Files
awesome-copilot/skills/convert-excel-to-md/references/setup.md
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Willie Yao e4a1f57fd9 feat: add convert-excel-to-md, convert-pdf-to-md, and convert-word-to-md skills (#2294)
* feat: add convert-excel-to-md, convert-pdf-to-md, and convert-word-to-md skills

Add three new agent skills that convert common document formats to Markdown
using bundled Python scripts powered by MarkItDown:

- convert-excel-to-md: Converts .xlsx workbooks to Markdown with per-sheet
  tables and embedded image extraction via a bundled Python script.
- convert-pdf-to-md: Converts .pdf documents to Markdown with text/table
  extraction and embedded image extraction via PyMuPDF.
- convert-word-to-md: Converts .docx documents to Markdown with proper
  image extraction replacing MarkItDown's base64 placeholders.

Each skill includes:
- SKILL.md with detailed usage instructions, output structure docs, and
  a troubleshooting table
- scripts/ with the conversion Python script and requirements.txt
- references/setup.md with environment setup instructions

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* fix: remove Markdown image syntax from convert-word-to-md SKILL.md

The CI valid-refs linter flagged the literal Markdown image syntax
containing a data URI as an invalid file reference. Replaced it with
a plain text description of the placeholder format.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* fix: update pip install command to use scripts/requirements.txt for setup

* fix: clarify installation instructions for requirements-file in setup documentation

* fix: correct indentation in image extraction function

* Potential fix for pull request finding

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* feat: add comprehensive documentation and setup instructions for convert-to-md skills

* fix: add trailing slashes to skill paths in plugin.json

* fix: reorder skills in plugin.json for consistency

* fix: update plugin.json and README.md for clarity and consistency

* feat: add convert-to-md plugin and update related documentation

* Potential fix for pull request finding

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* fix: enhance conversion skills to handle mixed file types and improve error handling

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-07-16 09:06:49 +10:00

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Markdown

# Environment Setup for convert-excel-to-md
Follow these steps exactly, in order, before running `scripts/convert_excel_to_md.py`
for the first time in a given environment. Don't skip steps or improvise
alternatives — they're written to be deterministic and safe to re-run.
## 1. Check Python is available (3.10+)
```powershell
python --version
```
- If this fails (command not found), install Python 3.10 or newer:
- Windows: `winget install --id Python.Python.3.12 -e`
- macOS: `brew install python@3.12`
- Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip python-is-python3`
- If the reported version is older than 3.10, install a newer Python using
the same command above (MarkItDown requires 3.10+).
## 2. Check pip is available
```powershell
python -m pip --version
```
- If this fails, bootstrap pip:
```powershell
python -m ensurepip --upgrade
```
## 3. Install MarkItDown with Excel (.xlsx) support
Use the `scripts/requirements.txt` file bundled with this skill to install a pinned,
known-good version of the dependency:
```powershell
python -m pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt
```
This pulls in `markitdown[xlsx]` (MarkItDown's XLSX table conversion
dependencies, which include `pandas` and `openpyxl`). No extra package is needed for image extraction — this
skill's script reads embedded images directly from the `.xlsx` zip
structure using Python's built-in `zipfile` and `xml` modules.
## 4. Verify the install
```powershell
python -c "from markitdown import MarkItDown; print('markitdown OK')"
```
Expect to see `markitdown OK` printed with no errors. If you see
`ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'markitdown'`, repeat step 3 — pip may
be installing into a different Python environment than the one being
invoked (check `python -m pip --version` shows the same path as `python
--version`'s interpreter).
## Notes
- This setup only needs to be done once per environment/virtual environment,
not once per conversion.
- `convert_excel_to_md.py` itself also checks for `markitdown` at startup
and prints a pointer back to this file if it's missing, so re-running
setup is safe and idempotent.
- Only `.xlsx` is supported by this skill. Legacy binary `.xls` files are
out of scope (a completely different, harder-to-parse file format) — ask
the user to re-save the file as `.xlsx` (Excel: File > Save As > Excel
Workbook (.xlsx)) if one is encountered.
- Chart objects (as opposed to embedded pictures) are not extracted as
images — only raster pictures actually embedded in the workbook's
`xl/media` folder are. Native Excel charts would need to be rendered by
Excel/LibreOffice to become images, which this lightweight skill does not
attempt.