20.3 Multiple output files from one input file ¶

LilyPond creates one output file for each \book block. If there is no explicit \book block in the input file, LilyPond implicitly treats the whole file as a single \book block, see File structure.

By default, LilyPond names the output file using the input file name and, if necessary, suffixes it with an increasing number – i.e., if an output file with the same name has already been created during the run. The default behavior is to append a version number suffix for each name that may clash, so

\book {
  \score { ... }
  \paper { ... }
}
\book {
  \score { ... }
  \paper { ... }
}
\book {
  \score { ... }
  \paper { ... }
}

in source file eightminiatures.ly produces

eightminiatures.pdf
eightminiatures-1.pdf
eightminiatures-2.pdf

as output files.