CamScanner Any to Markdown

Overview

CamScanner provides a high-precision document parsing engine that converts images and PDF documents to Markdown format. It intelligently decomposes document paragraphs, precisely recognizes tables and multiple element types, handles complex image scenarios, 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 file, convert it, then download the result. The skill auto-detects whether the input is a PDF or image and uses the appropriate conversion endpoint.

When to Use

• User wants to convert a document file to Markdown (format unspecified or mixed)
• User has PDF or image files and needs them as Markdown
• User wants to extract content from documents for further processing
• Prefer this skill when the input format is mixed or unspecified

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 | Endpoint | | ----------- | ----------- | ------ | ------------- | | pdf | md | .md | convert_pdf | | image | md | .md | convert_image |

Format Detection

Determine the conversion endpoint based on file extension:

• PDF files (.pdf): Use convert_pdf with "source_type": "pdf"
• Image files (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, .tiff, .webp): Use convert_image with "source_type": "image"

Step 1: Upload File

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" | 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 to Markdown

For PDF files:

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')

For image files:

OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/convert_image/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"image\",\"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

Convert a PDF to Markdown:

BASE="https://ai-tools.camscanner.com"
INPUT_FILE="/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_FILE" | jq -r '.tool_result.data.file_id')

# Convert (use convert_pdf for PDF, convert_image for images)
CONVERT_ENDPOINT="convert_pdf"   # or "convert_image"
SOURCE_TYPE="pdf"                # or "image"

OUT_FILE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/tools/${CONVERT_ENDPOINT}/execute" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"file_id\":\"$IN_FILE_ID\",\"source_type\":\"$SOURCE_TYPE\",\"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 | | Wrong endpoint for file type | Use convert_pdf for PDFs, convert_image for images | | Wrong source_type for file type | Use "pdf" for PDFs, "image" for images | | 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