This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Nima Akbarzadeh
Introducing URL to Markdown API
Are you tired of dealing with cluttered web content when all you need is clean, structured Markdown? Meet URL to Markdown API, an open-source FastAPI service that transforms various types of content — including web pages, YouTube videos, PDFs, and documents — into Markdown, making it perfect for AI/ML pipelines, content aggregation, and data processing workflows.
🔗 Try the live demo: markdown.nimk.ir
Example for a youtube video: https://markdown.nimk.ir/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkZFCyp-iHs
Why Use URL to Markdown API?
Universal Content Support: Convert web articles, YouTube videos, PDFs, Office documents, and more
LLM-Optimized Output: Clean, structured Markdown perfect for AI/ML processing
Rich Media Handling: Extract metadata from images, audio files, and videos
Smart Processing: OCR for images, transcription for audio, and intelligent content extraction
Simple Integration: RESTful API with clear error handling and response codes
🔥 Live Demo
Want to see it in action? Just enter any URL and get instant Markdown output:
Example 1: Convert a Web Article
https://markdown.nimk.ir/https://ask.library.arizona.edu/faq/407985
This API call converts the article into structured Markdown.
Example 2: Convert a YouTube Video
https://markdown.nimk.ir/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
This extracts the video title, description, and metadata in Markdown format.
Key Features
Convert various content types:
Web articles & HTML content
YouTube videos
PDF documents
PowerPoint, Word, and Excel files
Images (with OCR and metadata extraction)
Audio files (with transcription & metadata)
CSV, JSON, XML
ZIP files (processes contents)
Automatic URL handling Clean error messages & proper HTTP status codes
Why Markdown for LLMs?
Markdown is ideal for Large Language Models (LLMs) because:
Structured Format: Clean hierarchical text structure
Consistent Representation: Normalizes different content types
Preserves Semantics: Headers, lists, and formatting are maintained
Reduced Noise: Removes unnecessary styling, keeping content-focused
Enhanced Accessibility: Easier for NLP models to process
Installation for Self hosted version
Standard Installation
git clone https://github.com/iw4p/url-to-markdown.git
cd url-to-markdown
pip install -r requirements.txt
Docker Deployment
Using Docker Compose (Recommended):
docker-compose up -d
This starts the service in detached mode on http://localhost:8000
Using Docker Directly:
docker build -t url-to-markdown .
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 url-to-markdown
API Usage
Start the API server:
uvicorn main:app --reload
Access it at http://localhost:8000
API Endpoints
Convert a URL to Markdown
GET /{url}
Example:
http://localhost:8000/www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Returns the video title, description, and metadata in Markdown format.
Response Format
Article Title
Content
[Article content in Markdown format]
Development
Built with:
FastAPI for the web framework
MarkItDown for content conversion
Python 3.12+
Join the Community
Check out the repo, contribute, and star it on GitHub! ⭐
🔗 GitHub Repo: https://Github.com/iw4p/url-to-markdown
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Nima Akbarzadeh
Nima Akbarzadeh | Sciencx (2025-03-08T21:06:52+00:00) Free Convert Web Content to Markdown. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/03/08/free-convert-web-content-to-markdown/
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