MarkItDown Read

Included with Lifetime

$97 forever

Use when reading, summarizing, or extracting from non-plain-text files — PDF, Office docs (Word/Excel/PowerPoint), images, audio, HTML, EPUB, archives, and structured data (CSV/JSON/XML). Converts via the markitdown CLI.

Image & Video

What this skill does


# MarkItDown Read

Convert non-plain-text files to Markdown for reading and analysis using Microsoft's `markitdown` CLI.

## Supported Formats

| Category | Extensions |
|----------|-----------|
| Documents | `.pdf`, `.docx`, `.pptx`, `.xlsx`, `.xls` |
| Web | `.html`, `.htm` |
| Images | `.jpg`, `.jpeg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.bmp`, `.tiff`, `.webp` |
| Audio | `.mp3`, `.wav`, `.m4a`, `.ogg`, `.flac` |
| Data | `.csv`, `.json`, `.xml` |
| Other | `.epub`, `.zip` |

## Workflow

### Step 1: Check Installation

Before converting, verify `markitdown` is available:

```bash
command -v markitdown
```

If not installed, inform the user and offer installation options:

- **Recommended**: `uv tool install 'markitdown[all]'` (isolated install, no virtual env pollution)
- **Alternative**: `pip install 'markitdown[all]'`

Ask the user which method they prefer before installing. Do NOT install without confirmation.

### Step 2: Convert and Read

Run `markitdown` on the target file and capture stdout:

```bash
markitdown <file-path>
```

The output is Markdown text printed to stdout. Read the output directly — do not save to a file unless the user explicitly asks.

### Step 3: Present Content

After conversion, work with the Markdown output as if the file had been read natively:
- Answer questions about the content
- Summarize, extract, or analyze as requested
- Reference specific sections, tables, or data points

## Important Notes

- For large files, the output may be extensive. Summarize first, then dive into specifics if asked.
- Image conversion requires OCR capabilities — results depend on image quality and content.
- Audio conversion requires speech recognition — results may vary by audio quality.
- If `markitdown` fails on a specific file, report the error and suggest alternative approaches.
- When the user asks to "read" or "open" a supported file type, prefer this skill over the Read tool for binary formats (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, images, audio, EPUB, ZIP). For plain-text formats (HTML, CSV, JSON, XML), use this skill only when the user specifically wants Markdown conversion or when the Read tool output is insufficient.

Files: 1

Size: 2.4 KB

Complexity: 6/100

Category: Image & Video

Source: https://github.com/musingfox/cc-plugins/tree/main/markitdown/skills/markitdown-read

Related in Image & Video

watch

Included

Watch a video (URL or local path). Downloads with yt-dlp, extracts auto-scaled frames with ffmpeg, pulls the transcript from captions (or Whisper API fallback), and hands the result to Claude so it can answer questions about what's in the video.

Image & Videoscriptsfeatured

physical-ai-defect-image-generation

Included

Use when the user wants to orchestrate defect image generation, run associated setup, or handle outputs on OSMO. The Day 0 path handles cold-start with USD-to-ROI, image-edit augmentation, and AnomalyGen to create initial PCBA datasets. The Day 1 path performs inference and labeling on real images. This skill helps with first-time asset setup, creation of finetuning checkpoints, and configuring deployment. Trigger keywords: defect image generation, dig workflow, dig pipeline, defect image detection workflow, aoi pipeline, aoi anomalygen, usd2roi anomalygen, day 0 pcba, day 1 pcba, day 1 real-photo alignment, day 1 manual roi, metal surface anomaly, glass defect, anomalygen finetune, setup_pcb, setup_metal, setup_glass, setup_pretrained, dig setup, dig datasets, dig pretrained checkpoint, dig image-edit endpoint.

Image & Videoscripts

accelint-react-best-practices

Included

React performance optimization and best practices. ALWAYS use this skill when working with any React code - writing components, hooks, JSX; refactoring; optimizing re-renders, memoization, state management; reviewing for performance; fixing hydration mismatches; debugging infinite re-renders, stale closures, input focus loss, animations restarting; preventing remounting; implementing transitions, lazy initialization, effect dependencies. Even simple React tasks benefit from these patterns. Covers React 19+ (useEffectEvent, Activity, ref props). Triggers - useEffect, useState, useMemo, useCallback, memo, inline components, nested components, components inside components, re-render, performance, hydration, SSR, Next.js, useDeferredValue, combined hooks.

Image & Videoscripts

elevenlabs-agents

Included

Build conversational AI voice agents with ElevenLabs Platform using React, JavaScript, React Native, or Swift SDKs. Configure agents, tools (client/server/MCP), RAG knowledge bases, multi-voice, and Scribe real-time STT. Use when: building voice chat interfaces, implementing AI phone agents with Twilio, configuring agent workflows or tools, adding RAG knowledge bases, testing with CLI "agents as code", or troubleshooting deprecated @11labs packages, Android audio cutoff, CSP violations, dynamic variables, or WebRTC config. Keywords: ElevenLabs Agents, ElevenLabs voice agents, AI voice agents, conversational AI, @elevenlabs/react, @elevenlabs/client, @elevenlabs/react-native, @elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js, @elevenlabs/agents-cli, elevenlabs SDK, voice AI, TTS, text-to-speech, ASR, speech recognition, turn-taking model, WebRTC voice, WebSocket voice, ElevenLabs conversation, agent system prompt, agent tools, agent knowledge base, RAG voice agents, multi-voice agents, pronunciation dictionary, voice speed control, elevenlabs scribe, @11labs deprecated, Android audio cutoff, CSP violation elevenlabs, dynamic variables elevenlabs, case-sensitive tool names, webhook authentication

Image & Videoscripts

humanizer

Included

Humanize AI-generated text by detecting and removing patterns typical of LLM output. Rewrites text to sound natural, specific, and human. Uses 28 pattern detectors, 560+ AI vocabulary terms across 3 tiers, and statistical analysis (burstiness, type-token ratio, readability) for comprehensive detection. Use when asked to humanize text, de-AI writing, make content sound more natural/human, review writing for AI patterns, score text for AI detection, or improve AI-generated drafts. Covers content, language, style, communication, and filler categories.

Image & Videoscripts

generating-mermaid-diagrams

Included

Salesforce architecture diagrams using Mermaid with ASCII fallback. Use this skill when generating text-based diagrams for Salesforce architecture, OAuth flows, ERDs, integration sequences, or Agentforce structure. TRIGGER when: user says "diagram", "visualize", "ERD", or asks for sequence diagrams, flowcharts, class diagrams, or architecture visualizations in Mermaid. DO NOT TRIGGER when: user wants PNG/SVG image output (use generating-visual-diagrams), or asks about non-Salesforce systems.

Image & Videoscripts