| name | pdf-to-markdown |
| description | Convert PDF to clean Markdown with image content described as text. Use when user wants to convert a PDF to markdown, extract content from PDF, or prepare PDF content for AI tools. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Bash |
| version | 1.0.0 |
PDF to Markdown Converter
Convert PDF files to clean, well-structured Markdown. Tables become markdown tables. Images and graphics are described as text (no image files generated).
Quick Start
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py input.pdf
Output: ~/Desktop/{filename}.md
Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|
--no-llm | Skip LLM processing (faster, images become [Image] placeholders) |
--force-ocr | Force OCR on all pages (for scanned PDFs) |
--page-range "0,5-10" | Process specific pages only |
Common Use Cases
Convert a PDF with default settings
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py ~/Documents/report.pdf
Specify output location
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py report.pdf ~/Documents/report.md
Fast conversion (no image descriptions)
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py --no-llm report.pdf
Scanned PDF (force OCR)
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py --force-ocr scanned_doc.pdf
Extract specific pages
uv run skills/pdf-to-markdown/scripts/convert_to_markdown.py --page-range "0-5" large_report.pdf
Output
- Pure Markdown text (no embedded images)
- Tables converted to Markdown table format
- Images/charts described as text using LLM
- Clean formatting suitable for AI processing
Requirements
- GEMINI_API_KEY: Required for LLM image descriptions (see SECRETS-SETUP.md)
- Use
--no-llm flag if you don't have Gemini API access
First Run Note
The first run downloads ML models (~1-2GB) which are cached at ~/.cache/marker/. Subsequent runs are faster.
Technical Details
Uses Marker library:
- 31k+ GitHub stars
- Best-in-class PDF conversion accuracy
- Surya OCR for 90+ languages
- Gemini LLM integration for image understanding
