@m2d/image

Converts Markdown (

), HTML<img>
, and customimage
/svg
nodes into DOCX-compatibleImageRun
elements.
Parsing HTML or Mermaid to SVG or image tags requires
@m2d/html
or@m2d/mermaid
, respectively.
However,@m2d/image
handles all image rendering to DOCX regardless of origin.
📦 Installation
npm install @m2d/image
pnpm add @m2d/image
yarn add @m2d/image
🚀 Overview
The @m2d/image
plugin for mdast2docx
renders image nodes in DOCX output.
It supports:
- Markdown image syntax:

- Images parsed from HTML via
@m2d/html
- Images or SVGs emitted by plugins like
@m2d/mermaid
- Base64 and external URLs
- Fallback handling
- Automatic caching
🛠️ Usage
import { imagePlugin } from "@m2d/image";
const plugins = [
htmlPlugin(), // Optional — parses HTML <img> into image nodes
mermaidPlugin(), // Optional — emits image/svg nodes for diagrams
imagePlugin(), // ✅ Must come after HTML/Mermaid plugins
tablePlugin(),
];
🧠 If using
@m2d/html
or@m2d/mermaid
, place them before this plugin. They generateimage
orsvg
nodes, but only@m2d/image
renders them to DOCX.
🧪 Production Ready
This plugin is production-grade, supporting all major image scenarios:
- Remote images (CORS-safe)
- Data URIs and base64
- SVG-to-PNG fallback
- Image resolution caching (memory + IndexedDB)
- Partial style propagation via
data-*
attributes from HTML
💬 We welcome feedback, bugs, and contributions — open an issue or PR anytime.
⚙️ Plugin Options
IImagePluginOptions {
/** Scale factor for base64 (data URL) images. @default 3 */
scale?: number;
/** Fallback format to convert unsupported image types. @default "png" */
fallbackImageType?: "png" | "jpg" | "bmp" | "gif";
/** Image resolution function used to convert URL/base64/SVG to image options */
imageResolver?: ImageResolver;
/** Max image width (in inches) for inserted image */
maxW?: number;
/** Max image height (in inches) for inserted image */
maxH?: number;
/** Optional placeholder image (base64 or URL) used on errors */
placeholder?: string;
/** Enable IndexedDB-based caching. @default true */
idb?: boolean;
/**
* Optional salt string used to differentiate cache keys for similar images (e.g., dark/light theme).
*/
salt?: string;
/** Duration in minutes after which cached records are removed as stale. Default: 7 days (10080 minutes). */
maxAgeMinutes?: number;
}
imageResolver
A custom function to fetch or transform the image. Receives the full image
or svg
node.
imagePlugin({
imageResolver: async (src, options, node) => {
const response = await fetch(src);
const arrayBuffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
return {
type: "png",
data: arrayBuffer,
transformation: {
width: 400,
height: 300,
},
};
},
});
You don’t need to implement caching — it’s handled internally with persistent storage.
placeholder
Used if the image fails to load or decode. Can be:
- A base64/data URL string
- An url to placeholder image
idb
Whether to enable IndexedDB caching (in addition to in-memory).
true
(default): uses IndexedDBfalse
: disables persistent cache
🧠 How It Works
- Walks the MDAST tree for
image
andsvg
nodes - Resolves the image via default or custom
imageResolver
- Converts to a
docx.ImageRun
, including alt text and limited styles - Caches results keyed on the full node and options
- Falls back if resolution fails
💡 Features
- Markdown images:

- HTML
<img>
,<svg>
support via@m2d/html
- Mermaid support via
@m2d/mermaid
or custom plugins - Cross-environment caching (memory + IndexedDB)
- Alt text + basic style support from HTML via
data-*
⚠️ Limitations
- Requires client-side (DOM) environment (uses
<canvas>
,<img>
, etc.) - Not compatible with server-side rendering (SSR) Node.js image plugin coming soon!
- External images must be accessible (CORS-safe URLs)
- Only a subset of styles are supported
object-fit
,fitWidth
, and complex layout constraints are not supported- Broken images are replaced with placeholder if defined; otherwise skipped
🔌 Related Plugins/Packages
Plugin | Purpose |
---|---|
@m2d/core |
Converts extended MDAST to DOCX |
@m2d/html |
Parses raw HTML to extended MDAST |
@m2d/mermaid |
Adds mermaid diagrams as SVG/image nodes |
@m2d/table |
Renders table nodes to DOCX |
@m2d/list |
Enhanced list support (tasks, bullets) |
⭐ Support Us
If you find this useful:
- ⭐ Star mdast2docx on GitHub
- ❤️ Consider sponsoring
🧾 License
MIT © Mayank Chaudhari
Made with 💖 by Mayank Kumar Chaudhari