Markdown Them
Documents usually arrive as Word files, PDFs, spreadsheets, or slides, while notes, repositories, and developer tooling work best with plain Markdown.
One converter engine that turns a dozen document formats into Markdown on your own machine, available as a browser app, desktop app, VS Code extension, and Node.js package.
Documents in, Markdown out
Markdown Them converts .docx, .doc, .pdf, .html, .xlsx, .xls, .xlm, .pptx, .odt, .odp, .ods, and .rtf files into Markdown. Spreadsheets become Markdown tables, rich text keeps common headings, bullets, and styling, and slide or document images can be kept inline.
One engine, four places to use it
- Web app for quick conversions in the browser with nothing to install.
- Desktop app (Electron) for local files, whole folders, and pasted text, writing
.mdfiles next to the originals. - VS Code extension with an Explorer right-click “Convert to Markdown” and a side-by-side preview of the active file.
- Node.js package,
@the-long-ride/markdown-them, for scripts, CLIs, and automation.
Local by default
The web app converts entirely client-side: documents are not uploaded and no conversion request leaves the browser. The desktop app, extension, and package all run on your own machine or in your own Node.js process.
Engineering choices
- Concurrent batch conversion, configurable from 1 to 16 files at a time (6 by default).
- Readable output over completeness: images from
.pptx,.odt, and.odpare embedded as data URIs, while backgrounds, repeated logos, and small decorative icons are filtered out. - Honest limits: legacy
.doc,.xls, and.xlmfiles rely on renaming emulation and may not always convert correctly. - Permissively licensed dependencies such as mammoth, pdf2md, turndown, and fast-xml-parser, chosen with commercial use in mind.