Markdownify MCP Server
Convert PDFs, images, audio, web content, and documents into clean Markdown files.
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Overview
Markdownify serves as an MCP interface for transforming various media types and web resources into standardized Markdown. It supports documents like PDFs, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX, as well as transcriptions for audio files and content extraction from web pages, YouTube, and Bing search results.
Our verdict
This server carries a high risk level with a security score of 50/100. Because it is community-maintained rather than vendor-official and its authentication and read-only mode have not been editorially reviewed, users should exercise caution when deploying it in sensitive environments. It is recommended for developers comfortable with self-hosting and managing access constraints through the MD_ALLOWED_PATHS configuration.
- Supports a wide array of formats including XLSX and PPTX.
- Small supply-chain footprint with only four direct dependencies.
- Includes built-in path restriction features for file access control.
- Authentication methods remain unreviewed.
- Lack of an official vendor requires manual security oversight.
- Security configuration and read-only modes lack third-party verification.
Setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"markdownify-mcp": {
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-markdownify-server"
],
"command": "npx"
}
}
}Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows), then restart Claude Desktop. Some servers require API keys or tokens as environment variables — check the project's README and add an "env" object if needed.
- No read-only mode — running this grants full read/write access.
- No built-in authentication — anyone with access to this config can invoke every tool it exposes.
Tools
| Tool | Description | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| youtube-to-markdown | Convert YouTube videos to Markdown | low |
| pdf-to-markdown | Convert PDF files to Markdown | low |
| bing-search-to-markdown | Convert Bing search results to Markdown | low |
| webpage-to-markdown | Convert web pages to Markdown | low |
| image-to-markdown | Convert images to Markdown with metadata | low |
| audio-to-markdown | Convert audio files to Markdown with transcription | low |
| docx-to-markdown | Convert DOCX files to Markdown | low |
| xlsx-to-markdown | Convert XLSX files to Markdown | low |
| pptx-to-markdown | Convert PPTX files to Markdown | low |
| get-markdown-file | Retrieve an existing Markdown file. | low |
Compatibility
| Client | Local | Docker | Remote | Read-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | ||||
| Claude Desktop | ||||
| Cursor | ||||
| VS Code | ||||
| Windsurf |
Frequently asked questions
›What file types can be converted to Markdown?
The server supports converting PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, images, and audio files to Markdown.
›Can I restrict which files the server can access?
Yes, you can set the MD_ALLOWED_PATHS environment variable to a colon-separated list of directories to restrict file access to those specific paths.
›Are there limitations when using the Docker image?
The published Docker image only includes support for PDF conversion; audio transcription and image OCR features require the full installation using bun install.
›How do I configure the server for use with an MCP-compatible desktop app?
Add an entry to your configuration file's mcpServers object, specifying the node command and the absolute path to the dist/index.js file.
›How do I override the default location of the markitdown executable?
You can set the MARKITDOWN_PATH environment variable to the absolute path of the markitdown executable if you prefer to use a system-wide installation instead of the bundled virtual environment.
Changelog
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