How do I install the Markitdown skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add dalehurley/markitdown in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Markitdown safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Markitdown?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Markitdown free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Markitdown?

dalehurley (@dalehurley) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Markitdown by dalehurley — Agent Skill

Name: Markitdown
Author: dalehurley

Markitdown

Convert any document or file to Markdown using Microsoft's MarkItDown library. Use this skill when the user asks to convert a file to markdown, extract text from a document, turn a PDF/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/HTML/image/audio file into markdown, or parse document content. Supports PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, images (with OCR), audio, CSV, JSON, XML, ZIP, EPub, and more.

dalehurley 69a6e1c 2 files · 7.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

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

---name: markitdowndescription: Convert any document or file to Markdown using Microsoft's MarkItDown library. Use this skill when the user asks to convert a file to markdown, extract text from a document, turn a PDF/Word/Excel/PowerPoint/HTML/image/audio file into markdown, or parse document content. Supports PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, images (with OCR), audio, CSV, JSON, XML, ZIP, EPub, and more.---# Skill: markitdown## When to UseUse 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` |## Procedure1. Determine the file path from the user's request. If not provided, ask via `ask_user`.2. Verify the file exists using `bash` or `read_file`.3. Run the conversion script: ```bash python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "{{file_path}}" ``` Or save to a file: ```bash python3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "{{file_path}}" -o "{{output_path}}" ```4. The script will auto-install `markitdown[all]` if not already available.5. 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```bash# Convert and print to stdoutpython3 skills/markitdown/scripts/convert.py "/path/to/document.pdf"# Convert and save to filepython3 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```## ExampleExample requests that trigger this skill:```convert this PDF to markdownextract the text from report.docxturn this spreadsheet into markdownparse the content of presentation.pptxconvert ~/Downloads/invoice.pdf to markdown```

Frequently asked questions