The Author Tools web service supports a range of common tasks, thereby reducing the need for authors to install and maintain key tools locally. These tasks include:
Behind the scenes, this service uses xml2rfc, kramdown-rfc, id2xml, idnits and other tools. The service accepts files in a number of different formats and automatically chains tools as needed to perform the chosen task. This allows this service to support a greater range of one-stop processes than the individual tools themselves. For example, the service will accept a Markdown file and generate an EPUB by first running kramdown-rfc to generate the RFCXML and then xml2rfc to generate the EPUB.
The Author Tools web service is regularly enhanced and suggestions for new tasks to support are welcome.