markdown

Saves the description of a selected unit or item to a Markdown file encoded in UTF-8.

By default, data is stored in the markdown_{YourWorldName}.md file in the root of the game directory.

For units, the script exports:

  1. Name, race, age, profession

  2. Description from the unit’s Health -> Description screen

  3. Traits from the unit’s Personality -> Traits screen

For items, it exports:

  1. Decorated name (e.g., “☼«☼Chalk Statue of Dakas☼»☼”)

  2. Full description from the item’s view sheet

The script works for most items with in-game descriptions and names, including those in storage, on the ground, installed as a building, or worn/carried by units.

By default, entries are appended, not overwritten, allowing the markdown command to compile descriptions of multiple items & units in a single document. You can quickly export text for the currently selected unit or item by tapping the Ctrl-t keybinding or selecting markdown from the DFHack logo menu.

Usage

markdown [<name>] [<options>]

Specifying a name will append to markdown_{name}.md, which can be useful for organizing data by category or topic. If name includes whitespace, quote it in double quotes.

If no name is given, the name of the loaded world is used by default.

Examples

  • markdown

Example output for a selected chalk statue in the world “Orid Tamun”, appended to the default markdown_Orid_Tamun.md file:

[...previous entries...]

### ☼Chalk Statue of Bìlalo Bandbeach☼

#### Description:
This is a well-crafted chalk statue of Bìlalo Bandbeach. The item is an
image of Bìlalo Bandbeach the elf and Lani Lyricmonks the Learned the ettin
in chalk by Domas Uthmiklikot. Lani Lyricmonks the Learned is striking down
Bìlalo Bandbeach.
The artwork relates to the killing of the elf Bìlalo Bandbeach by the
ettin Lani Lyricmonks the Learned with Hailbite in The Forest of
Indignation in 147.

---

  • markdown -o descriptions

Example output for a selected unit Lokum Alnisendok, written to the newly overwritten markdown_descriptions.md file:

### Lokum Alnisendok, dwarf, 27 years old Presser.

#### Description:
A short, sturdy creature fond of drink and industry.

He is very quick to tire.

His very long beard is neatly combed.  His very long sideburns are braided.
His very long moustache is neatly combed.  His hair is clean-shaven.  He is
average in size. His nose is sharply hooked.  His nose bridge is convex.
His gold eyes are slightly wide-set.  His somewhat tall ears are somewhat
narrow.  His hair is copper.  His skin is copper.

#### Personality:
He has an amazing memory, but he has a questionable spatial sense and poor
focus.

He doesn't generally think before acting.  He feels a strong need to
reciprocate any favor done for him.  He enjoys the company of others.  He
does not easily hate or develop negative feelings.  He generally finds
himself quite hopeful about the future.  He tends to be swayed by the
emotions of others.  He finds obligations confining, though he is
conflicted by this for more than one reason.  He doesn't tend to hold on to
grievances.  He has an active imagination.

He needs alcohol to get through the working day.

---

Options

-o, --overwrite

Overwrite the output file, deleting previous entries.

Setting up custom keybindings

If you want to use custom filenames, you can create your own keybinding so you don’t have to type out the full command each time. You can run a command like this in gui/launcher to make it active for the current session, or add it to dfhack-config/init/dfhack.init to register it at startup for future game sessions:

keybinding add Ctrl-Shift-S@dwarfmode/ViewSheets/UNIT|dwarfmode/ViewSheets/ITEM "markdown descriptions"

You can use a different key combination and output name, of course. See the keybinding docs for more details.

Alternately, you can register commandlines with the gui/quickcmd tool and run them from the popup menu.