Skill: markitdown
When to Use
Use this skill when the user asks to:
- Convert a document or file to Markdown
- Extract text/content from a PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or other document
- Parse a file into readable text
- Turn a file into Markdown format
- Read/extract content from images (OCR)
- Transcribe audio files to text
- Convert HTML pages to Markdown
- Process CSV, JSON, or XML files as Markdown
- Extract content from ZIP archives or EPub files
Supported Formats
| Format | Extensions | Notes |
|---|
| PDF | .pdf | Text extraction with structure preservation |
| Word | .docx | Headings, lists, tables preserved |
| PowerPoint | .pptx | Slide content and notes |
| Excel | .xlsx | Tables converted to Markdown tables |
| Images | .jpg, .png, .gif, .webp, .bmp, .tiff | EXIF metadata; OCR if available |
| Audio | .mp3, .wav | EXIF metadata; transcription if available |
| HTML | .html, .htm | Full HTML-to-Markdown conversion |
| CSV | .csv | Converted to Markdown tables |
| JSON | .json | Structured as Markdown |
| XML | .xml | Structured as Markdown |
| ZIP | .zip | Iterates over archive contents |
| EPub | .epub | Book content extraction |
Input Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description | Example |
|---|
file_path | Yes | Path to the file to convert | /Users/me/Documents/report.pdf |
output_path | No | Path to save the Markdown output. If omitted, outputs to stdout | ./output.md |
Procedure
- Determine the file path from the user's request. If not provided, ask via
ask_user.
- Verify the file exists using
bash or read_file.
- Run the conversion script:
python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "{{file_path}}"
Or save to a file:
python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "{{file_path}}" -o "{{output_path}}"
- The script will auto-install
markitdown[all] if not already available.
- Present the Markdown output to the user, or confirm the output file was written.
Bundled Scripts
| Script | Type | Description |
|---|
scripts/convert.py | Python | Convert any supported file to Markdown using markitdown |
Script Usage
# Convert and print to stdout
python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "/path/to/document.pdf"
# Convert and save to file
python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "/path/to/document.pdf" -o output.md
# Convert with verbose output (shows metadata)
python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "/path/to/document.pdf" -v
Example
Example requests that trigger this skill:
convert this PDF to markdown
extract the text from report.docx
turn this spreadsheet into markdown
parse the content of presentation.pptx
convert ~/Downloads/invoice.pdf to markdown