--- name: Any Doc slug: any-doc category: Automation description: "Converts office documents, PDFs, ebooks, and spreadsheets to clean GitHub-Flavored Markdown locally. Use when you need the contents of a document you can't read directly." github: "https://github.com/magnus919/agent-skills/tree/main/anydoc" language: Python stars: 40 forks: 6 install: "npx degit https://github.com/magnus919/agent-skills/tree/main/anydoc ~/.claude/skills/anydoc" installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/anydoc source_path: anydoc/SKILL.md collection_size: 33 category_size: 1523 collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/magnus919/agent-skills" added: 2026-08-11T07:21:34.744Z last_synced: 2026-08-11T07:21:34.744Z canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/any-doc" --- # Any Doc Converts office documents, PDFs, ebooks, and spreadsheets to clean GitHub-Flavored Markdown locally. Use when you need the contents of a document you can't read directly. **Install:** ```bash npx degit https://github.com/magnus919/agent-skills/tree/main/anydoc ~/.claude/skills/anydoc ``` ## README # Any Doc — office documents to GitHub-Flavored Markdown The `anydoc` skill converts office documents, spreadsheets, presentations, ebooks, CSV, and text-based PDFs into GitHub-Flavored Markdown using the pinned Any Doc CLI (`@firecrawl/anydoc` v0.1.6). One shared document model and one GFM serializer produce the same logical output across formats, and conversion runs locally in milliseconds — no service, no API key, no file upload. ## Overview Load this skill when a task needs the *contents* of a document the agent cannot read directly: a Word report to summarize, a spreadsheet to turn into a table, a slide deck to extract, a CSV to analyze, or an ebook or PDF to quote from. The skill ships a small Python helper (`scripts/anydoc`) that wraps the pinned CLI and adds input pre-validation, friendly error hints, batch conversion, and `--dry-run`/`--json` output. Every recipe in [references/workflows.md](references/workflows.md) also shows the raw `npx` invocation, so the skill works with or without the helper. ## First-use decision gate Before invoking anydoc, classify the request: | If the user needs... | Do this | | --- | --- | | The contents of an existing supported document | Continue to [Command Map](#command-map). | | Generation, editing, validation, EPUB packaging, HTML scraping, OCR, or password decryption | Stop and use the route in [When not to use](#when-not-to-use). | | A format-fidelity or failure decision | Load the matching row in [Reference Routing](#reference-routing) before choosing a command. | | A conversion result | Choose stdout, `-o`, or batch; run it; then follow [Verification](#verification). | > **Hard boundary:** anydoc reads existing supported documents to Markdown. It does not create, edit, validate, package, OCR, decrypt, or scrape them. ## When to use - **Convert a document to markdown** — Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OpenDocument, RTF, EPUB, CSV, or text-based PDF. - **Extract structure** — headings, GFM tables, slide titles, speaker notes (as blockquotes), and footnotes. - **Feed documents to an LLM** — one-pass conversion to clean markdown for summarization, extraction, or retrieval ingestion. - **Batch a folder** — convert a directory of mixed office files for a vault or knowledge base. - **Read a document from stdin** — pipe bytes into `anydoc -`. ## Format coverage (summary) anydoc covers **8 format families / 21 extensions** through **12 canonical parsers**. The canonical formats are `doc, docx, odt, pdf, ppt, pptx, rtf, epub, xlsx, ods, odp, csv`; extension aliases map through them (`.docm`→docx, `.xls`→xlsx, `.pptm`→pptx, and so on). | Family | Extensions | Expected GFM output | Decision cue | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Word | `.doc` `.docx` `.docm` | `#`–`######` headings, GFM tables, `[^n]` footnotes | Use when content extraction is enough; use `documents` when rendered layout matters. | | PowerPoint | `.ppt` `.pps` `.pot` `.pptx` `.pptm` `.ppsx` `.ppsm` | slide titles as plain paragraphs, bullet lists, speaker notes as `>` blockquotes, GFM tables (PPTX/ODP; legacy `.ppt` flattens tables to text lines) | Need table fidelity? Prefer PPTX or ODP; legacy `.ppt` preserves cell text but not table structure. | | Excel | `.xls` `.xlsx` `.xlsm` `.xlsb` | `## ` heading + one GFM table per worksheet; number formats dropped (raw cell values) | Need displayed percentages, currency, or number formats? Prefer ODS; XLS/XLSX output is raw values. | | OpenDocument | `.odt` `.ods` `.odp` | same document/slide shapes as DOCX/PPTX; ODS keeps formatted display values | Prefer ODS when spreadsheet display formatting is part of the meaning. | | Rich Text Format | `.rtf` | same document shape as DOCX/ODT | Use for text extraction, not layout preservation. | | EPUB | `.epub` | `#` chapter headings, GFM tables, internal anchor links | Use to read an existing EPUB; use `epub` to author or package one. | | CSV | `.csv` | one GFM table; label-like first row promoted to header; delimiter sniffing; UTF-16 with BOM | Use for delimited tabular content; inspect delimiter and encoding when output looks wrong. | | PDF | `.pdf` | headings + inline emphasis, but a lower-fidelity pipeline: tables flatten to text, footnotes and links degrade. **Scanned or image-only PDFs fail** — anydoc does not OCR | Use only for text-based PDFs; route scanned PDFs to OCR and treat tables as lower fidelity. | See [references/formats.md](references/formats.md) for the full per-format expectations and fidelity caveats, and [references/errors.md](references/errors.md) for the exact failure messages (including the no-OCR error). ## Command Map Commands are shown relative to the repository root. `` is any document path (for example `anydoc/fixtures/fixture-handmade-outline.docx`); `-` reads the document from stdin. | Need | Command | Choose it when | | --- | --- | --- | | Convert one file to small markdown on stdout | `anydoc/scripts/anydoc convert ` | The caller needs immediate content and does not need a saved artifact. | | Convert one file to a markdown file | `anydoc/scripts/anydoc convert -o out.md` | The output is large, must be reviewed later, or should be preserved as an artifact. | | Convert many files to a directory | `anydoc/scripts/anydoc batch ... --out-dir out/` | The request is a bounded batch and per-file output/status is useful. | | Show the tool and pinned CLI version | `anydoc/scripts/anydoc info` | You need to confirm the executable and version before troubleshooting or reporting an environment issue. | | Raw pinned CLI, one document | `npx -y @firecrawl/anydoc@0.1.6 [-o out.md]` | The wrapper is unavailable; preserve the pinned CLI and its documented semantics. | | Raw pinned CLI, read stdin | `cat data.csv \| npx -y @firecrawl/anydoc@0.1.6 - --format csv` | Bytes already arrive on stdin and the format is known; keep the producer pipeline separate from the converter. | Notes: - `scripts/anydoc` is an executable Python 3 script (shebang `#!/usr/bin/env python3`); `python3 anydoc/scripts/anydoc ...` is equivalent when the executable bit is unavailable. - The raw `npx -y @firecrawl/anydoc@0.1.6` rows are the ground truth for conversion behavior; the wrapper delegates to exactly that command. - Always pin `@0.1.6` for reproducible conversions. `-y` answers npx's "Ok to proceed?" prompt non-interactively — the CLI itself never prompts. - Both forms share the same contract: one document per invocation, exit code `0` success / `1` conversion or IO failure / `2` usage error, diagnostics as exactly one `anydoc: ` line on stderr, and no prompts. ## Reference Routing Load only the row that answers the immediate question; the command examples and verification contract remain in this file. | When you need to... | Load | It answers | | --- | --- | --- | | Choose a format or predict fidelity | [references/formats.md](references/formats.md) | Supported families, output shapes, and caveats such as raw XLSX values, ODS display values, legacy `.ppt` table flattening, and PDF degradation. | | Select flags, stdin syntax, output behavior, or version details | [references/cli-reference.md](references/cli-reference.md) | Verbatim help, accepted options, stdin rules, stdout/stderr behavior, pinning, and runtime requirements. | | Classify a failure or decide whether to retry | [references/errors.md](references/errors.md) | Exit codes, exact error vocabulary, no-OCR/encryption boundaries, and the next route. | | Choose a single-file, stdin, batch, vault, or large-output recipe | [references/workflows.md](references/workflows.md) | End-to-end recipes, safe output handling, per-file failure routing, and resource-limit behavior. | | Verify a documented upstream or fixture claim | [references/sources.md](references/sources.md) | Source URLs, access dates, fixture provenance, and the verification basis for documented claims. | | Shape the final evidence report | [references/report-examples.md](references/report-examples.md) | Complete success, expected-failure, and fidelity-boundary reports to imitate after following Verification. | ## When not to use Use this routing table before reaching for a conversion command: | User's request | Reach for | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | Generate, edit, inspect rendered layout, or validate a PDF/Word/Excel/PowerPoint artifact | `documents` skill | anydoc extracts existing document contents to Markdown; it does not author, preserve rendered layout, or validate artifacts. | | Package or author an EPUB | `epub` skill | anydoc reads an existing EPUB to Markdown but never writes or validates an EPUB container. | | OCR a scanned or image-only PDF | OCR tooling or the hosted Firecrawl Parse API | anydoc has no OCR path; report the documented unsupported error and do not retry locally. | | Scrape HTML or other web content | A web-scraping skill | HTML is not a supported anydoc input. | | Transcribe binary media such as images, video, or audio | A media or transcription tool | Embedded images become alt text; anydoc cannot transcribe media. | | Preserve pagination, fonts, templates, or rendered layout | A document/layout tool | The only output contract is GitHub-Flavored Markdown. | | Convert a password-protected file | An unencrypted copy from the document owner | anydoc has no password or decryption option. | ## Verification **Report evidence, not just success.** For every attempted conversion, return the input, exact command or wrapper path, observed exit code, output destination (stdout or file), structural markers checked, and any documented caveat or next route. **Compact report shape:** ```text Input: Command: Exit: Output: Checks: Caveat/route: ``` ### Common stop conditions | Condition | Do not | Next | | --- | --- | --- | | Scanned or image-only PDF / OCR-required error | Retry the same file locally | Route to OCR tooling or the hosted Firecrawl Parse API. | | Encrypted or password-protected document | Guess a password or retry unchanged | Request an unencrypted copy or owner-authorized re-export. | | Unsupported, malformed, or resource-limit error | Guess a parser or claim partial success | Match the exact error in [references/errors.md](references/errors.md) and follow its bounded route. | | Exit 0 but expected structural markers are absent | Report success from the exit code alone | Inspect the output shape and source fidelity before reporting completion. | Confirm a conversion before reporting it as done: 1. **Check the exit code.** `0` means the CLI produced markdown. `1` means the document could not be read or converted — read the single `anydoc: ` stderr line and match it against [references/errors.md](references/errors.md). `2` means the command itself was a usage error (bad flag, missing input, invalid `--format`). 2. **Check the output shape.** The markdown must contain the structural markers your format actually produces: - Word / ODT / RTF / text-based PDF: `#`/`##` headings. For PDF, do not expect GFM tables or `[^1]:` footnote definitions — that pipeline flattens them. - Spreadsheets (xlsx/xls/ods) and CSV: `|`-delimited GFM tables. xlsx/xls show raw cell values (`0.155`, `1234.5`); ODS shows formatted display values (`15.5%`, `$1,234.50`). - Presentations (pptx/odp): slide titles as plain paragraphs, `>` blockquote speaker notes, GFM tables. Legacy `.ppt` flattens tables to bare text lines. - EPUB: `#` chapter headings and internal anchor links. 3. **Write large outputs to a file with `-o`.** `-o out.md` keeps stdout silent and gives a reviewable file instead of streaming the whole document into context. 4. **Verify tables survived.** If the source had tables and the output has no `|` rows, consult the format caveats — PDF and legacy `.ppt` flatten tables by design, not by error. **Stop when** the conversion exits 0 and the structural markers match the source format. Do not re-run or retry on a documented failure mode (encrypted, malformed, scanned/image-only, unsupported) without changing the input; report the documented message and route as [references/errors.md](references/errors.md) instructs.