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The MarkItDown MCP server can be installed via pip or run using Docker. Choose the installation method that best fits your needs.

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Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or higher (for pip installation)
  • Docker (for Docker installation)

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Installing with pip

Install the markitdown-mcp package using pip: 
pip install markitdown-mcp
This will install:
  • The markitdown-mcp command-line tool
  • The MCP server components (mcp ~1.8.0)
  • MarkItDown with all optional plugins (markitdown[all])

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Verifying Installation

Verify the installation by running: 
markitdown-mcp --help
You should see the command-line help output with available options.

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Installing with Docker

For a containerized deployment, build the Docker image from the source:

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Building the Docker Image

  1. Clone the MarkItDown repository or navigate to the markitdown-mcp package:
cd packages/markitdown-mcp
  1. Build the Docker image:
docker build -t markitdown-mcp:latest .
The Docker image includes:
  • Python 3.13 slim runtime
  • MarkItDown with all plugins enabled
  • ffmpeg for video/audio processing
  • exiftool for metadata extraction

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Testing the Docker Image

Test the Docker image by running: 
docker run -it --rm markitdown-mcp:latest
The server will start in STDIO mode (the container will wait for input).

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Plugin Support

The MCP server supports enabling optional MarkItDown plugins through an environment variable.

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Enabling Plugins

When running the server, set the MARKITDOWN_ENABLE_PLUGINS environment variable: 
export MARKITDOWN_ENABLE_PLUGINS=true
markitdown-mcp
For Docker: 
docker run -it --rm -e MARKITDOWN_ENABLE_PLUGINS=true markitdown-mcp:latest
The Docker image has plugins enabled by default. For pip installations, you need to set the environment variable explicitly.

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Accepted Values

The following values enable plugins (case-insensitive):
  • true
  • 1
  • yes
Any other value disables plugins.

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Dependencies

The package has the following key dependencies:
PackageVersionPurpose
mcp~1.8.0Model Context Protocol server framework
markitdown[all]>=0.1.1,<0.2.0Document conversion engine with all plugins
Additional dependencies are installed automatically as part of the MCP and MarkItDown packages.

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System Requirements

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For pip Installation

  • Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13
  • CPython or PyPy implementation
  • Operating system: Linux, macOS, or Windows

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For Docker Installation

  • Docker Engine (any recent version)
  • Sufficient disk space for the image (~500MB)

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Next Steps

Usage Guide

Learn how to run the MCP server

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