pdf-to-markdown

PDF To Markdown

Tool

Use the MarkItDown CLI from the EasyResearch skill venv (created by first-run setup, never by npm install):

$EASYRESEARCH_VENV/bin/markitdown input.pdf -o output.md

On Windows the venv layout differs — use:

$markitdown = Join-Path $env:EASYRESEARCH_VENV 'Scripts\markitdown.exe'
& $markitdown input.pdf -o output.md

If $EASYRESEARCH_VENV is unset or the binary is missing, fall back to markitdown on PATH. Verify with:

echo $EASYRESEARCH_VENV
$EASYRESEARCH_VENV/bin/markitdown --help

PowerShell verification on Windows:

$env:EASYRESEARCH_VENV
& (Join-Path $env:EASYRESEARCH_VENV 'Scripts\markitdown.exe') --help

When To Use

Use MarkItDown when:

• A research paper PDF must be converted into Markdown for agent reading.
• The project workflow needs ref_papers/pdf/ converted into ref_papers/text/.
• The PDF is public, user-provided, or otherwise legally accessible.
• The converted text will be used for paper-material-package, survey writing, component extraction, experiments, or citation verification.

Do not use it to bypass paywalls, login walls, captcha, DRM, or institutional access restrictions.

Standard Research Workflow

For paper projects rooted at the exact session cwd:

ref_papers/
  pdf/
  text/
  source.json

Convert one PDF:

$EASYRESEARCH_VENV/bin/markitdown ref_papers/pdf/paper.pdf -o ref_papers/text/paper.md

Batch conversion pattern:

for pdf in ref_papers/pdf/*.pdf; do
  name=$(basename "$pdf" .pdf)
  "$EASYRESEARCH_VENV/bin/markitdown" "$pdf" -o "ref_papers/text/$name.md"
done

Native Windows PowerShell batch conversion:

$markitdown = Join-Path $env:EASYRESEARCH_VENV 'Scripts\markitdown.exe'
Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath 'ref_papers\pdf' -Filter '*.pdf' | ForEach-Object {
  $output = Join-Path 'ref_papers\text' ($_.BaseName + '.md')
  & $markitdown $_.FullName -o $output
}

Follow a different existing user layout only when the dispatch explicitly supplies it.