This article describes to-markdown.sh: a single, self-contained CLI script that converts many document types (PDF/DOCX/HTML/… and URLs) into Markdown using the markitdown tool running inside Docker.

Why this script exists (motivation)

MarkItDown is a Python tool. If you are a Python developer, installing it is usually fine. But for everyone else, it often means dealing with:

• installing Python (and the right Python version)
• setting up a virtualenv / pipx
• troubleshooting native dependencies or platform-specific issues
• avoiding “works on my machine” problems and dependency conflicts

to-markdown.sh intentionally hides all that complexity by running markitdown in a small Docker image.

This article describes to-markdown.sh: a single, self-contained CLI script that converts many document types (PDF/DOCX/HTML/… and URLs) into Markdown using the markitdown tool running inside Docker.

Why this script exists (motivation)

MarkItDown is a Python tool. If you are a Python developer, installing it is usually fine. But for everyone else, it often means dealing with:

• installing Python (and the right Python version)
• setting up a virtualenv / pipx
• troubleshooting native dependencies or platform-specific issues
• avoiding “works on my machine” problems and dependency conflicts

to-markdown.sh intentionally hides all that complexity by running markitdown in a small Docker image.

This article describes to-markdown.sh: a single, self-contained CLI script that converts many document types (PDF/DOCX/HTML/… and URLs) into Markdown using the markitdown tool running inside Docker.

Why this script exists (motivation)

MarkItDown is a Python tool. If you are a Python developer, installing it is usually fine. But for everyone else, it often means dealing with:

• installing Python (and the right Python version)
• setting up a virtualenv / pipx
• troubleshooting native dependencies or platform-specific issues
• avoiding “works on my machine” problems and dependency conflicts

to-markdown.sh intentionally hides all that complexity by running markitdown in a small Docker image.

This article describes to-markdown.sh: a single, self-contained CLI script that converts many document types (PDF/DOCX/HTML/… and URLs) into Markdown using the markitdown tool running inside Docker.

Why this script exists (motivation)

MarkItDown is a Python tool. If you are a Python developer, installing it is usually fine. But for everyone else, it often means dealing with:

• installing Python (and the right Python version)
• setting up a virtualenv / pipx
• troubleshooting native dependencies or platform-specific issues
• avoiding “works on my machine” problems and dependency conflicts

to-markdown.sh intentionally hides all that complexity by running markitdown in a small Docker image.

In my previous post, I shared the story of how I went from a burned-out developer to the founder of Menuvivo. I built an MVP in 15 days, full of excitement.

But then the excitement settled, and a familiar fear crept in. The same fear that killed my previous project, Fubito: What if I’m building something nobody wants?

As a developer and software architect, I used to treat user research as something slightly mystical.

In my previous post, I shared the story of how I went from a burned-out developer to the founder of Menuvivo. I built an MVP in 15 days, full of excitement.

But then the excitement settled, and a familiar fear crept in. The same fear that killed my previous project, Fubito: What if I’m building something nobody wants?

As a developer and software architect, I used to treat user research as something slightly mystical.

In my previous post, I shared the story of how I went from a burned-out developer to the founder of Menuvivo. I built an MVP in 15 days, full of excitement.

But then the excitement settled, and a familiar fear crept in. The same fear that killed my previous project, Fubito: What if I’m building something nobody wants?

As a developer and software architect, I used to treat user research as something slightly mystical.

In my previous post, I shared the story of how I went from a burned-out developer to the founder of Menuvivo. I built an MVP in 15 days, full of excitement.

But then the excitement settled, and a familiar fear crept in. The same fear that killed my previous project, Fubito: What if I’m building something nobody wants?

As a developer and software architect, I used to treat user research as something slightly mystical.

In my previous post, I shared the story of how I went from a burned-out developer to the founder of Menuvivo. I built an MVP in 15 days, full of excitement.

But then the excitement settled, and a familiar fear crept in. The same fear that killed my previous project, Fubito: What if I’m building something nobody wants?

As a developer and software architect, I used to treat user research as something slightly mystical.