Document Converter

Document Converter (MarkItDown)

Convert Office and structured documents to Markdown for LLM consumption using Microsoft MarkItDown.

Overview

MarkItDown is a Microsoft open-source tool that converts a wide range of document formats into clean Markdown text. This is essential for academic research workflows where source materials arrive in diverse formats (PDFs from journals, PPTX from conferences, DOCX from collaborators, XLSX data tables).

Supported Formats

MCP Tool Usage

When the markitdown-mcp server is configured, use the convert_to_markdown tool:

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Tool: convert_to_markdown
Parameters:
  uri: "file:///absolute/path/to/document.pptx"

The uri parameter accepts:

• Local files: file:///path/to/file.docx
• HTTP URLs: https://example.com/paper.pdf

Important

• Always use absolute paths with the file:// URI scheme for local files.
• The tool returns the full Markdown text content of the converted document.
• For large documents, the output may be substantial. Consider summarizing or extracting relevant sections after conversion.

CLI Fallback

If the MCP server is not available, use the CLI directly via shell:

bashCopy code
# Convert a single file
markitdown document.pptx

# Save output to file
markitdown document.pptx > output.md

# Convert from URL
markitdown https://example.com/paper.pdf

Academic Research Workflows

1. Conference Presentation Analysis

Convert a PPTX to Markdown, then analyze the content:

1. Convert the presentation with convert_to_markdown
2. The output preserves slide structure and speaker notes
3. Summarize key findings, methodology, and conclusions

2. Paper Review from PDF

1. Convert the PDF to Markdown
2. Extract sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion
3. Cross-reference with literature library

3. Data Table Extraction

1. Convert XLSX to Markdown tables
2. Each sheet becomes a separate section
3. Use the extracted tables for analysis or comparison

4. Batch Literature Processing

When processing multiple documents:

1. Convert each document individually
2. Extract metadata (title, authors, date) from the content
3. Add to the literature library with library_add_paper

Output Quality Notes

When to Use This Skill

• User uploads or references an Office document (PPTX, DOCX, XLSX)
• User wants to analyze content from a PDF
• User needs to extract text from images (OCR)
• User wants to convert a document for inclusion in notes or workspace
• User asks to read, summarize, or analyze a non-Markdown file
• Batch processing of research materials in mixed formats

When NOT to Use

• File is already Markdown or plain text
• User wants to edit the original document format (use appropriate editor)
• User needs pixel-perfect layout preservation (use the original format)
• File is a scanned PDF without OCR support configured

Troubleshooting

Installation

Local (macOS/Linux)

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pip install 'markitdown[all]' markitdown-mcp

Verify

bashCopy code
markitdown --help

Docker

MarkItDown is pre-installed in the Research-Claw Docker image.