Tools

From Microsoft: converts PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML and other files or URLs to Markdown so agents can read and search them. A single convert_to_markdown tool over STDIO or local HTTP.

Converts PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, images, audio and more into Markdown that keeps headings, lists and tables, ready for LLMs to read and analyze. Maintained by Microsoft; requires Python 3.10+.

OCRs photos of visa documents such as bank, employment or income certificates, translates them into English and builds a side-by-side bilingual PDF. Needs Python (pillow, reportlab) and an OCR engine. Not an official certified translation: verify names, amounts and dates.

Official PaddleOCR MCP: text recognition and layout parsing for images and PDFs (PP-OCR, PP-StructureV3, PaddleOCR-VL), returning text or Markdown. Runs inference locally, or calls the official API or a self-hosted service.

Document parser from OpenDataLab that turns PDFs, images and Office files into Markdown or JSON, handling tables, formulas and complex layouts well, with page-by-page reading and citation anchors for agents. Parses locally by default; needs Python 3.10+.

Parses PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, images and audio, recovering layout, reading order, tables and formulas, and exports Markdown, HTML or lossless JSON. Started by IBM Research, now hosted by the LF AI & Data Foundation; runs fully locally.

Command-line toolkit for transcoding, cutting, joining, frame extraction and streaming of audio and video, including ffmpeg, ffprobe and ffplay. A core dependency for agents handling media. The GitHub repo is the official mirror.

Generates natively editable PPTX from PDFs, Word files, web pages and other sources, with native shapes, data charts and master layouts. Can also fill your own template and add animations and narration to finished decks. Needs Python 3.10+ and its dependencies.

Universal document converter between dozens of formats including Markdown, Word, HTML, LaTeX and EPUB, with templates, citations and Lua filters. PDF output uses LaTeX by default, which you install separately.

Converts PDFs, images, PPTX, DOCX, XLSX, EPUB and more into Markdown, JSON or HTML, preserving tables, formulas and layout, with optional LLM help for higher accuracy. Needs Python 3.10+ and PyTorch; large-scale commercial use of the model weights needs a paid license.

Lightweight command-line JSON processor that slices, filters, maps and transforms JSON with concise expressions and no runtime dependencies. A staple for agents parsing API responses and logs.

Generates zero-dependency, animated HTML slide decks: previews several visual styles to choose from first, and can convert PowerPoint decks to web slides. Made for non-designers who don't write CSS.

Open-source e-book manager whose command-line tools (ebook-convert, ebook-meta, calibredb) batch-convert between EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, DOCX and more and manage library metadata. The install command is Linux-only; on macOS and Windows use the installer.

From Firecrawl: converts Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, EPUB, RTF and more into clean Markdown locally in milliseconds, keeping headings, tables, footnotes and formulas so agents can read attachments. Needs Node.js; optional Firecrawl cloud OCR for scans uploads the whole file.

AI2's tool for converting PDFs and scans to Markdown with a vision LLM, handling equations, tables, handwriting and multi-column layouts, suited to bulk digitizing papers and archives. Local runs need an NVIDIA GPU with 12GB+ VRAM; otherwise use a paid OpenAI-compatible remote endpoint.

Lightweight command-line processor with jq-like syntax for reading, modifying and converting YAML, JSON, XML, INI, CSV and more, including in-place config edits. A single dependency-free Go binary.

Processes CSV, TSV, JSON and other structured data like awk, sed, cut, join and sort, but by field name, for cleaning, aggregation, format conversion and pretty-printing. The command is mlr; written in Go with no runtime dependencies.

Rendering engine that lays out HTML and CSS and exports PDF, supporting paged media and other print style standards, ideal for generating reports, invoices and receipts in bulk. Written in Python; depends on the system Pango library.

Converts the output of 100+ commands such as dig, ps, ls and ifconfig, plus common file formats, into JSON so agents can parse it reliably with jq or scripts. Also usable as a Python library.

Query, modify and convert JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, CSV, HCL, INI and more with one selector syntax, editing config files in place or converting between formats, handy for agents handling structured data in scripts. A single dependency-free binary that works much like jq or yq.

Converts and two-way syncs Jupyter notebooks with plain Python scripts or Markdown, so agents can edit research and teaching notebooks like ordinary text and diffs stay readable. Needs a local Python environment; install with pip.

Marp's official CLI: exports Markdown slide decks to HTML, PDF, PPTX or images, with watch mode and a preview server. PDF and PPTX export need Chrome, Edge or Firefox installed locally.

Open-source PDF table extraction with a camelot CLI: exports tables from financial reports, bank statements and statistical reports to Excel, CSV or Markdown, with an accuracy score. Needs Python 3.10+; handles text-based PDFs by default, scans need the ml and ocr extras. Double-check results.

Converts PDFs to editable Word files, keeping paragraphs, tables, images and layout as closely as possible, and can extract tables alone, handy when a contract or exam only exists as PDF. Needs Python; digital PDFs only, OCR scans first. No longer actively maintained by Artifex.