Articulate Rise Parser

A Go-based parser that converts Articulate Rise e-learning content to various formats including Markdown, HTML, and Word documents.

System Architecture

flowchart TD
    %% User Input
    CLI[Command Line Interface<br/>main.go] --> APP{App Service<br/>services/app.go}
    
    %% Core Application Logic
    APP --> |"ProcessCourseFromURI"| PARSER[Course Parser<br/>services/parser.go]
    APP --> |"ProcessCourseFromFile"| PARSER
    APP --> |"exportCourse"| FACTORY[Exporter Factory<br/>exporters/factory.go]
    
    %% Data Sources
    PARSER --> |"FetchCourse"| API[Articulate Rise API<br/>rise.articulate.com]
    PARSER --> |"LoadCourseFromFile"| FILE[Local JSON File<br/>*.json]
    
    %% Data Models
    API --> MODELS[Data Models<br/>models/course.go]
    FILE --> MODELS
    MODELS --> |Course, Lesson, Item| APP
    
    %% Export Factory Pattern
    FACTORY --> |"CreateExporter"| MARKDOWN[Markdown Exporter<br/>exporters/markdown.go]
    FACTORY --> |"CreateExporter"| HTML[HTML Exporter<br/>exporters/html.go]
    FACTORY --> |"CreateExporter"| DOCX[DOCX Exporter<br/>exporters/docx.go]
    
    %% HTML Cleaning Service
    CLEANER[HTML Cleaner<br/>services/html_cleaner.go] --> MARKDOWN
    CLEANER --> HTML
    CLEANER --> DOCX
    
    %% Output Files
    MARKDOWN --> |"Export"| MD_OUT[Markdown Files<br/>*.md]
    HTML --> |"Export"| HTML_OUT[HTML Files<br/>*.html]
    DOCX --> |"Export"| DOCX_OUT[Word Documents<br/>*.docx]
    
    %% Interfaces (Contracts)
    IPARSER[CourseParser Interface<br/>interfaces/parser.go] -.-> PARSER
    IEXPORTER[Exporter Interface<br/>interfaces/exporter.go] -.-> MARKDOWN
    IEXPORTER -.-> HTML
    IEXPORTER -.-> DOCX
    IFACTORY[ExporterFactory Interface<br/>interfaces/exporter.go] -.-> FACTORY
      %% Styling - Colors that work in both light and dark GitHub themes
    classDef userInput fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1e40af,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e40af
    classDef coreLogic fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#6d28d9,stroke-width:2px,color:#6d28d9
    classDef dataSource fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#059669,stroke-width:2px,color:#059669
    classDef exporter fill:#fed7aa,stroke:#ea580c,stroke-width:2px,color:#ea580c
    classDef output fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#be185d,stroke-width:2px,color:#be185d
    classDef interface fill:#ecfdf5,stroke:#16a34a,stroke-width:1px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5,color:#16a34a
    classDef service fill:#cffafe,stroke:#0891b2,stroke-width:2px,color:#0891b2
    
    class CLI userInput
    class APP,FACTORY coreLogic
    class API,FILE,MODELS dataSource
    class MARKDOWN,HTML,DOCX exporter
    class MD_OUT,HTML_OUT,DOCX_OUT output
    class IPARSER,IEXPORTER,IFACTORY interface
    class PARSER,CLEANER service

Architecture Overview

The system follows Clean Architecture principles with clear separation of concerns:

• 🎯 Entry Point: Command-line interface handles user input and coordinates operations
• 🏗️ Application Layer: Core business logic with dependency injection
• 📋 Interface Layer: Contracts defining behavior without implementation details
• 🔧 Service Layer: Concrete implementations of parsing and utility services
• 📤 Export Layer: Factory pattern for format-specific exporters
• 📊 Data Layer: Domain models representing course structure

Features

• Parse Articulate Rise JSON data from URLs or local files
• Export to Markdown (.md) format
• Export to HTML (.html) format with professional styling
• Export to Word Document (.docx) format
• Support for various content types:
  • Text content with headings and paragraphs
  • Lists and bullet points
  • Multimedia content (videos and images)
  • Knowledge checks and quizzes
  • Interactive content (flashcards)
  • Course structure and metadata

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go, I don't know the version, but I use go1.24.2 right now, and it works, see the CI workflow where it is tested.

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/kjanat/articulate-parser.git
cd articulate-parser
go mod download
go build -o articulate-parser main.go

Or install directly

go install github.com/kjanat/articulate-parser@latest

Dependencies

The parser uses the following external library:

• github.com/fumiama/go-docx - For creating Word documents (MIT license)

Testing

Run the test suite:

go test ./...

Run tests with coverage:

go test -v -race -coverprofile=coverage.out ./...

View coverage report:

go tool cover -html=coverage.out

Usage

Command Line Interface

go run main.go <input_uri_or_file> <output_format> [output_path]

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
input_uri_or_file	Either an Articulate Rise share URL or path to a local JSON file	None (required)
output_format	md for Markdown, html for HTML, or docx for Word Document	None (required)
output_path	Path where output file will be saved.	./output/

Examples

1. Parse from URL and export to Markdown:

go run main.go "https://rise.articulate.com/share/N_APNg40Vr2CSH2xNz-ZLATM5kNviDIO#/" md

2. Parse from local file and export to Word:

go run main.go "articulate-sample.json" docx "my-course.docx"

3. Parse from local file and export to HTML:

go run main.go "articulate-sample.json" html "output.html"

4. Parse from local file and export to Markdown:

go run main.go "articulate-sample.json" md "output.md"

Building the Executable

To build a standalone executable:

go build -o articulate-parser main.go

Then run:

./articulate-parser input.json md output.md

Development

Code Quality

The project maintains high code quality standards:

• Cyclomatic complexity ≤ 15 (checked with gocyclo)
• Race condition detection enabled
• Comprehensive test coverage
• Code formatting with gofmt
• Static analysis with go vet

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: go test ./...
5. Submit a pull request

Output Formats

Markdown (.md)

• Hierarchical structure with proper heading levels
• Clean text content with HTML tags removed
• Lists and bullet points preserved
• Quiz questions with correct answers marked
• Media references included
• Course metadata at the top

HTML (.html)

• Professional styling with embedded CSS
• Interactive and visually appealing layout
• Proper HTML structure with semantic elements
• Responsive design for different screen sizes
• All content types beautifully formatted
• Maintains course hierarchy and organization

Word Document (.docx)

• Professional document formatting
• Bold headings and proper typography
• Bulleted lists
• Quiz questions with answers
• Media content references
• Maintains course structure

Supported Content Types

The parser handles the following Articulate Rise content types:

• Text blocks: Headings and paragraphs
• Lists: Bullet points and numbered lists
• Multimedia: Videos and images (references only)
• Knowledge Checks: Multiple choice, multiple response, fill-in-the-blank, matching
• Interactive Content: Flashcards and interactive scenarios
• Dividers: Section breaks
• Sections: Course organization

Data Structure

The parser works with the standard Articulate Rise JSON format which includes:

• Course metadata (title, description, settings)
• Lesson structure
• Content items with various types
• Media references
• Quiz/assessment data
• Styling and layout information

URL Pattern Recognition

The parser automatically extracts share IDs from Articulate Rise URLs:

• Input: https://rise.articulate.com/share/N_APNg40Vr2CSH2xNz-ZLATM5kNviDIO#/
• API URL: https://rise.articulate.com/api/rise-runtime/boot/share/N_APNg40Vr2CSH2xNz-ZLATM5kNviDIO

Error Handling

The parser includes error handling for:

• Invalid URLs or share IDs
• Network connection issues
• Malformed JSON data
• File I/O errors
• Unsupported content types

Limitations

• Media files (videos, images) are referenced but not downloaded
• Complex interactive elements may be simplified in export
• Styling and visual formatting is not preserved
• Assessment logic and interactivity is lost in static exports

Performance

• Lightweight with minimal dependencies
• Fast JSON parsing and export
• Memory efficient processing
• No external license requirements

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements could include:

• PDF export support
• Media file downloading
• HTML export with preserved styling
• SCORM package support
• Batch processing capabilities
• Custom template support

License

This is a utility tool for educational content conversion. Please ensure you have appropriate rights to the Articulate Rise content you're parsing.