Release blog post (#1920)

cwickham · gordonwoodhull · web-flow · commit c62af1cb8f7d · 2026-03-24T10:31:45.000-07:00
* Draft release post

* Not draft for preview

* Updates

* Fix date

* Typst post forthcoming

* link to engine extension dev blog post

* Update date

---------

Co-authored-by: Gordon Woodhull &lt;gordon.woodhull@posit.co&gt;
diff --git a/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/_contribs.md b/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/_contribs.md
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+[CoryMcCartan](https://github.com/CoryMcCartan), 
+[DanChaltiel](https://github.com/DanChaltiel), 
+[Data-Wise](https://github.com/Data-Wise), 
+[FrankwaP](https://github.com/FrankwaP), 
+[Joao-O-Santos](https://github.com/Joao-O-Santos), 
+[LukasDSauer](https://github.com/LukasDSauer), 
+[MBe-iUS](https://github.com/MBe-iUS), 
+[MarcoPortmann](https://github.com/MarcoPortmann), 
+[MariaBarrioSchez](https://github.com/MariaBarrioSchez), 
+[MateusMolina](https://github.com/MateusMolina), 
+[Selbosh](https://github.com/Selbosh), 
+[ThePurox](https://github.com/ThePurox), 
+[TucoFernandes](https://github.com/TucoFernandes), 
+[aecoleman](https://github.com/aecoleman), 
+[amirhome61](https://github.com/amirhome61), 
+[andrewheiss](https://github.com/andrewheiss), 
+[azankl](https://github.com/azankl), 
+[bensoltoff](https://github.com/bensoltoff), 
+[bruvellu](https://github.com/bruvellu), 
+[byzheng](https://github.com/byzheng), 
+[cbrnr](https://github.com/cbrnr), 
+[chendaniely](https://github.com/chendaniely), 
+[chi-raag](https://github.com/chi-raag), 
+[christopherkenny](https://github.com/christopherkenny), 
+[coatless](https://github.com/coatless), 
+[cynthiahqy](https://github.com/cynthiahqy), 
+[darwindarak](https://github.com/darwindarak), 
+[davidskalinder](https://github.com/davidskalinder), 
+[dmenne](https://github.com/dmenne), 
+[fconil](https://github.com/fconil), 
+[fkgruber](https://github.com/fkgruber), 
+[fkohrt](https://github.com/fkohrt), 
+[fredguth](https://github.com/fredguth), 
+[gadenbuie](https://github.com/gadenbuie), 
+[github-actions[bot]](https://github.com/apps/github-actions), 
+[gsathler-vi](https://github.com/gsathler-vi), 
+[hamgamb](https://github.com/hamgamb), 
+[herosi](https://github.com/herosi), 
+[icarusz](https://github.com/icarusz), 
+[idavydov](https://github.com/idavydov), 
+[jeremy886](https://github.com/jeremy886), 
+[jkrumbiegel](https://github.com/jkrumbiegel), 
+[jmcphers](https://github.com/jmcphers), 
+[jonas37](https://github.com/jonas37), 
+[jorherre](https://github.com/jorherre), 
+[jreades](https://github.com/jreades), 
+[jromanowska](https://github.com/jromanowska), 
+[jtbayly](https://github.com/jtbayly), 
+[juleswg23](https://github.com/juleswg23), 
+[juliasilge](https://github.com/juliasilge), 
+[kathsherratt](https://github.com/kathsherratt), 
+[kusnezoff-alexander](https://github.com/kusnezoff-alexander), 
+[lrrichter](https://github.com/lrrichter), 
+[lwjohnst86](https://github.com/lwjohnst86), 
+[maelle](https://github.com/maelle), 
+[matthiasbaitsch](https://github.com/matthiasbaitsch), 
+[mipmip](https://github.com/mipmip), 
+[mstrms2000](https://github.com/mstrms2000), 
+[multimeric](https://github.com/multimeric), 
+[mvuorre](https://github.com/mvuorre), 
+[mykolaskrynnyk](https://github.com/mykolaskrynnyk), 
+[nichtich](https://github.com/nichtich), 
+[nithinmkp](https://github.com/nithinmkp), 
+[nrichers](https://github.com/nrichers), 
+[orbsmiv](https://github.com/orbsmiv), 
+[paytonej](https://github.com/paytonej), 
+[petrelharp](https://github.com/petrelharp), 
+[phongphuhanam](https://github.com/phongphuhanam), 
+[pm-gusmano](https://github.com/pm-gusmano), 
+[posit-snyk-bot](https://github.com/posit-snyk-bot), 
+[prosoitos](https://github.com/prosoitos), 
+[rabyj](https://github.com/rabyj), 
+[sasja-san](https://github.com/sasja-san), 
+[sbwiecko](https://github.com/sbwiecko), 
+[serialc](https://github.com/serialc), 
+[spaette](https://github.com/spaette), 
+[spraetor](https://github.com/spraetor), 
+[stragu](https://github.com/stragu), 
+[szimmer](https://github.com/szimmer), 
+[the-solipsist](https://github.com/the-solipsist), 
+[thomasp85](https://github.com/thomasp85), 
+[yyzeng](https://github.com/yyzeng), 
+[zhe00a](https://github.com/zhe00a).
diff --git a/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/get-contribs.R b/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/get-contribs.R
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# Run using `quarto run get-contribs.R`
+
+library(tidyverse)
+library(gh)
+library(glue)
+
+last_release <- "2025-09-05T00:00:00Z"
+milestone <- "v1.9"
+
+quarto_staff_vec <-
+  c("allenmanning", "cderv", "cscheid", "cwickham", "dragonstyle",
+    "jjallaire", "jooyoungseo", "kevinushey", "mcanouil",
+    "rich-iannone", "gordonwoodhull", "tarleb", "vezwork", "mine-cetinkaya-rundel")
+
+# Get milestone number -----
+
+milestones <- gh("/repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones",
+  owner = "quarto-dev",
+  repo = "quarto-cli")
+
+milestone_number <- map_int(milestones, "number")[map_chr(milestones, "title") == milestone]
+
+# Get cli issues tagged with current milestone -----
+
+quarto_issues <-
+  gh(
+    endpoint = "/repos/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues",
+    .limit = 2000,
+    .progress = FALSE,
+    .params = list(
+      state = "all",
+      milestone = milestone_number
+    )
+  )
+
+quarto_issues_tbl <- map(quarto_issues, \(x) data.frame(login = x$user$login, html_url = x$user$html_url)) |>
+  list_rbind()
+
+# Get web issues since last release -----
+
+quarto_web_issues <-
+  gh(
+    endpoint = "/repos/quarto-dev/quarto-web/issues",
+    .limit = 1500,
+    .progress = FALSE,
+    .params = list(
+      state = "all",
+      since = last_release
+    )
+  )
+
+quarto_web_issues_tbl <- map(quarto_web_issues, \(x) data.frame(login = x$user$login, html_url = x$user$html_url)) |>
+  list_rbind()
+
+# Put together, exclude staff and write to file -----
+
+cli_and_web_users <- bind_rows(quarto_web_issues_tbl, quarto_issues_tbl) |>
+  filter(!(login %in% quarto_staff_vec)) |>
+  arrange(login) |>
+  distinct()
+
+strings <- cli_and_web_users |>
+  glue_data("[{login}]({html_url}), ")
+
+strings[length(strings)] <- str_c(str_sub(strings[length(strings)], 1, -3), ".")
+
+strings |> write_lines("_contribs.md")
+
diff --git a/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/index.qmd b/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/index.qmd
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+---
+title: Quarto 1.9
+description: |
+  Quarto 1.9 adds publishing to Posit Connect Cloud, LLM-friendly website output, major Typst improvements, experimental PDF accessibility standards, and list tables for complex table content.
+categories:
+  - Quarto 1.9
+  - Releases
+author: Charlotte Wickham
+date: "2026-03-24"
+image: thumbnail.png
+image-alt: "Quarto 1.9"
+---
+
+Quarto 1.9 is out! You can get the current release from the [download page](/docs/download/index.qmd).
+
+Sharing your work just got easier with integrated Posit Connect Cloud publishing. Typst users will appreciate book project support and article layouts, while experimental PDF accessibility standards bring PDF/A and PDF/UA compliance to both LaTeX and Typst. This release also introduces LLM-friendly output for websites, the `quarto use brand` command for keeping your brand assets in sync, and list tables for authoring complex tables with familiar bullet syntax.
+
+You can read about these improvements and some other highlights below. You can find all the changes in this version in the [Release Notes](/docs/download/changelog/1.9/).
+
+## Publish to Posit Connect Cloud
+
+You can now publish documents and websites to [Posit Connect Cloud](https://connect.posit.cloud) directly from the command line.
+For example, publish your Quarto website project with:
+
+```{.bash filename="Terminal"}
+quarto publish posit-connect-cloud
+```
+
+Posit Connect Cloud is a hosted platform for sharing data applications and documents without managing your own infrastructure. It includes a free tier for unlimited static document publishing.
+Read more in [Publishing > Posit Connect Cloud](/docs/publishing/posit-connect-cloud.qmd).
+
+## Improvements to Typst Support
+
+Quarto 1.9 brings substantial improvements to Typst output:
+
+- [Book projects](/docs/books/book-output.qmd#typst-output) can now render to Typst via the bundled `orange-book` extension, with chapter numbering, cross-references, and professional textbook styling.
+- [Article layout](/docs/authoring/article-layout.qmd) support lets you place content in the margins, create full-width figures, or add side notes.
+- New options: `mathfont`, `codefont`, `linestretch`, `linkcolor`, `citecolor`, `filecolor`, `thanks`, and `abstract-title`.
+- [Theorem styling](/docs/output-formats/typst.qmd#theorems) with four appearance options: `simple`, `fancy`, `clouds`, or `rainbow`.
+
+We'll have a detailed blog post on all the Typst improvements soon.
+
+## PDF Accessibility (Experimental)
+
+We're rolling out experimental support for PDF accessibility standards in 1.9. The new `pdf-standard` option enables PDF/A archival formats and PDF/UA accessibility compliance for both LaTeX and Typst outputs. Alt text from `fig-alt` attributes now passes through to PDF for screen reader support, and Typst gains support for alt text on cross-referenced equations.
+
+Read more in our [PDF Accessibility and Standards blog post](/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-05-pdf-accessibility-and-standards/) or the documentation for [LaTeX](/docs/output-formats/pdf-basics.qmd#pdf-accessibility-standards) and [Typst](/docs/output-formats/typst.qmd#pdf-accessibility-standards).
+
+## Output for LLMs
+
+Quarto can now generate [llms.txt](https://llmstxt.org/) format output for your website, making your content more accessible to large language models and AI-powered tools.
+
+Enable it in your website configuration:
+
+```{.yaml filename="_quarto.yml"}
+website:
+  title: "My Documentation"
+  llms-txt: true
+```
+
+When you render your site, Quarto creates:
+
+- An `llms.txt` index file at the root of your site listing all pages
+- A `.llms.md` markdown file alongside each HTML page (e.g., `guide.html` gets `guide.llms.md`)
+
+The markdown files contain clean versions of your content---navigation, sidebars, and scripts are stripped out; tables, code blocks, and callouts are converted to standard markdown.
+
+Read more, including how to customize what appears in LLM output, in [Websites > Output for LLMs](/docs/websites/website-llms.qmd).
+
+## `quarto use brand` Command
+
+Keep your project's brand assets in sync with an external source using the new `quarto use brand` command:
+
+```{.bash filename="Terminal"}
+quarto use brand myorg/shared-brand
+```
+
+The command copies brand files from a GitHub repository, local directory, or zip archive into your project's `_brand/` directory. Quarto walks you through each step---confirming trust for remote sources, creating the directory if needed, and asking whether to overwrite or remove files.
+
+See [Guide > Brand](/docs/authoring/brand.qmd#quarto-use-brand) for `--dry-run`, `--force`, and other options.
+
+## List Tables
+
+List tables provide a new syntax for creating tables with complex content---multiple paragraphs, code blocks, or nested lists---using familiar bullet syntax instead of grid table formatting:
+
+::: {layout-ncol="2"}
+
+:::: {}
+
+```` markdown
+::: {.list-table}
+- - Function
+  - Description
+
+- - `sum()`
+  - Add values:
+
+    ```python
+    sum([1, 2, 3])
+    ```
+
+- - `len()`
+  - Count items:
+
+    - Works on lists
+    - Works on strings
+:::
+````
+
+::::
+
+:::: {}
+
+::: {.list-table}
+- - Function
+  - Description
+
+- - `sum()`
+  - Add values:
+
+    ```python
+    sum([1, 2, 3])
+    ```
+
+- - `len()`
+  - Count items:
+
+    - Works on lists
+    - Works on strings
+:::
+
+::::
+
+:::
+
+Each top-level bullet represents a row; nested bullets represent cells. This syntax is much easier to maintain than grid tables, especially when cells contain code or other block elements.
+
+List tables support all the usual table features: captions, cross-references, column widths, and alignment. Thanks to Martin Fischer for the original development, with contributions from Albert Krewinkel and William Lupton.
+
+Find all the details in [Guide > Tables](/docs/authoring/tables.qmd#list-tables).
+
+## Other Highlights
+
+- [Search Result Highlighting](/docs/websites/website-search.qmd#search-result-highlighting): Improved highlighting of search terms on destination pages, with persistent marks, automatic tab activation for matches inside tabsets, and cross-element highlighting for multi-word searches.
+
+- Privacy-focused features for websites:
+
+  - [A privacy-first default for cookie consent](/docs/websites/website-tools.qmd#cookie-consent): The default for cookie consent has changed to `type: express`, providing opt-in consent that blocks cookies until users explicitly agree. This privacy-conscious default is designed with modern privacy regulations in mind.
+
+  - [Algolia Search Insights avoids cookies](/docs/websites/website-search.qmd#cookie-consent-and-user-tracking): Use Algolia Insights now uses persistent cookies only if `cookie-consent` is active, and the user has opted-in.
+
+  - [Use Plausible Analytics](/docs/websites/website-tools.qmd#plausible-analytics): Add privacy-friendly Plausible Analytics to websites via the `plausible-analytics` configuration option.
+
+- [`aria-label` for videos](/docs/authoring/videos.qmd#accessibility-label): Improve accessibility of embedded videos by providing custom descriptive labels for screen readers instead of the default "Video Player" label.
+
+- [New `syntax-highlighting` Option](/docs/output-formats/pdf-basics.qmd#syntax-highlighting): Replaces the deprecated `highlight-style` (Pandoc 3.8). Supports style names, custom `.theme` files, `none`, or `idiomatic` for format-native highlighting.
+
+- Metadata and brand extensions now work without a `_quarto.yml` project. A temporary default project is created in memory.
+
+- [Engine extensions](/docs/extensions/engine.qmd) allow replacement of the execution engine:
+  - Julia is now a bundled extension instead of being built-in.
+  - **quarto-marimo** will soon change from a filter extension to an engine extension.
+  - New `quarto create extension engine` command.
+  - New `quarto call build-ts-extension` command.
+  - New **Quarto API** for engine extensions to use. (This is in flux and will not be documented for the next few releases, but [there is a dev blog post about it](https://quarto-dev.github.io/dev-notes/posts/2026-03-04/).)
+
+Dependency updates:
+
+- `pandoc` updated to 3.8.3
+- `typst` updated to 0.14.2
+- `esbuild` updated to 0.25.10
+- `deno` updated to 2.4.5
+- `mermaid` updated to 11.12.0
+
+## Acknowledgements
+
+We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this release by opening issues and pull requests:
+
+{{< include _contribs.md >}}
+
+The airplane departure emoji in the [listing and social card image](thumbnail.png) for this post comes from [OpenMoji](https://openmoji.org/){.external}– the open-source emoji and icon project. License: [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/#){.external}
diff --git a/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/thumbnail.png b/docs/blog/posts/2026-03-24-1.9-release/thumbnail.png
