
"""
def main(argv: list[str]) -> int:
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__.split("\n")[0])
parser.add_argument("--input", help="Path to markdown file, or '-' for stdin")
parser.add_argument("--output", help="Path to write JSON output (else stdout)")
parser.add_argument("--sample", action="store_true",
help="Parse a built-in sample markdown document")
args = parser.parse_args(argv)
if args.sample:
text = SAMPLE_MARKDOWN
elif args.input:
if args.input == "-":
text = sys.stdin.read()
else:
path = Path(args.input)
if not path.exists():
print(f"error: input not found: {path}", file=sys.stderr)
return 2
text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
else:
parser.print_help()
return 0
result = parse_markdown(text)
payload = json.dumps(result, indent=2)
if args.output:
Path(args.output).write_text(payload, encoding="utf-8")
print(f"wrote {args.output}: {result['meta']['heading_count']} headings, "
f"{len(result['blocks'])} blocks")
else:
print(payload)
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
sys.exit(main(sys.argv[1:]))