document-conversion

name	document-conversion
description	Converts documents and URLs to markdown via tiered fallback (MCP markitdown, native tools, user notice). Use when a skill must ingest PDF, DOCX, or URL content.
alwaysApply	false
category	infrastructure
tags	["conversion","markitdown","mcp","documents","pdf","docx"]
dependencies	["content-sanitization","error-patterns"]
provides	{"infrastructure":["document-conversion","format-detection"],"patterns":["tiered-fallback-conversion","uri-based-conversion"]}
usage_patterns	["document-to-markdown","url-content-extraction","file-format-conversion"]
complexity	basic
model_hint	fast
estimated_tokens	500
progressive_loading	true
modules	["modules/format-matrix.md","modules/fallback-tiers.md","modules/uri-construction.md"]

Document Conversion

Convert documents and URLs to markdown using a three-tier fallback strategy. This skill is infrastructure: consumer skills reference it via dependency rather than reimplementing conversion logic.

When To Use

• Converting PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, or images to markdown for downstream processing
• Any skill that ingests external documents
• File format is not plain text or markdown

When NOT To Use

• Content is already markdown or plain text
• You only need to read a small text file (use Read directly)

Format Detection

Identify the document type from the URI before converting.

Extension	Format	Tier 1	Tier 2
.pdf	PDF	Yes	Read tool (pages)
.docx, .doc	Word	Yes	None
.pptx, .ppt	PowerPoint	Yes	None
.xlsx, .xls	Excel	Yes	None
.html, .htm	HTML	Yes	WebFetch
.csv	CSV	Yes	Read tool
.json	JSON	Yes	Read tool
.xml	XML	Yes	Read tool
.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp	Image	Yes	Read tool (visual)
.mp3, .wav, .m4a	Audio	Yes	None
.zip	Archive	Yes	None
.epub