DocumentExtractor

Use markitdown to convert supported inputs into Markdown that is easier to inspect, search, and feed into LLM workflows.

Check And Install

Check whether the CLI already exists:

Get-Command markitdown -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
markitdown --version

Install with uv first:

uv tool install markitdown
uv tool install 'markitdown[pdf,docx,pptx]'
uv tool install 'markitdown[all]'

Fall back to pipx if uv is unavailable:

pipx install markitdown
pipx install 'markitdown[pdf,docx,pptx]'
pipx install 'markitdown[all]'

If the tool is installed without the feature group you need, reinstall it with the narrower or broader extras set you actually want.

Read references/feature-groups.md before installing extras when the user only needs a subset of formats.

Use The CLI

Convert a file and print Markdown to stdout:

markitdown .\report.pdf

Write to a file:

markitdown .\report.pdf -o .\report.md

Pipe binary input and give MarkItDown an extension hint:

Get-Content .\report.pdf -AsByteStream | markitdown -x .pdf -o .\report.md

Use MIME or charset hints when the input source is ambiguous:

markitdown -x .html -m text/html .\page.bin
markitdown -x .csv -c utf-8 .\data.txt

Keep inline data: URIs instead of truncating them:

markitdown --keep-data-uris .\page.html -o .\page.md

Choose Extras Deliberately

• Install base markitdown for lightweight text-like inputs and general conversion.
• Install targeted extras when the user only needs specific formats.
• Install [all] only when broad coverage matters more than dependency size.
• Reinstall with az-doc-intel when using Azure Document Intelligence.
• Reinstall with audio-transcription or youtube-transcription only for transcription workflows.

The current extras list and format mapping lives in references/feature-groups.md.

Common Workflows

Convert Office or PDF documents:

markitdown .\slides.pptx -o .\slides.md
markitdown .\notes.docx -o .\notes.md
markitdown .\table.xlsx -o .\table.md
markitdown .\scan.pdf -o .\scan.md

Convert a YouTube URL or archive when the relevant support is installed:

markitdown "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -o .\video.md
markitdown .\bundle.zip -o .\bundle.md

Use Azure Document Intelligence for extraction:

markitdown .\scan.pdf -d -e "https://<resource>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/" -o .\scan.md

List installed third-party plugins:

markitdown --list-plugins
markitdown --use-plugins .\input.pdf -o .\input.md

Use The Python API

Use the Python API when the user needs MarkItDown inside a script instead of as a standalone command:

from markitdown import MarkItDown

md = MarkItDown(enable_plugins=False)
result = md.convert("report.pdf")
print(result.markdown)

Use a configured endpoint for Document Intelligence:

from markitdown import MarkItDown

md = MarkItDown(docintel_endpoint="https://<resource>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/")
result = md.convert("scan.pdf")
print(result.markdown)

Troubleshoot Quickly

• If markitdown is missing, install it with uv tool install ... or pipx install ....
• If a format is unsupported, check whether the right extra was installed first.
• If stdin conversion looks wrong, add -x, -m, or -c hints.
• If -d fails, verify the endpoint and that az-doc-intel support is installed.
• If plugin behavior is expected, run markitdown --list-plugins and then add --use-plugins.
• If output details are unclear, run markitdown --help and then check the upstream docs.

Last Resort

Use these sources when local behavior is unclear or the package changes:

• CLI help: markitdown --help
• Main docs: https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/tree/main
• README: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/markitdown/main/README.md