markitdown (uvx)

Convert files to Markdown using uvx with markitdown — no installation required.

Basic Usage

For formats requiring optional dependencies (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, audio, etc.), use --from with the appropriate extra:

# PDF files
uvx --from 'markitdown[pdf]' markitdown input.pdf -o output_uvx.md

# Word documents
uvx --from 'markitdown[docx]' markitdown input.docx -o output_uvx.md

# PowerPoint presentations
uvx --from 'markitdown[pptx]' markitdown input.pptx -o output_uvx.md

# Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx)
uvx --from 'markitdown[xlsx]' markitdown input.xlsx -o output_uvx.md

# Excel spreadsheets (.xls - older format)
uvx --from 'markitdown[xls]' markitdown input.xls -o output_uvx.md

# Audio transcription
uvx --from 'markitdown[audio-transcription]' markitdown audio.mp3 -o output_uvx.md

# YouTube transcription
uvx --from 'markitdown[youtube-transcription]' markitdown "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..." -o output_uvx.md

# All features (when unsure or multiple formats)
uvx --from 'markitdown[all]' markitdown input.pdf -o output_uvx.md

For simple formats (HTML, CSV, JSON, XML, plain text), no extras needed:

uvx markitdown input.html -o output_uvx.md
uvx markitdown data.csv -o output_uvx.md

Optional Dependency Groups

Options

-o OUTPUT      # Output file
-x EXTENSION   # Hint file extension (for stdin)
-m MIME_TYPE   # Hint MIME type
-c CHARSET     # Hint charset (e.g., UTF-8)
-d             # Use Azure Document Intelligence
-e ENDPOINT    # Document Intelligence endpoint
--use-plugins  # Enable 3rd-party plugins
--list-plugins # Show installed plugins

Notes

• Use single quotes around 'markitdown[extra]' to prevent shell interpretation of brackets
• Output preserves document structure: headings, tables, lists, links
• First run caches dependencies; subsequent runs are faster