Batch Convert

by claude-office-skills9c4c7d5cd281MIT499 starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated 8 months ago

Batch convert documents between multiple formats using a unified pipeline

Instructions onlyDocuments & Office
AI-generated overview

Converts batches of documents between formats such as PDF, DOCX, Markdown, HTML, XLSX and PPTX.

What it does
This skill describes a unified document conversion pipeline that turns many files at once from one format to another, including PDF, DOCX, Markdown, HTML, XLSX and PPTX. It covers format detection, parallel batch processing, progress tracking and error logging, and produces converted files plus a result report. It also outlines multi-format export and legacy document migration patterns.
When to use it
Use it when you need to convert a folder or large set of documents into another format with consistent settings. It suits documentation export, bulk format migration and report generation pipelines. It is not for editing a single document's content.
Requirements
Instructions only, with no bundled scripts. It relies on external tools and packages: Pandoc, Marp CLI, LibreOffice, and Python packages such as pdf2docx, markitdown, python-docx, openpyxl and tqdm. It also references an office-mcp server with a batch_convert tool.

Batch Convert Skill

Overview

This skill enables batch conversion of documents between multiple formats using a unified pipeline. Convert hundreds of files at once with consistent settings, automatic format detection, and parallel processing for maximum efficiency.

How to Use

  1. Specify the source folder or files
  2. Choose target format(s)
  3. Optionally configure conversion options
  4. I'll process all files with progress tracking

Example prompts:

  • "Convert all PDFs in this folder to Word documents"
  • "Batch convert these markdown files to PDF and HTML"
  • "Process all Office files and convert to Markdown"
  • "Convert this folder of images to a single PDF"

Domain Knowledge

Supported Format Matrix

FromTo: DOCXTo: PDFTo: MDTo: HTMLTo: PPTX
DOCX-✅✅✅-
PDF✅-✅✅-
MD✅✅-✅✅
HTML✅✅✅--
XLSX-✅✅✅-
PPTX-✅✅✅-

Core Pipeline

python
from pathlib import Pathfrom concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completedimport subprocessimport os
class DocumentConverter:    """Unified document conversion pipeline."""        def __init__(self, max_workers=4):        self.max_workers = max_workers        self.converters = {            ('md', 'docx'): self._md_to_docx,            ('md', 'pdf'): self._md_to_pdf,            ('md', 'html'): self._md_to_html,            ('md', 'pptx'): self._md_to_pptx,            ('docx', 'pdf'): self._docx_to_pdf,            ('docx', 'md'): self._docx_to_md,            ('pdf', 'docx'): self._pdf_to_docx,            ('pdf', 'md'): self._pdf_to_md,            ('xlsx', 'pdf'): self._xlsx_to_pdf,            ('xlsx', 'md'): self._xlsx_to_md,            ('pptx', 'pdf'): self._pptx_to_pdf,            ('pptx', 'md'): self._pptx_to_md,            ('html', 'md'): self._html_to_md,            ('html', 'pdf'): self._html_to_pdf,        }        def convert(self, input_path, output_format, output_dir=None):        """Convert single file to target format."""        input_path = Path(input_path)        input_format = input_path.suffix[1:].lower()                if output_dir:            output_path = Path(output_dir) / f"{input_path.stem}.{output_format}"        else:            output_path = input_path.with_suffix(f".{output_format}")                converter_key = (input_format, output_format)        if converter_key not in self.converters:            raise ValueError(f"Conversion not supported: {input_format} -> {output_format}")                converter = self.converters[converter_key]        return converter(input_path, output_path)        def batch_convert(self, input_dir, output_format, output_dir=None,                       file_pattern="*", recursive=False):        """Batch convert all matching files."""        input_path = Path(input_dir)        output_path = Path(output_dir) if output_dir else input_path / "converted"        output_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)                # Find files        if recursive:            files = list(input_path.rglob(file_pattern))        else:            files = list(input_path.glob(file_pattern))                # Filter to supported formats        supported_ext = ['.md', '.docx', '.pdf', '.xlsx', '.pptx', '.html']        files = [f for f in files if f.suffix.lower() in supported_ext]                results = []                with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=self.max_workers) as executor:            future_to_file = {                executor.submit(self.convert, f, output_format, output_path): f                for f in files            }                        for future in as_completed(future_to_file):                file = future_to_file[future]                try:                    result = future.result()                    results.append({'file': str(file), 'status': 'success', 'output': str(result)})                except Exception as e:                    results.append({'file': str(file), 'status': 'error', 'error': str(e)})                return results

Converter Implementations

python
# Markdown conversions (using Pandoc)def _md_to_docx(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run(['pandoc', str(input_path), '-o', str(output_path)], check=True)    return output_path
def _md_to_pdf(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run(['pandoc', str(input_path), '-o', str(output_path)], check=True)    return output_path
def _md_to_html(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run(['pandoc', str(input_path), '-s', '-o', str(output_path)], check=True)    return output_path
def _md_to_pptx(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run(['marp', str(input_path), '-o', str(output_path)], check=True)    return output_path
# Office to Markdown (using markitdown)def _docx_to_md(self, input_path, output_path):    from markitdown import MarkItDown    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(str(input_path))    with open(output_path, 'w') as f:        f.write(result.text_content)    return output_path
def _xlsx_to_md(self, input_path, output_path):    from markitdown import MarkItDown    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(str(input_path))    with open(output_path, 'w') as f:        f.write(result.text_content)    return output_path
def _pptx_to_md(self, input_path, output_path):    from markitdown import MarkItDown    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(str(input_path))    with open(output_path, 'w') as f:        f.write(result.text_content)    return output_path
# PDF conversionsdef _pdf_to_docx(self, input_path, output_path):    from pdf2docx import Converter    cv = Converter(str(input_path))    cv.convert(str(output_path))    cv.close()    return output_path
def _pdf_to_md(self, input_path, output_path):    from markitdown import MarkItDown    md = MarkItDown()    result = md.convert(str(input_path))    with open(output_path, 'w') as f:        f.write(result.text_content)    return output_path
# Office to PDF (using LibreOffice)def _docx_to_pdf(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run([        'soffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'pdf',        '--outdir', str(output_path.parent), str(input_path)    ], check=True)    return output_path
def _xlsx_to_pdf(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run([        'soffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'pdf',        '--outdir', str(output_path.parent), str(input_path)    ], check=True)    return output_path
def _pptx_to_pdf(self, input_path, output_path):    subprocess.run([        'soffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'pdf',        '--outdir', str(output_path.parent), str(input_path)    ], check=True)    return output_path

Progress Tracking

python
from tqdm import tqdm
def batch_convert_with_progress(converter, input_dir, output_format, output_dir=None):    """Batch convert with progress bar."""    input_path = Path(input_dir)    files = list(input_path.glob('*'))        results = []    for file in tqdm(files, desc=f"Converting to {output_format}"):        try:            result = converter.convert(file, output_format, output_dir)            results.append({'file': str(file), 'status': 'success'})        except Exception as e:            results.append({'file': str(file), 'status': 'error', 'error': str(e)})        return results

Best Practices

  1. Test Sample First: Convert a few files before batch processing
  2. Check Disk Space: Ensure sufficient space for output
  3. Use Parallel Processing: Speed up with multiple workers
  4. Handle Errors Gracefully: Log failures, continue processing
  5. Verify Output: Spot-check converted files

Common Patterns

Format Detection Pipeline

python
def detect_and_convert(file_path, target_format):    """Automatically detect format and convert."""    import mimetypes        mime_type, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(str(file_path))        format_map = {        'application/pdf': 'pdf',        'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document': 'docx',        'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet': 'xlsx',        'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation': 'pptx',        'text/markdown': 'md',        'text/html': 'html',    }        source_format = format_map.get(mime_type, Path(file_path).suffix[1:])        converter = DocumentConverter()    return converter.convert(file_path, target_format)

Multi-Format Output

python
def convert_to_multiple_formats(input_file, output_formats, output_dir):    """Convert one file to multiple formats."""    converter = DocumentConverter()    results = {}        for fmt in output_formats:        try:            output = converter.convert(input_file, fmt, output_dir)            results[fmt] = {'status': 'success', 'path': str(output)}        except Exception as e:            results[fmt] = {'status': 'error', 'error': str(e)}        return results
# Convert README to multiple formatsresults = convert_to_multiple_formats(    'README.md',    ['docx', 'pdf', 'html'],    './exports')

Examples

Example 1: Documentation Export

python
from pathlib import Pathimport json
def export_documentation(docs_dir, export_dir):    """Export all documentation to multiple formats."""        converter = DocumentConverter(max_workers=8)    docs_path = Path(docs_dir)    export_path = Path(export_dir)        # Create format directories    for fmt in ['pdf', 'docx', 'html']:        (export_path / fmt).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)        all_results = {}        # Find all markdown files    md_files = list(docs_path.rglob('*.md'))        for md_file in md_files:        file_results = {}                for fmt in ['pdf', 'docx', 'html']:            output_dir = export_path / fmt            try:                output = converter.convert(md_file, fmt, output_dir)                file_results[fmt] = 'success'            except Exception as e:                file_results[fmt] = f'error: {e}'                all_results[str(md_file)] = file_results        print(f"Processed: {md_file.name}")        # Save report    with open(export_path / 'export_report.json', 'w') as f:        json.dump(all_results, f, indent=2)        return all_results
results = export_documentation('./docs', './exports')

Example 2: Legacy Document Migration

python
def migrate_legacy_docs(source_dir, target_dir):    """Migrate legacy documents to modern formats."""        converter = DocumentConverter(max_workers=4)        # Migration rules    migrations = [        ('*.doc', 'docx'),   # Old Word to new        ('*.xls', 'xlsx'),   # Old Excel to new        ('*.ppt', 'pptx'),   # Old PowerPoint to new        ('*.rtf', 'docx'),   # RTF to Word    ]        source_path = Path(source_dir)    target_path = Path(target_dir)    target_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)        total_migrated = 0    errors = []        for pattern, target_format in migrations:        files = list(source_path.glob(pattern))                for file in files:            try:                # Use LibreOffice for legacy formats                subprocess.run([                    'soffice', '--headless',                    '--convert-to', target_format,                    '--outdir', str(target_path),                    str(file)                ], check=True)                                total_migrated += 1                print(f"Migrated: {file.name}")                            except Exception as e:                errors.append({'file': str(file), 'error': str(e)})        print(f"\nMigration complete: {total_migrated} files")    print(f"Errors: {len(errors)}")        return {'migrated': total_migrated, 'errors': errors}

Example 3: Report Generation Pipeline

python
def generate_reports_pipeline(data_files, template_dir, output_dir):    """Generate reports from data files using templates."""        from datetime import datetime        converter = DocumentConverter()    output_path = Path(output_dir)    output_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)        timestamp = datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')        reports = []        for data_file in data_files:        # Load data        data_path = Path(data_file)                # Generate markdown report        md_content = f"""---title: Report - {data_path.stem}date: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}---
# {data_path.stem} Report
Generated: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')}
## Data Summary
"""                # Add data content (simplified)        if data_path.suffix == '.xlsx':            from markitdown import MarkItDown            md = MarkItDown()            result = md.convert(str(data_path))            md_content += result.text_content                # Save markdown        md_file = output_path / f"{data_path.stem}_{timestamp}.md"        with open(md_file, 'w') as f:            f.write(md_content)                # Convert to PDF and DOCX        for fmt in ['pdf', 'docx']:            try:                output = converter.convert(md_file, fmt, output_path)                reports.append({'source': str(data_file), 'output': str(output), 'format': fmt})            except Exception as e:                print(f"Error converting {data_file} to {fmt}: {e}")        return reports

Limitations

  • Some format combinations not supported
  • Complex formatting may be lost in conversion
  • Large files may require more time
  • Some conversions need external tools (LibreOffice, Pandoc)
  • Quality varies by source document complexity

Installation

bash
# Core dependenciespip install pdf2docx markitdown python-docx openpyxl
# Pandoc (for MD conversions)brew install pandoc  # macOSapt install pandoc   # Ubuntu
# Marp (for PPTX)npm install -g @marp-team/marp-cli
# LibreOffice (for Office formats)brew install libreoffice  # macOSapt install libreoffice   # Ubuntu

Resources

Source and attribution

Source:claude-office-skills/skillsinbatch-convertat commit9c4c7d5

License: MIT

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