convert-to-markdown

name	convert-to-markdown
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "convert a document to markdown", "extract text from PDF", "convert Word/PowerPoint/Excel to markdown", or needs to transform documents into markdown format.
version	0.1.0

Document to Markdown Converter

Convert various document formats to Markdown using markitdown and pandoc.

Supported Formats

Format	Extension	Notes
PDF	.pdf	Text + OCR hybrid mode available
Word	.docx	Full support
PowerPoint	.pptx	Extracts text from slides
Excel	.xlsx	Converts tables
HTML	.html, .htm	Full support
EPUB	.epub	Via pandoc
Images	.jpg, .png, .gif, .webp	OCR extraction
Google Docs	URL	Public docs, exports as docx

Usage

uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py INPUT

Options

Flag	Description
-o, --output PATH	Output path (default: input.md next to original)
--mode auto|ocr|text	Extraction mode (default: auto)
--hybrid	PDF only: run both text + OCR, merge results

Examples

# Basic conversion (saves as document.md)
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py document.pdf

# Force OCR mode for scanned document
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py scanned.pdf --mode ocr

# Hybrid extraction for PDFs with mixed content
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py report.pdf --hybrid

# Convert Word document
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py report.docx

# Convert public Google Doc
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py "https://docs.google.com/document/d/DOCUMENT_ID/edit"

# Specify output location
uvx --with markitdown python ~/.claude/skills/convert-to-markdown/scripts/convert.py slides.pptx -o notes.md

Mode Details

• auto: Smart detection - uses OCR for images, text extraction for documents
• text: Pure text extraction, faster but misses image content
• ocr: Force OCR on everything, slower but catches all visual content
• hybrid (PDF only): Runs both text and OCR extraction, merges results for best coverage

Google Docs

For Google Docs conversion:

• Document must be publicly accessible (or "Anyone with link can view")
• Provide the full URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/DOC_ID/edit
• Script exports as docx, then converts to markdown

Output

• Default: Creates filename.md next to the original file
• Use -o to specify a different location
• Prints the output path when complete

Requirements

• markitdown: Installed automatically via uvx
• pandoc: Must be installed on system (for epub, odt, rst, tex formats)

  brew install pandoc  # macOS