# Marker

> Convert PDF documents to Markdown using marker_single. Use when Claude needs to extract text content from PDFs while preserving LaTeX formulas, equations, and document structure. Ideal for academic papers and technical documents containing mathematical notation. Use when this capability is needed.

- Skill: `tomevault-io/marker` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/marker`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/marker/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/marker

---


# Marker PDF-to-Markdown Converter

Convert PDFs to Markdown while preserving LaTeX formulas and document structure. Uses the `marker_single` CLI from the marker-pdf package.

## Dependencies
- `marker_single` on PATH (`pip install marker-pdf` if missing)
- Python 3.10+ (available in the task image)

## Quick Start

```python
from scripts.marker_to_markdown import pdf_to_markdown

markdown_text = pdf_to_markdown("paper.pdf")
print(markdown_text)
```

## Python API

- `pdf_to_markdown(pdf_path, *, timeout=600, cleanup=True) -> str`
  - Runs `marker_single --output_format markdown --disable_image_extraction`
  - `cleanup=True`: use a temp directory and delete after reading the Markdown
  - `cleanup=False`: keep outputs in `<pdf_stem>_marker/` next to the PDF
  - Exceptions: `FileNotFoundError` if the PDF is missing, `RuntimeError` for marker failures, `TimeoutError` if it exceeds the timeout
- Tips: bump `timeout` for large PDFs; set `cleanup=False` to inspect intermediate files

## Command-Line Usage

```bash
# Basic conversion (prints markdown to stdout)
python scripts/marker_to_markdown.py paper.pdf

# Keep temporary files
python scripts/marker_to_markdown.py paper.pdf --keep-temp

# Custom timeout
python scripts/marker_to_markdown.py paper.pdf --timeout 600
```

## Output Locations
- `cleanup=True`: outputs stored in a temporary directory and removed automatically
- `cleanup=False`: outputs saved to `<pdf_stem>_marker/`; markdown lives at `<pdf_stem>_marker/<pdf_stem>/<pdf_stem>.md` when present (otherwise the first `.md` file is used)

## Troubleshooting
- `marker_single` not found: install `marker-pdf` or ensure the CLI is on PATH
- No Markdown output: re-run with `--keep-temp`/`cleanup=False` and check `stdout`/`stderr` saved in the output folder

---
> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/benchflow-ai) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.
<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->