markitdown
Convert local documents to Markdown using Microsoft's markitdown CLI. Best for: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images (OCR), audio. Can fetch URLs but Jina is faster for web. Triggers on: convert to markdown, read PDF, parse document, extract text from, docx, xlsx, pptx, OCR image, local file.
Best use case
markitdown is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Convert local documents to Markdown using Microsoft's markitdown CLI. Best for: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images (OCR), audio. Can fetch URLs but Jina is faster for web. Triggers on: convert to markdown, read PDF, parse document, extract text from, docx, xlsx, pptx, OCR image, local file.
Teams using markitdown should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/markitdown/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How markitdown Compares
| Feature / Agent | markitdown | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Convert local documents to Markdown using Microsoft's markitdown CLI. Best for: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images (OCR), audio. Can fetch URLs but Jina is faster for web. Triggers on: convert to markdown, read PDF, parse document, extract text from, docx, xlsx, pptx, OCR image, local file.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# markitdown - Document to Markdown Convert local documents to clean Markdown. One tool for PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, and more. ## When to Use markitdown | Use Case | Recommendation | |----------|----------------| | **Local files (PDF, Word, Excel)** | ✅ **Use markitdown** - unique capability | | **Web pages** | ❌ Use Jina (`r.jina.ai/`) - 5x faster | | **Blocked/anti-bot sites** | ❌ Use Firecrawl | | **OCR on images** | ✅ **Use markitdown** | | **Audio transcription** | ✅ **Use markitdown** | ## Basic Usage ```bash # Local files (primary use case) markitdown document.pdf markitdown report.docx markitdown data.xlsx markitdown slides.pptx markitdown screenshot.png # OCR # URLs (works, but Jina is faster) markitdown https://example.com # Save output markitdown document.pdf > document.md ``` ## Supported Formats | Format | Extensions | Notes | |--------|------------|-------| | PDF | `.pdf` | Text extraction, tables | | Word | `.docx` | Formatting preserved | | Excel | `.xlsx` | Tables to markdown | | PowerPoint | `.pptx` | Slides as sections | | Images | `.jpg`, `.png` | OCR text extraction | | HTML | `.html` | Clean conversion | | Audio | `.mp3`, `.wav` | Speech-to-text | | Text | `.txt`, `.csv`, `.json`, `.xml` | Pass-through/structure | | URLs | `https://...` | Works but slower than Jina | ## Benchmarked Performance (URLs) | Tool | Avg Speed | Success Rate | |------|-----------|--------------| | Jina | **0.5s** | 10/10 | | markitdown | 2.5s | 9/10 | | Firecrawl | 4.5s | 10/10 | **Verdict**: For URLs, use Jina. For local files, markitdown is the only option. ## Examples ```bash # PDF to markdown (primary use case) markitdown report.pdf > report.md # Excel spreadsheet markitdown financials.xlsx # Image with text (OCR) markitdown screenshot.png # PowerPoint deck markitdown presentation.pptx > slides.md # Audio transcription markitdown meeting.mp3 > transcript.md ``` ## Comparison with Alternatives | Task | markitdown | Alternative | |------|------------|-------------| | PDF text | `markitdown file.pdf` | PyMuPDF, pdfplumber | | Word docs | `markitdown file.docx` | python-docx | | Excel | `markitdown file.xlsx` | pandas, openpyxl | | OCR | `markitdown image.png` | Tesseract | | Web pages | Use Jina instead | `r.jina.ai/URL` (5x faster) | **markitdown's advantage**: One CLI for all local document formats. No code needed.