read-url-markdown

name	read-url-markdown
description	Fetch any URL and convert to markdown using Chrome CDP. Supports two modes - auto-capture on page load, or wait for user signal (for pages requiring login). Use when user wants to save a webpage as markdown.

URL to Markdown

Fetches any URL via Chrome CDP and converts HTML to clean markdown.

Script Directory

Important: All scripts are located in the scripts/ subdirectory of this skill.

Agent Execution Instructions:

1. Determine this SKILL.md file's directory path as SKILL_DIR
2. Script path = ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/<script-name>.ts
3. Replace all ${SKILL_DIR} in this document with the actual path

Script Reference:

Script	Purpose
scripts/main.ts	CLI entry point for URL fetching

Preferences (EXTEND.md)

Use Bash to check EXTEND.md existence (priority order):

# Check project-level first
test -f .read-buddy/read-url-markdown/EXTEND.md && echo "project"

# Then user-level (cross-platform: $HOME works on macOS/Linux/WSL)
test -f "$HOME/.read-buddy/read-url-markdown/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┐ │ Path │ Location │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┤ │ .read-buddy/read-url-markdown/EXTEND.md │ Project directory │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┤ │ $HOME/.read-buddy/read-url-markdown/EXTEND.md │ User home │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┘

┌───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Result │ Action │ ├───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Found │ Read, parse, apply settings │ ├───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Not found │ Use defaults │ └───────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

EXTEND.md Supports: Default output directory | Default capture mode | Timeout settings

Features

• Chrome CDP for full JavaScript rendering
• Two capture modes: auto or wait-for-user
• Clean markdown output with metadata
• Handles login-required pages via wait mode

Usage

# Auto mode (default) - capture when page loads
npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/main.ts <url>

# Wait mode - wait for user signal before capture
npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/main.ts <url> --wait

# Save to specific file
npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/main.ts <url> -o output.md

Options

Option	Description
<url>	URL to fetch
-o <path>	Output file path (default: auto-generated)
--wait	Wait for user signal before capturing
--timeout <ms>	Page load timeout (default: 30000)

Capture Modes

Mode	Behavior	Use When
Auto (default)	Capture on network idle	Public pages, static content
Wait (--wait)	User signals when ready	Login-required, lazy loading, paywalls

Wait mode workflow:

1. Run with --wait → script outputs "Press Enter when ready"
2. Ask user to confirm page is ready
3. Send newline to stdin to trigger capture

Output Format

YAML front matter with url, title, description, author, published, captured_at fields, followed by converted markdown content.

Output Directory

url-to-markdown/<domain>/<slug>.md

• <slug>: From page title or URL path (kebab-case, 2-6 words)
• Conflict resolution: Append timestamp <slug>-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
URL_CHROME_PATH	Custom Chrome executable path
URL_DATA_DIR	Custom data directory
URL_CHROME_PROFILE_DIR	Custom Chrome profile directory

Troubleshooting: Chrome not found → set URL_CHROME_PATH. Timeout → increase --timeout. Complex pages → try --wait mode.

Extension Support

Custom configurations via EXTEND.md. See Preferences section for paths and supported options.