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MarkItDown Convert Methods Explained: convert() vs convert_local(), convert_stream(), convert_uri(), and convert_response()

April 11, 2026 microsoft/markitdown ↗

The five public methods differ primarily by input type—convert() serves as a universal dispatcher that auto-detects source types, while convert_local(), convert_stream(), convert_uri(), and convert_response() handle specific inputs (filesystem paths, binary streams, URI strings, and HTTP response objects), all ultimately delegating to the internal _convert() method.

The Microsoft MarkItDown library provides a robust Python API for converting documents to Markdown through multiple entry points. Understanding the differences between these **MarkIt

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