MarkItDown MCP Server

Content

MarkItDown MCP Server is Microsoft's MCP wrapper around the MarkItDown conversion library. It exposes a single tool, convert_to_markdown(uri), that turns a supported HTTP, HTTPS, file, or data URI into Markdown for Claude and other MCP clients.

The dedicated markitdown-mcp package is separate from the core markitdown library package. It supports stdio by default and can also run Streamable HTTP or SSE for local trusted agents. The package README is explicit that the server is meant for local use, does not support authentication, and should not be bound to non-localhost interfaces unless the operator understands the security risks.

Source Review

• https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown
• https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/blob/main/packages/markitdown-mcp/README.md
• https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/blob/main/packages/markitdown-mcp/pyproject.toml
• https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/blob/main/packages/markitdown-mcp/src/markitdown_mcp/__main__.py
• https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/blob/main/LICENSE
• https://pypi.org/project/markitdown-mcp/
• https://pypi.org/project/markitdown/

These sources were reviewed on 2026-06-06. Prefer the live repository, package README, package metadata, MCP server entrypoint, PyPI pages, and license for current command names, supported transports, URI behavior, and security guidance.

Features

• Microsoft-maintained MCP package for the MarkItDown conversion library.
• Stdio server through markitdown-mcp.
• Streamable HTTP and SSE modes for local trusted agents.
• One convert_to_markdown(uri) tool.
• URI support for HTTP, HTTPS, file, and data resources.
• Docker guidance for running the server in a container.
• Directory-mount pattern for exposing only selected local files to containerized conversion.
• Localhost-by-default behavior for HTTP and SSE transports.
• Security warning for non-localhost binding and unauthenticated access.

Installation

Install the package:

pip install markitdown-mcp

For Claude Code, add the stdio server:

claude mcp add markitdown markitdown-mcp

For MCP clients that use JSON configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markitdown": {
      "command": "markitdown-mcp"
    }
  }
}

For stronger file boundaries, build and run the Docker image documented by the package README, mounting only directories that the agent is allowed to convert.

Use Cases

• Convert a reviewed PDF, Office document, or local file URI into Markdown for summarization.
• Convert a remote public resource into Markdown before asking Claude to extract key points.
• Use a containerized server to expose only a small approved document directory to Claude.
• Standardize document conversion around Microsoft's MarkItDown library in MCP workflows.
• Compare converted Markdown with the original source before using it in reports or decisions.

Safety and Privacy

MarkItDown MCP is intentionally simple, but the URI surface is sensitive. A model that can call the tool can ask the server to read local files that the server user can access, fetch network resources reachable by that user, and convert data URIs supplied in prompts. Run it with limited permissions and keep file mounts narrow.

Do not bind the HTTP or SSE transport to a broader interface without additional network controls. The server has no built-in authentication and the README warns that reachable processes or users can use it to read files and fetch network resources available to the server process.

Duplicate Check

An existing markdownify-mcp-server entry mentions MarkItDown as a dependency for some file conversion features, but it covers the separate zcaceres/markdownify-mcp npm server. No dedicated microsoft/markitdown, markitdown-mcp, Microsoft MarkItDown MCP, or matching source URL entry was found in content/mcp, content/tools, content/guides, content/agents, or content/skills.