Move PDFs, Word docs and spreadsheets into a Markdown knowledge base
Knowledge bases end up as a pile of PDFs, Word handbooks and spreadsheets that search tools and AI assistants read badly. Leafmelt turns each file into Markdown with its headings and tables kept, ready for a wiki, a docs-as-code repo or a vector index.
How knowledge management teams use Leafmelt
- List the documents to move (shared-drive links or exports), up to 5 per call.
- Call /api/convert or the MCP tool; each document returns Markdown, a token count and a preview.
- Check the emptyText flag: scanned PDFs without a text layer need OCR elsewhere first.
- Save each result as a .md page, or split it on headings and send it to your search or embedding index.
Headings become Markdown headings and Word and Excel tables stay as tables, so a handbook keeps its structure after the move.
The token count on every document helps you decide where to split long files before indexing them for an AI assistant.
Live calls to the Leafmelt API, 27 Sep 2026: 3 sample files plus 2 public documents
| Document | Format | Size | Characters | ≈ Tokens | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quarterly-report.pdf | 2.5 KB | 520 | 130 | 0.5 s | table + headings | |
| meeting-notes.docx | Word | 37 KB | 467 | 117 | 0.6 s | Markdown table kept |
| orders.xlsx | Excel | 5.5 KB | 430 | 108 | 0.5 s | one table per sheet |
| arXiv 1706.03762 (15 pages) | 2.2 MB | 39,413 | 9,854 | 1.8 s | full paper, not cut | |
| IRS Form W-9 (XFA form) | 141 KB | 85 | 22 | 0.8 s | emptyText: no text layer |
Source: products/leafmelt/store/listing.json (sample table from live API calls on 27 Sep 2026; the three sample files are fictional and served at leafmelt.cybermaxtools.com/samples/).
FAQ
Can it convert a whole shared drive?
Yes, in batches: up to 5 documents per call. The Team plan covers 10,000 calls a month.
Why not copy and paste into the wiki?
Fine for a few pages. Copy and paste loses table structure; Leafmelt keeps tables as Markdown tables and handles hundreds of files by script.
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