refactor(using-markitdown): rewrite MCP→CLI, drop Docker section v1.0.1
Replace all mcp__markitdown__convert_to_markdown invocations with the native `markitdown <path|url>` CLI (v0.1.6, on PATH). Outputs to stdout or `-o <file>`; sees the full host filesystem, so the Docker bind-mount caveat (host→container file:// translation, [Errno 2] /c:/Users/...) is gone and that whole section is removed. Updated the ingest pattern (-o straight into .wiki/raw/), gotchas table (command-not-found → check `markitdown --version`), and contrast table header (CLI, not MCP). Description triggers unchanged. PATCH bump 1.0.0→1.0.1; dist artifact rebuilt. Decommissioned the Docker MCP containers: no container is named `markitdown-mcp` (the server spawns anonymous ones from markitdown-mcp:latest, 3 had piled up); removed all by image ancestor. Left mcpServers.markitdown in ~/.claude.json untouched (out of scope) — flagged as a follow-up in the concept page. Wiki: concepts/using-markitdown-cli-migration.md + index + log. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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---
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name: using-markitdown
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version: 1.0.0
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version: 1.0.1
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description: Use when capturing external content into a markdown-based knowledge base, wiki `raw/` directory, or any pipeline that must preserve the source's full text — for web pages, PDFs, DOCX/PPTX/XLSX, EPUB, CSV/JSON/XML, ZIP archives, images (with OCR/EXIF), audio (with transcription), or YouTube URLs. Also use when WebFetch returned an LLM-summarized version but the raw content is what's needed.
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---
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# using-markitdown
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> Convert almost any URI to plain markdown using Microsoft's `markitdown` MCP server. Returns **raw textual content**, not an LLM summary.
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> Convert almost any path or URL to plain markdown using Microsoft's `markitdown` CLI (v0.1.6, on `PATH`). Returns **raw textual content**, not an LLM summary.
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## Tool
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```
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mcp__markitdown__convert_to_markdown(uri: string) → markdown string
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markitdown <path|url> # → markdown to stdout
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markitdown <path|url> -o out.md # → write markdown to a file
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cat file.pdf | markitdown # → read from stdin (use -x/-m to hint the format)
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```
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`uri` accepts: `http://`, `https://`, `file://`, `data:`.
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The positional argument accepts a **local file path** (host path, normal slashes) or an `http://` / `https://` URL. The CLI runs natively, so it sees your full host filesystem — no Docker mount, no `file://` URI translation, no path rewriting.
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## Local files — Docker-mount caveat (READ FIRST)
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Useful flags: `-o <file>` (write to a file instead of stdout), `-x <ext>` / `-m <mime>` (format hint when reading from stdin).
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The markitdown MCP usually runs in a **Docker container** with a single host directory bind-mounted. The container does **not** see your full host filesystem. `file://` URIs must point to the **in-container path**, not the host path.
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## Local files
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1. Open `~/.claude.json` and find `mcpServers.markitdown.args`. Look for the `-v` flag — e.g. `-v C:\Users\vitya:/workdir` means host `C:\Users\vitya` is mounted at `/workdir` inside the container.
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2. Translate the host path to the container path before forming the URI.
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3. Forward slashes only inside the container path.
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**Example.** Host file at `C:\Users\vitya\modular\heart-and-mask\.wiki\raw\foo.html` with mount `C:\Users\vitya:/workdir`:
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Pass the host path directly — relative or absolute, with native separators:
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```
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file:///workdir/modular/heart-and-mask/.wiki/raw/foo.html
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markitdown C:\Users\vitya\modular\heart-and-mask\.wiki\raw\foo.html -o foo.md
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```
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**Symptom of getting this wrong:** `[Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/c:/Users/...'` — the container literally tried to open the host-shaped path. The fix is path translation, not URL encoding.
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No mount caveats: the CLI is a normal local process. The old Docker `-v` mount translation and `/c:/Users/...` `[Errno 2]` symptom no longer apply.
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**If the file falls outside the mount:** either copy it into the mounted tree, or extend the mount in `~/.claude.json` (a Claude restart is required for MCP changes to take effect — MCP servers are spawned at session start).
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**Filenames.** Non-ASCII filenames (Cyrillic, etc.) inside `file://` URIs are flaky across the URL-encode → urllib → Docker → host-FS chain. Rename to Latin kebab-case **before** calling markitdown.
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**Filenames.** Non-ASCII filenames (Cyrillic, etc.) still travel better as Latin kebab-case through downstream wiki/ingest steps. Rename to Latin kebab-case before saving the output, per `.wiki/CLAUDE.md` naming rules.
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## When to use
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@@ -47,18 +43,19 @@ file:///workdir/modular/heart-and-mask/.wiki/raw/foo.html
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- You only need a *summary* or an *answer about* a page → use **WebFetch** (cheaper, runs through a small model, returns prose).
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- The URI is GitHub/PR/issue/release content → use `gh` CLI (richer metadata, structured output).
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- The URI is private/authenticated (GDocs, Confluence, Jira, Slack, Notion, `share.google/*` sign-in walls) → markitdown receives the **public-facing fallback page** (sign-in screen, cookie banner) and returns *that* as markdown. Verify the result is real content before saving.
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- **The URI is a browser-rendered web page the user is already viewing** → ask the user to capture it via **Obsidian Web Clipper** (browser extension, runs Readability extraction client-side) and drop the resulting `.md` into `raw/`. Web Clipper output is dramatically cleaner than markitdown's HTML pass — no nav chrome, no sidebar history, no cookie banners — plus it carries YAML frontmatter (title / source URL / date) out of the box. Reserves markitdown for things browsers can't easily save (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, EPUB, file:// resources). Note: rename the resulting file to Latin kebab-case before ingest (Web Clipper preserves the page `<title>` verbatim, often non-ASCII).
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- **The URI is a browser-rendered web page the user is already viewing** → ask the user to capture it via **Obsidian Web Clipper** (browser extension, runs Readability extraction client-side) and drop the resulting `.md` into `raw/`. Web Clipper output is dramatically cleaner than markitdown's HTML pass — no nav chrome, no sidebar history, no cookie banners — plus it carries YAML frontmatter (title / source URL / date) out of the box. Reserves markitdown for things browsers can't easily save (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, EPUB, local files). Note: rename the resulting file to Latin kebab-case before ingest (Web Clipper preserves the page `<title>` verbatim, often non-ASCII).
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## Pattern: ingest a remote source into a wiki
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```
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1. mcp__markitdown__convert_to_markdown(uri="https://example.com/foo.pdf")
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2. Inspect the head of the result. If it looks like a sign-in/cookie/consent page, abort — ask the user for an alternative (manual save, paste, authenticated MCP).
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3. Write the result to .wiki/raw/<slug>.md (kebab-case, Latin only).
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4. Register the new file in .wiki/raw/README.md.
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5. Hand off to the wiki ingest workflow (creates sources/<slug>.md summary + entity/concept updates).
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1. markitdown "https://example.com/foo.pdf" -o .wiki/raw/<slug>.md (kebab-case, Latin only)
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2. Inspect the head of the result. If it looks like a sign-in/cookie/consent page, abort — ask the user for an alternative (manual save, paste, authenticated source).
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3. Register the new file in .wiki/raw/README.md.
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4. Hand off to the wiki ingest workflow (creates sources/<slug>.md summary + entity/concept updates).
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```
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For a huge (book-length) document, write straight to a file with `-o` and summarize *from the saved file* — do not pipe the whole markdown through working context.
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## Common gotchas
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| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
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@@ -66,8 +63,8 @@ file:///workdir/modular/heart-and-mask/.wiki/raw/foo.html
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| Output is a Google/Microsoft sign-in page in some random language | URI behind auth wall | Ask user to export the content manually (Save as PDF, copy-paste) and put it in `raw/` |
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| Output is mostly nav/cookie banner text | Site is JS-rendered or anti-bot | Try the cached or print URL; or ask user for HTML export |
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| Output lacks images / diagrams | Markdown is text-only by design | Save the original asset separately under `raw/assets/`; reference it from the `sources/` summary |
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| Tool not available in session | MCP server not loaded | Confirm `mcp__markitdown__convert_to_markdown` appears via ToolSearch; load with `select:mcp__markitdown__convert_to_markdown` |
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| Huge output (book-length) | Whole document converted in one call | Save raw, then summarize *from the saved file* — do not hold the entire markdown in working context |
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| `markitdown: command not found` | CLI not on `PATH` | Confirm with `markitdown --version` (expect `markitdown 0.1.6`); install with `pip install markitdown[all]` if missing |
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| Huge output (book-length) | Whole document converted in one call | Use `-o <file>` to save raw, then summarize *from the saved file* — do not hold the entire markdown in working context |
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## Quick contrast with WebFetch and Web Clipper
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