docx-to-md_skill

Overview

This skill converts Microsoft Word (.docx) documents into Markdown files and extracts embedded images to a target directory. It provides both a programmatic API and a simple command-line entry point for quick conversions. The output preserves headings, lists, tables and writes extracted images as image_*.png/jpg/gif files. It is implemented in Python and uses python-docx for parsing.

How this skill works

The tool parses the .docx file structure, maps Word elements to Markdown equivalents (headings, ordered/unordered lists, tables, images), and writes a .md file with inline image references. Images found in the document are saved to the output directory with predictable filenames. You can call the docx_to_md function from Python or run the provided script from the command line with a path to the .docx file.

When to use it

• You need to convert a .docx document into Markdown for publishing or version control.
• You want to extract all embedded images from a Word document into a separate folder.
• You need a quick programmatic conversion inside a Python workflow or pipeline.
• You prefer a lightweight, dependency-minimal tool that preserves basic formatting.

Best practices

• Run conversions in a copy of the original file to avoid accidental edits.
• Provide an explicit output directory to keep converted files and images organized.
• Check tables and complex layouts after conversion; adjust by hand if needed.
• Ensure python-docx is installed (pip install python-docx) and use Python 3.7+.
• Name files and directories using ASCII-safe characters to prevent path encoding issues.

Example use cases

• Migrating project documentation from Word to a Markdown-based docs site or wiki.
• Extracting figures from research reports for reuse in presentations or web pages.
• Automating batch conversion of .docx files in a content migration script.
• Preparing Word-authored blog posts for static site generators that accept Markdown.