batdoc

Author: Damon
Alternative to: cat
Language: Rust
This page last updated:

batdoc is a command-line utility that converts Office documents and PDFs into markdown format, making them easily viewable in the terminal. It automatically detects file format based on file signatures rather than extensions.

Features

  • Supports .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .pptx, and .pdf files
  • Renders spreadsheets as markdown tables
  • Extracts text from PDFs with page break indicators
  • Embeds images inline as base64 data URIs
  • Outputs syntax-highlighted markdown in terminal or plain text when piped
  • No external dependencies or system libraries required

Basic usage

batdoc document.docx                # Display Word document in terminal.
batdoc spreadsheet.xlsx             # View spreadsheet as markdown table.
batdoc slides.pptx                  # Extract text from PowerPoint presentation.
batdoc report.pdf | less            # View PDF content with pager.