# Convert documents to markdown using Python and MarkItDown

> Source: https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#overview)

Overview
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Convert documents to markdown using Microsoft’s [MarkItDown](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown)
 library. This can be especially useful for preparing documents in a structured format for AI applications.

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#prerequisites)

Prerequisites
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*   A project with [Trigger.dev initialized](https://trigger.dev/docs/quick-start)
    
*   [Python](https://www.python.org/)
     installed on your local machine. _This example requires Python 3.10 or higher._

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#features)

Features
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*   A Trigger.dev task which downloads a document from a URL and runs the Python script which converts it to markdown
*   A Python script to convert documents to markdown using Microsoft’s [MarkItDown](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown)
     library
*   Uses our [Python build extension](https://trigger.dev/docs/config/extensions/pythonExtension)
     to install dependencies and run Python scripts

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#github-repo)

GitHub repo
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

View the project on GitHub
--------------------------

Click here to view the full code for this project in our examples repository on GitHub. You can fork it and use it as a starting point for your own project.

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#the-code)

The code
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#build-configuration)

Build configuration

After you’ve initialized your project with Trigger.dev, add these build settings to your `trigger.config.ts` file:

trigger.config.ts

    import { pythonExtension } from "@trigger.dev/python/extension";
    import { defineConfig } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
    
    export default defineConfig({
      runtime: "node",
      project: "<your-project-ref>",
      // Your other config settings...
      build: {
        extensions: [\
          pythonExtension({\
            // The path to your requirements.txt file\
            requirementsFile: "./requirements.txt",\
            // The path to your Python binary\
            devPythonBinaryPath: `venv/bin/python`,\
            // The paths to your Python scripts to run\
            scripts: ["src/python/**/*.py"],\
          }),\
        ],
      },
    });
    

Learn more about executing scripts in your Trigger.dev project using our Python build extension [here](https://trigger.dev/docs/config/extensions/pythonExtension)
.

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#task-code)

Task code

This task uses the `python.runScript` method to run the `markdown-converter.py` script with the given document URL as an argument.

src/trigger/convertToMarkdown.ts

    import { task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
    import { python } from "@trigger.dev/python";
    import * as fs from "fs";
    import * as path from "path";
    import * as os from "os";
    
    export const convertToMarkdown = task({
      id: "convert-to-markdown",
      run: async (payload: { url: string }) => {
        const { url } = payload;
    
        // STEP 1: Create temporary file with unique name
        const tempDir = os.tmpdir();
        const fileName = `doc-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).substring(2, 7)}`;
        const urlPath = new URL(url).pathname;
        const extension = path.extname(urlPath) || ".docx";
        const tempFilePath = path.join(tempDir, `${fileName}${extension}`);
    
        // STEP 2: Download file from URL
        const response = await fetch(url);
        const buffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
        await fs.promises.writeFile(tempFilePath, Buffer.from(buffer));
    
        // STEP 3: Run Python script to convert document to markdown
        const pythonResult = await python.runScript("./src/python/markdown-converter.py", [\
          JSON.stringify({ file_path: tempFilePath }),\
        ]);
    
        // STEP 4: Clean up temporary file
        fs.unlink(tempFilePath, () => {});
    
        // STEP 5: Process result
        if (pythonResult.stdout) {
          const result = JSON.parse(pythonResult.stdout);
          return {
            url,
            markdown: result.status === "success" ? result.markdown : null,
            error: result.status === "error" ? result.error : null,
            success: result.status === "success",
          };
        }
    
        return {
          url,
          markdown: null,
          error: "No output from Python script",
          success: false,
        };
      },
    });
    

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#add-a-requirements-txt-file)

Add a requirements.txt file

Add the following to your `requirements.txt` file. This is required in Python projects to install the dependencies.

requirements.txt

    markitdown[all]
    

### 

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#the-python-script)

The Python script

The Python script uses MarkItDown to convert documents to Markdown format.

src/python/markdown-converter.py

    import json
    import sys
    import os
    from markitdown import MarkItDown
    
    def convert_to_markdown(file_path):
        """Convert a file to markdown format using MarkItDown"""
        # Check if file exists
        if not os.path.exists(file_path):
            raise FileNotFoundError(f"File not found: {file_path}")
    
        # Initialize MarkItDown
        md = MarkItDown()
    
        # Convert the file
        try:
            result = md.convert(file_path)
            return result.text_content
        except Exception as e:
            raise Exception(f"Error converting file: {str(e)}")
    
    def process_trigger_task(file_path):
        """Process a file and convert to markdown"""
        try:
            markdown_result = convert_to_markdown(file_path)
            return {
                "status": "success",
                "markdown": markdown_result
            }
        except Exception as e:
            return {
                "status": "error",
                "error": str(e)
            }
    
    if __name__ == "__main__":
        # Get the file path from command line arguments
        if len(sys.argv) < 2:
            print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": "No file path provided"}))
            sys.exit(1)
    
        try:
            config = json.loads(sys.argv[1])
            file_path = config.get("file_path")
    
            if not file_path:
                print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": "No file path specified in config"}))
                sys.exit(1)
    
            result = process_trigger_task(file_path)
            print(json.dumps(result))
        except Exception as e:
            print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": str(e)}))
            sys.exit(1)
    

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#testing-your-task)

Testing your task
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  Create a virtual environment `python -m venv venv`
2.  Activate the virtual environment, depending on your OS: On Mac/Linux: `source venv/bin/activate`, on Windows: `venv\Scripts\activate`
3.  Install the Python dependencies `pip install -r requirements.txt`. _Make sure you have Python 3.10 or higher installed._
4.  Copy the project ref from your [Trigger.dev dashboard](https://cloud.trigger.dev/)
     and add it to the `trigger.config.ts` file.
5.  Run the Trigger.dev CLI `dev` command (it may ask you to authorize the CLI if you haven’t already).
6.  Test the task in the dashboard by providing a valid document URL.
7.  Deploy the task to production using the Trigger.dev CLI `deploy` command.

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#markitdown-conversion-capabilities)

MarkItDown Conversion Capabilities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*   Convert various file formats to Markdown:
    *   Office formats (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
    *   PDFs
    *   Images (with optional LLM-generated descriptions)
    *   HTML, CSV, JSON, XML
    *   Audio files (with optional transcription)
    *   ZIP archives
    *   And more
*   Preserve document structure (headings, lists, tables, etc.)
*   Handle multiple input methods (file paths, URLs, base64 data)
*   Optional Azure Document Intelligence integration for better PDF and image conversion

[​](https://trigger.dev/docs/guides/python/python-doc-to-markdown#learn-more-about-using-python-with-trigger-dev)

Learn more about using Python with Trigger.dev
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Python build extension
----------------------

Learn how to use our built-in Python build extension to install dependencies and run your Python code.

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