Skip to content

Desktop UI

leafpress includes a native desktop application — a menu bar / system tray app built with PyQt6. It provides the same conversion and import features as the CLI in a point-and-click interface.

Installation

The desktop UI requires the [ui] optional extra:

uv tool install 'leafpress[ui]'

pipx install 'leafpress[ui]'

uv add 'leafpress[ui]'

pip install 'leafpress[ui]'

This installs:

  • PyQt6 — the cross-platform GUI framework
  • pyobjc-framework-cocoa (macOS only) — for menu bar integration

Launching

# Start in the background (menu bar / tray only)
leafpress ui

# Open the conversion window immediately
leafpress ui --show

macOS

On macOS, leafpress appears in the menu bar (top-right area). It does not appear in the Dock. Click the document icon to open the conversion window.

Linux / Windows

On Linux and Windows, leafpress appears in the system tray. Click or double-click the icon to open the conversion window.

Using the conversion window

LeafPress conversion window

The conversion window mirrors all CLI convert options:

Field Description
Source Local path to an MkDocs project, or a git URL. Use "Browse..." to pick a folder.
Output dir Directory for generated files (default: output/).
Format pdf, docx, html, odt, epub, markdown, both (PDF + DOCX), or all.
Branding config Optional path to a leafpress.yml file. Leave blank to use auto-detection or environment variables.
Cover page Include a cover page (default: checked).
Table of contents Include a TOC page (default: checked).
Open after conversion Automatically open the generated file(s) when done.

Click Convert to start. A progress indicator appears while conversion runs. A dialog confirms success or shows the error message on failure.

Using the import window

LeafPress import window

Import Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx), Excel (.xlsx), and LaTeX (.tex) files to Markdown.

Field Description
Files One or more .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, or .tex files to convert. Use "Browse..." to select files.
Output dir Directory for generated Markdown files (default: current directory).
Extract images Save embedded images alongside the Markdown output (default: checked).
Include speaker notes Extract speaker notes from PowerPoint slides (default: checked).
Open after import Automatically open the generated Markdown file(s) when done.

Click Import to start. Each file is converted independently and results appear in the log area.

Tray menu

Right-click (or control-click on macOS) the tray icon for a menu:

  • Open leafpress — show the conversion window
  • Import files... — show the import window
  • About leafpress — version info and links
  • Quit leafpress — exit the application

Keeping leafpress running

leafpress stays alive in the menu bar / tray after the conversion window is closed. To quit, use the tray menu.

macOS — launch at login

To have leafpress start automatically:

  1. Open System Settings → General → Login Items
  2. Add the leafpress executable or a shell script that runs leafpress ui

Or create a launchd plist at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.leafpress.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>Label</key><string>com.leafpress</string>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>/usr/local/bin/leafpress</string>
    <string>ui</string>
  </array>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
</dict>
</plist>

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.leafpress.plist