CamScanner-Pdf2Markdown

Use CamScanner to convert PDF documents to Markdown format, powered by a high-precision document parsing engine that intelligently decomposes paragraphs, precisely recognizes tables and multiple element types, and outputs structured results in reading order, empowering large language models to accurately understand document content. Use when the user wants to convert PDF files to Markdown, extract content, summarize, or process PDFs. Triggers on "PDF to Markdown", "convert PDF to md", "extract PDF content as Markdown", or when the user has a PDF and needs it as Markdown for further editing or processing.

CamScanner PDF to Markdown

Overview

CamScanner provides a high-precision document parsing engine that converts PDF documents to Markdown format. It intelligently decomposes document paragraphs, precisely recognizes tables and multiple element types, and outputs structured results in reading order — empowering large language models to accurately understand document content. The workflow is a 3-step pipeline: upload the PDF, convert it, then download the result.

When to Use

• User wants to convert a PDF to Markdown
• User wants to extract text/content from a PDF as Markdown
• User has a PDF and needs it as Markdown for further editing or processing

Privacy & Data

Important: Privacy & Data Flow Notice

• Third-party service: This skill sends your files to CamScanner's official servers (ai-tools.camscanner.com) for processing.
• Data retention: CamScanner servers process your files in real-time. Files are not permanently stored on the server.
• Local files: Output files are saved to your local filesystem at the path you specify.

API Reference

Base URL: https://ai-tools.camscanner.com

Supported Conversions

source_type	target_type	Output
pdf	md	.md

Step 1: Upload PDF

BASE="https://ai-tools.camscanner.com"

IN_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/upload_file/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary "@/path/to/document.pdf" | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

Response:

{
  "code": 200,
  "tool": "upload_file",
  "tool_result": {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "file_id": "file_1741857600_ab12cd34ef56",
      "size": 24576
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Convert PDF to Markdown

OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/convert_pdf/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"pdf\",\"target_type\":\"md\",\"output_mode\":\"file_id\"}" \
  | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

Response:

{
  "code": 200,
  "tool": "convert_pdf",
  "tool_result": {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "file_id": "file_1741857701_9988aabbccdd",
      "target_type": "md"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Download Result

curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/download_file/execute?response_mode=raw" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$OUT_FILE_ID\"}" \
  -o /path/to/output.md

Critical: The response_mode=raw query parameter is required to get the binary file. Without it, the response is JSON.

Quick Reference: Complete Pipeline

BASE="https://ai-tools.camscanner.com"
INPUT_PDF="/path/to/document.pdf"
OUTPUT_FILE="/path/to/output.md"

# Upload
IN_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/upload_file/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary "@$INPUT_PDF" | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

# Convert
OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/convert_pdf/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"pdf\",\"target_type\":\"md\",\"output_mode\":\"file_id\"}" \
  | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

# Download
curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/download_file/execute?response_mode=raw" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$OUT_FILE_ID\"}" \
  -o "$OUTPUT_FILE"

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Forgetting response_mode=raw on download	Always append ?response_mode=raw to the download URL
Wrong Content-Type on upload	Upload uses application/octet-stream, not multipart/form-data
Using GET instead of POST	All three endpoints use POST
Missing source_type in convert request	Always include "source_type": "pdf"
Missing output_mode in convert request	Always include "output_mode": "file_id" to get a downloadable file_id

Error Handling

Check each step before proceeding:

# After upload
if [ -z "$IN_FILE_ID" ] || [ "$IN_FILE_ID" = "null" ]; then
  echo "Upload failed"; exit 1
fi

# After convert
if [ -z "$OUT_FILE_ID" ] || [ "$OUT_FILE_ID" = "null" ]; then
  echo "Conversion failed"; exit 1
fi