MarkItDown MCP server

The MarkItDown MCP Server converts various file formats to Markdown, allowing you to easily transform documents, presentations, images, and other files into clean, accessible Markdown text through the Model Context Protocol.

Supported Formats

• PDF
• PowerPoint
• Word
• Excel
• Images (EXIF metadata and OCR)
• Audio (EXIF metadata and speech transcription)
• HTML
• Text-based formats (CSV, JSON, XML)
• ZIP files (iterates over contents)

Installation Options

Installing via Smithery

For an automated installation with Claude Desktop via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @KorigamiK/markitdown_mcp_server --client claude

Manual Installation

To install manually:

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies using uv:

uv install

Using the Server

The MarkItDown MCP Server integrates with any MCP-compliant client to provide file conversion capabilities.

Integrating with Zed Editor

Add the following configuration to your Zed Editor's settings.json:

"context_servers": {
  "markitdown_mcp": {
    "settings": {},
    "command": {
      "path": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/markitdown_mcp_server",
        "run",
        "markitdown"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Commands

The server responds to the following command:

• /md <file> - Converts the specified file to Markdown

Example usage:

/md document.pdf

Compatible Clients

This server works with any MCP-compliant client, including:

• Zed Editor
• Other tools listed at modelcontextprotocol.io/clients

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.