How do I install the Article To Markdown skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add howie126313/article-to-markdown 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 Article To Markdown 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 Article To Markdown?

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 Article To Markdown free to use?

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

Who published Article To Markdown?

Howie126313 (@howie126313) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Article To Markdown by howie126313 — Agent Skill

Name: Article To Markdown
Author: Howie126313

Article To Markdown

Convert external URLs into structured Markdown and save to the Obsidian vault. Use when the user provides an external URL (article, blog post, tweet thread, newsletter) and wants it saved as an Obsidian note. Triggers: "save this article", "archive this link to obsidian", "bookmark article", or when user pastes a URL and asks to save/summarize/archive it.

Howie126313 943439d 2 files · 5.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Article to Markdown

Convert external article URLs into structured Markdown notes and save them to the Obsidian vault.

Workflow

Step 1: Fetch and Detect Environment

1a. Detect vault root — follow ../../_shared/common-steps.md "Vault Detection" section.

1b. Fetch article content:

Use mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape to scrape the URL. This covers most pages including JS-rendered content.

If firecrawl fails, ask the user to paste the article content directly. Do not attempt other fallback tools.

Special cases:

Tweet threads: use mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape, reconstruct thread order
Paywalled content: ask the user to paste content directly

Step 2: Restructure and Link

2a. Understand and restructure — do NOT simply copy the raw text:

Identify the article's core thesis, key arguments, and supporting details
Determine author, publication date, and source platform
Restructure the content into logical sections with clear headings
Generate 3-8 relevant tags and a 1-3 sentence summary

2b. Search for bidirectional links — follow the Bidirectional Link Search in ../../_shared/common-steps.md.

2c. Format as Obsidian Markdown — follow the template in references/article-template.md exactly:

YAML frontmatter with title, date, tags, summary, source
Blockquote metadata line with original link, author, date
Sections: Background → content → Key Conclusions → Further Thoughts
Include [[wikilink]] connections from Step 2b
Code blocks with language identifiers

2d. (Optional) Mermaid architecture diagram — if the article has a clear multi-layered architecture or flow worth visualizing, embed a Mermaid diagram after the blockquote metadata and before ## Background. Skip for simple or short articles. Use:

graph TD / graph LR for flows
subgraph for logical grouping
Concise node labels (keywords, not sentences)
3-5 layers, 2-5 nodes per layer

Step 3: Save and Confirm

3a. Determine target directory — follow the Directory Mapping Rules in ../../_shared/common-steps.md. For external URL sources, match against the configured categories; if no rule matches, use the configured default directory.

3b. Save — follow the Save and Open in Obsidian section in ../../_shared/common-steps.md.

3c. Update index.md — follow the Index Update section in ../../_shared/common-steps.md. Use the article's title, summary (condensed to under 80 chars), and top 2 tags.

3d. Report to user:

Article title and brief summary
File path where it was saved
Tag list for review
Related notes linked (list the [[wikilink]] connections made)

---name: article-to-markdowndescription: Convert external URLs into structured Markdown and save to the Obsidian vault. Use when the user provides an external URL (article, blog post, tweet thread, newsletter) and wants it saved as an Obsidian note. Triggers: "save this article", "archive this link to obsidian", "bookmark article", or when user pastes a URL and asks to save/summarize/archive it.---# Article to MarkdownConvert external article URLs into structured Markdown notes and save them to the Obsidian vault.## Workflow### Step 1: Fetch and Detect Environment**1a. Detect vault root** — follow [../../_shared/common-steps.md](../../_shared/common-steps.md) "Vault Detection" section.**1b. Fetch article content:**Use `mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape` to scrape the URL. This covers most pages including JS-rendered content.If firecrawl fails, ask the user to paste the article content directly. Do not attempt other fallback tools.**Special cases:**- Tweet threads: use `mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape`, reconstruct thread order- Paywalled content: ask the user to paste content directly### Step 2: Restructure and Link**2a. Understand and restructure** — do NOT simply copy the raw text:1. Identify the article's core thesis, key arguments, and supporting details2. Determine author, publication date, and source platform3. Restructure the content into logical sections with clear headings4. Generate 3-8 relevant tags and a 1-3 sentence summary**2b. Search for bidirectional links** — follow the **Bidirectional Link Search** in [../../_shared/common-steps.md](../../_shared/common-steps.md).**2c. Format as Obsidian Markdown** — follow the template in [references/article-template.md](references/article-template.md) exactly:- YAML frontmatter with title, date, tags, summary, source- Blockquote metadata line with original link, author, date- Sections: Background → content → Key Conclusions → Further Thoughts- Include `[[wikilink]]` connections from Step 2b- Code blocks with language identifiers**2d. (Optional) Mermaid architecture diagram** — if the article has a clear multi-layered architecture or flow worth visualizing, embed a Mermaid diagram after the blockquote metadata and before `## Background`. Skip for simple or short articles. Use:- `graph TD` / `graph LR` for flows- `subgraph` for logical grouping- Concise node labels (keywords, not sentences)- 3-5 layers, 2-5 nodes per layer### Step 3: Save and Confirm**3a. Determine target directory** — follow the **Directory Mapping Rules** in [../../_shared/common-steps.md](../../_shared/common-steps.md). For external URL sources, match against the configured categories; if no rule matches, use the configured default directory.**3b. Save** — follow the **Save and Open in Obsidian** section in [../../_shared/common-steps.md](../../_shared/common-steps.md).**3c. Update index.md** — follow the **Index Update** section in [../../_shared/common-steps.md](../../_shared/common-steps.md). Use the article's title, summary (condensed to under 80 chars), and top 2 tags.**3d. Report to user:**- Article title and brief summary- File path where it was saved- Tag list for review- Related notes linked (list the `[[wikilink]]` connections made)

Frequently asked questions