Firecrawl Parse
- 46.5k installs
- 561 repo stars
- Updated August 4, 2026
- firecrawl/cli
firecrawl-parse is a CLI skill that converts local documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, HTML) to clean markdown on disk.
About
firecrawl-parse converts local documents into clean markdown, removing formatting noise while preserving structure. It handles PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and HTML files, with options to generate AI summaries or answer questions about content.
- Converts local files (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, HTML) to clean markdown
- Supports AI-powered summaries and document Q&A
- Outputs to disk with configurable formats and timeouts
Firecrawl Parse by the numbers
- 46,520 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +802 installs in the week ending Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #17 of 550 CLI & Terminal skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
firecrawl-parse capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- document parsing · markdown conversion · summarization
- Runs
- Remote server
- Pricing
- Freemium
What firecrawl-parse says it does
Always save to `.firecrawl/` with `-o` — parsed docs can be hundreds of KB and blow up context if streamed to stdout.
npx skills add https://github.com/firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parseAdd your badge
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| Installs | 46.5k |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 561 |
| Security audit | 2 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | August 4, 2026 |
| Repository | firecrawl/cli ↗ |
How do you convert a local PDF to markdown for agents?
Extract and convert local documents to markdown for downstream text processing, analysis, or integration into AI workflows.
Who is it for?
Extracting structured content from local files for downstream processing, summarization, or Q&A workflows.
Skip if: URLs or web pages - use firecrawl-scrape instead.
When should I use this skill?
The user has a local file and needs its text as markdown, summary, or answer to questions about its content.
What you get
Clean markdown files on disk parsed from PDF, DOCX, XLSX, or HTML with optional AI summaries and Q&A outputs.
- markdown files on disk
- ai-generated document summaries
By the numbers
- Supports 8 document formats
- Max upload size 50 MB per file
Files
firecrawl parse
Turn a local document into clean markdown on disk. Supports PDF, DOCX, DOC, ODT, RTF, XLSX, XLS, HTML/HTM/XHTML.
When to use
- You have a file on disk (not a URL) and want its text as markdown
- User drops a PDF/DOCX and asks what it says, or to summarize it
- Use
scrapeinstead when the source is a URL
Quick start
Always save to .firecrawl/ with -o — parsed docs can be hundreds of KB and blow up context if streamed to stdout. Add .firecrawl/ to .gitignore.
mkdir -p .firecrawl
# File → markdown
firecrawl parse ./paper.pdf -o .firecrawl/paper.md
# AI summary
firecrawl parse ./paper.pdf -S -o .firecrawl/paper-summary.md
# Ask a question about the doc
firecrawl parse ./paper.pdf -Q "What are the main conclusions?" \
-o .firecrawl/paper-qa.mdThen head, grep, rg etc., or incrementally read the file - don't load the whole thing at once.
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-S, --summary | AI-generated summary |
-Q, --query <prompt> | Ask a question about the parsed content |
-o, --output <path> | Output file path — always use this |
-f, --format <fmt> | markdown (default), html, summary |
--timeout <ms> | Timeout for the parse job |
--timing | Show request duration |
Tips
- Quote paths with spaces:
firecrawl parse "./My Doc.pdf" -o .firecrawl/mydoc.md. - Max upload size: 50 MB per file.
- Credits: ~1 per PDF page; HTML is 1 flat.
- Check
.firecrawl/before re-parsing the same file. - To check your credit balance (recommended for batch processing and similar workflows), use the
firecrawl credit-usagecommand.
See also
- firecrawl-scrape — same idea for URLs
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Firecrawl Parse has 2 known copies in the catalog totaling 38 installs. They canonicalize to this original listing.
FAQ
What file types does firecrawl-parse support?
firecrawl-parse supports local PDF, DOCX, DOC, ODT, RTF, XLSX, XLS, and HTML files, converting each into clean markdown saved to disk with optional AI summaries and Q&A.
When should developers use firecrawl-parse over scrape?
firecrawl-parse is for local file paths on disk—PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, and HTML—while scrape targets URLs; parse delivers precise structured markdown for agent workflows.
Is Firecrawl Parse safe to install?
skills.sh reports 2 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.