Implement a markdown renderer

README.md

@@ -169,6 +169,9 @@ format, however there's nothing stopping a renderer from doing static analysis
 of a book in order to validate links or run tests. Some existing renderers are:
 
 - `html` - the built-in renderer which will generate a HTML version of the book
+- `markdown` - the built-in renderer (disabled by default) which will run
+  preprocessors then output the resulting Markdown. Useful for debugging
+  preprocessors.
 - [`linkcheck`] - a backend which will check that all links are valid
 - [`epub`] - an experimental EPUB generator
 

book-example/src/format/config.md

@@ -242,6 +242,26 @@ heading-split-level = 3
 copy-js = true
 ```
 
+### Markdown Renderer
+
+The Markdown renderer will run preprocessors and then output the resulting
+Markdown. This is mostly useful for debugging preprocessors, especially in
+conjunction with `mdbook test` to see the Markdown that `mdbook` is passing
+to `rustdoc`.
+
+The Markdown renderer is included with `mdbook` but disabled by default.
+Enable it by adding an emtpy table to your `book.toml` as follows:
+
+```toml
+[output.markdown]
+```
+
+There are no configuration options for the Markdown renderer at this time;
+only whether it is enabled or disabled.
+
+See [the preprocessors documentation](#configuring-preprocessors) for how to
+specify which preprocessors should run before the Markdown renderer.
+
 ### Custom Renderers
 
 A custom renderer can be enabled by adding a `[output.foo]` table to your

src/book/mod.rs

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ use crate::errors::*;
 use crate::preprocess::{
     CmdPreprocessor, IndexPreprocessor, LinkPreprocessor, Preprocessor, PreprocessorContext,
 };
-use crate::renderer::{CmdRenderer, HtmlHandlebars, RenderContext, Renderer};
+use crate::renderer::{CmdRenderer, HtmlHandlebars, MarkdownRenderer, RenderContext, Renderer};
 use crate::utils;
 
 use crate::config::Config;
@@ -336,6 +336,8 @@ fn determine_renderers(config: &Config) -> Vec<Box<dyn Renderer>> {
         renderers.extend(output_table.iter().map(|(key, table)| {
             if key == "html" {
                 Box::new(HtmlHandlebars::new()) as Box<dyn Renderer>
+            } else if key == "markdown" {
+                Box::new(MarkdownRenderer::new()) as Box<dyn Renderer>
             } else {
                 interpret_custom_renderer(key, table)
             }

src/renderer/markdown_renderer.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+use crate::book::BookItem;
+use crate::errors::*;
+use crate::renderer::{RenderContext, Renderer};
+use crate::utils;
+
+use std::fs;
+
+#[derive(Default)]
+/// A renderer to output the Markdown after the preprocessors have run. Mostly useful
+/// when debugging preprocessors.
+pub struct MarkdownRenderer;
+
+impl MarkdownRenderer {
+    /// Create a new `MarkdownRenderer` instance.
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        MarkdownRenderer
+    }
+}
+
+impl Renderer for MarkdownRenderer {
+    fn name(&self) -> &str {
+        "markdown"
+    }
+
+    fn render(&self, ctx: &RenderContext) -> Result<()> {
+        let destination = &ctx.destination;
+        let book = &ctx.book;
+
+        if destination.exists() {
+            utils::fs::remove_dir_content(destination)
+                .chain_err(|| "Unable to remove stale Markdown output")?;
+        }
+
+        trace!("markdown render");
+        for item in book.iter() {
+            if let BookItem::Chapter(ref ch) = *item {
+                utils::fs::write_file(&ctx.destination, &ch.path, ch.content.as_bytes())?;
+            }
+        }
+
+        fs::create_dir_all(&destination)
+            .chain_err(|| "Unexpected error when constructing destination path")?;
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}

src/renderer/mod.rs

@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@
 //! [RenderContext]: struct.RenderContext.html
 
 pub use self::html_handlebars::HtmlHandlebars;
+pub use self::markdown_renderer::MarkdownRenderer;
 
 mod html_handlebars;
+mod markdown_renderer;
 
 use shlex::Shlex;
 use std::fs;