batch-convert

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

From	To: DOCX	To: PDF	To: MD	To: HTML	To: PPTX
DOCX	-	✅	✅	✅	-
PDF	✅	-	✅	✅	-
MD	✅	✅	-	✅	✅
HTML	✅	✅	✅	-	-
XLSX	-	✅	✅	✅	-
PPTX	-	✅	✅	✅	-

Core Pipeline

from pathlib import Path
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
import subprocess
import 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

# 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 conversions
def _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

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

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

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 formats
results = convert_to_multiple_formats(
    'README.md',
    ['docx', 'pdf', 'html'],
    './exports'
)

Examples

Example 1: Documentation Export

from pathlib import Path
import 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']:
            

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