gohugoio/hugo · error

pandoc not found in $PATH, cannot render %q

Error message

pandoc not found in $PATH, cannot render %q

What it means

Hugo renders Pandoc-flavored content by shelling out to the external `pandoc` binary. Before spawning it, `getPandocContent` checks `hexec.InPath("pandoc")`; if the binary isn't on $PATH the page cannot be converted and the build fails with the document name that triggered it.

Source

Thrown at markup/pandoc/convert.go:63

}

func (c *pandocConverter) Convert(ctx converter.RenderContext) (converter.ResultRender, error) {
	b, err := c.getPandocContent(ctx.Src, c.ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return converter.Bytes(b), nil
}

func (c *pandocConverter) Supports(feature identity.Identity) bool {
	return false
}

// getPandocContent calls pandoc as an external helper to convert pandoc markdown to HTML.
func (c *pandocConverter) getPandocContent(src []byte, ctx converter.DocumentContext) ([]byte, error) {
	binaryName := getPandocBinaryName()
	if binaryName == "" {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("pandoc not found in $PATH, cannot render %q", ctx.DocumentName)
	}
	args := []string{"--mathjax", "--citeproc"}
	return internal.ExternallyRenderContent(c.cfg, ctx, src, binaryName, args)
}

const pandocBinary = "pandoc"

func getPandocBinaryName() string {
	if hexec.InPath(pandocBinary) {
		return pandocBinary
	}
	return ""
}

// Supports returns whether Pandoc is installed on this computer.
func Supports() bool {
	hasBin := getPandocBinaryName() != ""
	if htesting.SupportsAll() {

View on GitHub ↗ (pinned to 8a468df065)

Solutions

1. Install pandoc and ensure it's on $PATH for the Hugo process (e.g. `apt-get install pandoc` in CI, `brew install pandoc` locally), then restart `hugo server`.
2. In CI, add a pandoc install step before the Hugo build, or use an image that bundles it.
3. If pandoc isn't wanted, change the offending content file's markup to goldmark markdown (rename to .md or set `markup: goldmark`).
4. Note Hugo's security policy must also allow executing pandoc (`security.exec.allow`).

Example fix

# before (CI)
hugo --minify
# after (CI)
apt-get update && apt-get install -y pandoc
hugo --minify

if _, err := exec.LookPath("pandoc"); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("pandoc required for .pad/.pandoc content but not installed: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Building a site containing a content file with a `.pad`/`.pdc` extension (or `markup: pandoc` in front matter) on a machine where the `pandoc` executable is not resolvable via $PATH at Hugo's process start.

Common situations: CI containers and the official Hugo Docker images that don't include pandoc; pandoc installed after starting `hugo server` (PATH is snapshotted); pandoc installed via a user-local path not exported to the environment running Hugo; Netlify/Vercel builds missing an install step.

Related errors

• rst2html / rst2html.py not found in $PATH, cannot render %q
• no Dart Sass binary found in $PATH
• asciidoctor not found in $PATH, cannot render %q
• failed to resolve output path %q: %w
• abort: jekyll root contains neither posts nor drafts

AI-assisted analysis of gohugoio/hugo@8a468df065 (2026-07-31). Data as JSON: /data/errors/8d15b1a4ec12350b.json. Report an issue: GitHub ↗.