PPTX to Markdown API
POST /v2/convert/pptx/to/md reads the text of every visible slide and returns it as Markdown: the slide title becomes a ## heading and the text under it becomes - bullets, nested by indent level. The sample's six-slide deck gives an 815-byte file with five headings.
- Endpoint
- POST /v2/
convert/ pptx/ to/ md - Accepts
- pptx
- Sample timing
- 44 ms median of 5 runsHow we measure
- Request size
- Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together
Request and response
Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.
curl -sS -X POST \
https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pptx/to/md \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
-F File=@calloway-ferry-winter.pptx \
-o response.json
# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
mkdir -p converted
name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
| base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
cat response.json
fiimport base64
import os
import requests
key = os.environ["PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY"]
response = requests.post(
"https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pptx/to/md",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
files=[("File", open("calloway-ferry-winter.pptx", "rb"))],
timeout=180,
)
result = response.json()
if not response.ok:
raise SystemExit(f"{result['Code']}: {result['Message']}")
os.makedirs("converted", exist_ok=True)
for file in result["Files"]:
path = os.path.join("converted", file["FileName"])
with open(path, "wb") as out:
out.write(base64.b64decode(file["FileData"]))
print(path, file["FileSize"], "bytes")
import { mkdir, readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
import { join } from "node:path";
const form = new FormData();
const file = "calloway-ferry-winter.pptx";
form.append("File", new Blob([await readFile(file)]), file);
const url = "https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/pptx/to/md";
const key = process.env.PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY;
const response = await fetch(url, {
method: "POST",
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${key}` },
body: form,
});
const result = await response.json();
if (!response.ok) {
throw new Error(`${result.Code}: ${result.Message}`);
}
await mkdir("converted", { recursive: true });
for (const file of result.Files) {
const path = join("converted", file.FileName);
await writeFile(path, Buffer.from(file.FileData, "base64"));
console.log(path, file.FileSize, "bytes");
}
{
"ConversionCost": 1,
"ConversionTime": 0.044,
"Files": [
{
"FileName": "calloway-ferry-winter.md",
"FileExt": "md",
"FileSize": 815,
"FileData": "IyMgV2ludGVyIHRpbWV0YWJs…"
}
]
}Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.
The sample, converted
The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.
calloway-ferry-winter.md, 28 lines
## Winter timetable- Calloway Bay Ferries, from December 1- A fictional operator. Sample deck for pdfconversionapi.com, released under CC0 1.0.## What changes on December 1- Crossings every 40 minutes, down from every 30 - First boat 6:20 a.m., last boat 9:40 p.m.- Gull Point is served on weekends only - Weekday riders take the shuttle bus from Harbor Square- Bikes ride free on every crossing## Weekday departures from North Pier- Boat Leaves Harbor Square Gull Point- Calloway Star 6:20 a.m. 6:42 a.m. weekends- Calloway Star 7:00 a.m. 7:22 a.m. weekends- Bay Runner 7:40 a.m. 8:02 a.m. weekends- Bay Runner 9:40 p.m. 10:02 p.m. no service## Riders per week, 2026## Where the boats stop- Ticket office at Harbor Square opens at 6:00 a.m.- Dashed lines: crossings. Map not to scale.
- Input
- calloway-ferry-winter.pptx (46 KB)
- Output
- calloway-ferry-winter.md (815 bytes)
- Source
- A six-slide winter timetable deck for a fictional ferry operator, made by us for this site; slide 5 is hidden and slide 2 has speaker notes. (CC0-1.0). How it was made
- Made by
- 2026-11-04, API build
9eeeb0640aba
Parameters
Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
ConvertHiddenSlidesboolean, default false | true keeps hidden slides in the outline. The sample then gains ## Draft: fare options (hidden) and its one bullet, growing from 815 to 927 bytes. Values other than true, false, 1, 0, yes, no, on or off return 400. |
Passwordstring | Opens an encrypted deck first. With the right password the outline is the same as for the unencrypted file. |
FileNamestring | Name of the .md file; FileName=ferry-outline returned ferry-outline.md. |
Not supported yet
Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.
| Option | What to do instead |
|---|---|
PageRange | Refused with any value, even ConvertAPI's default 1-2000. The outline always covers every visible slide. |
IncludeSpeakerNotes | Notes are never included; only false is accepted. |
Images | Pictures are left out; only embed, the default, is accepted, and it adds nothing. |
ListBulletChar | Bullets are always -. |
SlideHeadings | Slide titles are always headings; false returns 400. |
What carries over, and what doesn't
Kept
- Each visible slide's title as a
##heading, in deck order - Bullet levels: second-level points are indented two spaces under their parent
- Text in text boxes and shapes, such as the sample's rounded callout and map caption
- Table rows, one bullet per row with the cells separated by tab characters
- Accents and symbols as UTF-8, without a byte order mark
Lost or not yet supported
- Charts. The sample's bar chart slide keeps only its title; categories, series names and numbers are not written.
- Pictures, with no image link or alt text.
- Tables as Markdown tables: each row comes out as one bullet with tab characters between the cells.
- Speaker notes, and hidden slides unless
ConvertHiddenSlides=true. - Slides without a title get no heading, so their text runs on under the previous slide's heading.
- Escaping. Characters with a meaning in Markdown are copied as they are: a slide that says
*special*turns into italics when the file is rendered.
Limits
- One .pptx per request, up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans for the whole request.
- 120 seconds per conversion; after that the API answers 504.
- Encrypted decks need
Password; without it, or with a wrong one, the answer is 422 "the input file is password-protected".
Where teams use it
Feeding decks to a search index or a language model
Markdown keeps which line is a slide title and which is a point under it, so chunks can be split per slide. The headings give each chunk a label without parsing the .pptx yourself.
A text summary of a deck in a repository
Commit the outline next to the deck so reviewers see in a diff what changed on which slide, without opening PowerPoint.
Starting a handout or article from slides
Convert the talk once and edit the Markdown into prose. The bullet levels from the deck come through as nested lists.
Questions
What does the Markdown look like?
For the sample's second slide: ## What changes on December 1, a blank line, then - Crossings every 40 minutes, down from every 30 with - First boat 6:20 a.m., last boat 9:40 p.m. nested under it. Every slide follows that pattern.
Are speaker notes included?
No. The note on slide 2 of the sample is left out, and asking for notes with IncludeSpeakerNotes=true returns 400 for now. /v2/convert/pptx/to/pdf doesn't print notes either.
What happens to hidden slides?
They are dropped, the way a slide show skips them. With ConvertHiddenSlides=true they appear in their place in the deck, as slide 5 of the sample does.
Can I convert old .ppt files to Markdown too?
Yes, at /v2/convert/ppt/to/md. That route first saves the .ppt as .pptx, then writes the same kind of outline.
Convert your first PPTX file in a minute.