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Markdownify MCP Server for VS Code: Setup & Config

VS Code: Convert documents, media, and web content into Markdown through an assistant.

What you can do with Markdownify in VS Code

Unify mixed documents and web material as Markdown, with explicit directory read boundaries.

  • Convert PDF and office documents into assistant-readable Markdown.
  • Transcribe audio as part of a document conversion workflow.

Before you start: Markdownify in VS Code

  • Bun
  • A cloned repository with dependencies installed and the project built
  • Python for the MarkItDown environment created during installation

Run bun install and bun run build first. The local installation uses markitdown[all]. Set allowed paths to restrict file reads; the slim published Docker image lacks audio and image extras.

Markdownify VS Code configuration

  1. Choose VS Code configuration scope

    For Markdownify MCP Server, open Workspace: .vscode/mcp.json. Merge into servers; preserve existing inputs.

  2. Add Markdownify MCP Server to VS Code

    Use the markdownify-mcp entry below in servers. Keep Markdownify MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other VS Code entries.

  3. Check Markdownify MCP Server in VS Code

    Markdownify MCP Server: Start in VS Code’s MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.

Config file · Workspace: .vscode/mcp.json

JSON
{
  "servers": {
    "markdownify-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bun",
      "args": [
        "start"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MD_ALLOWED_PATHS": "<allowed directories separated by your platform path delimiter>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Markdownify tools available to VS Code

Markdownify's stored tool list documents 11 tools; compare it with VS Code's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

youtube-to-markdown

Look for youtube-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

pdf-to-markdown

Look for pdf-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Transform PDF content into Markdown text.

bing-search-to-markdown

Look for bing-search-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Represent Bing search results as Markdown.

webpage-to-markdown

Look for webpage-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Extract web page content into Markdown.

image-to-markdown

Look for image-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

audio-to-markdown

Look for audio-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

docx-to-markdown

Look for docx-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Transform a DOCX document into Markdown.

xlsx-to-markdown

Look for xlsx-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Represent spreadsheet content from XLSX as Markdown.

pptx-to-markdown

Look for pptx-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Transform presentation content from PPTX into Markdown.

get-markdown-file

Look for get-markdown-file among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

git-repo-to-markdown

Look for git-repo-to-markdown among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting Markdownify through the MCP controls.

Markdownify: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting Markdownify in VS Code

  • Make bun available in the workspace, container, or remote environment hosting Markdownify MCP Server. Start through VS Code's MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.
  • For Markdownify MCP Server, keep MD_ALLOWED_PATHS out of version control; VS Code documents input variables and secret handling.
  • Markdownify MCP Server uses stdio here: VS Code must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
  • Known limitation: File access is unrestricted unless allowed directories are configured.
  • Known limitation: The published slim Docker image lacks audio transcription and image OCR extras.
  • Known limitation: The full local installation involves JavaScript tooling and a Python conversion environment.
  • General VS Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/vscode guide.

Markdownify MCP Server — details. VS Code guide

Frequently asked questions

For Markdownify MCP Server, edit workspace .vscode/mcp.json. VS Code requires servers rather than mcpServers; preserve the displayed type on each entry.

VS Code's markdownify-mcp example uses stdio.

Markdownify MCP Server's VS Code configuration invokes bun.

VS Code's Markdownify MCP Server example references MD_ALLOWED_PATHS. Check these names if startup or authentication fails; the example alone does not distinguish required from optional values.

Markdownify MCP Server's stored list contains 11 tools, including youtube-to-markdown, pdf-to-markdown, bing-search-to-markdown. Compare those names with VS Code's connected tool list; the stored list is not a live check.

The README lists DOCX documents, XLSX spreadsheets, and PPTX presentations, in addition to PDFs and media.

No. The slim image includes PDF extras only, so image OCR and audio transcription need the full extras available in the local setup.