URL to Markdown
Fetches any URL via baoyu-fetch CLI (Chrome CDP + site-specific adapters) and converts it to clean markdown.
User Input Tools
When this skill prompts the user, follow this tool-selection rule (priority order):
- Prefer built-in user-input tools exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g.,
AskUserQuestion, request_user_input, clarify, ask_user, or any equivalent.
- Fallback: if no such tool exists, emit a numbered plain-text message and ask the user to reply with the chosen number/answer for each question.
- Batching: if the tool supports multiple questions per call, combine all applicable questions into a single call; if only single-question, ask them one at a time in priority order.
Concrete AskUserQuestion references below are examples — substitute the local equivalent in other runtimes.
CLI Setup
Important: The CLI source is vendored in {baseDir}/scripts/lib. scripts/package.json installs only third-party runtime dependencies.
Agent Execution Instructions:
- Determine this SKILL.md file's directory path as
{baseDir}
- Resolve
${BUN} runtime: if bun installed → bun; else suggest installing Bun
- If
{baseDir}/scripts/node_modules does not exist, run ${BUN} install --cwd {baseDir}/scripts
${READER} = {baseDir}/scripts/baoyu-fetch- Replace all
${READER} in this document with the resolved value
Preferences (EXTEND.md)
Check EXTEND.md in priority order — the first one found wins:
| Priority | Path | Scope |
|---|
| 1 | .baoyu-skills/baoyu-url-to-markdown/EXTEND.md | Project |
| 2 | ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/baoyu-skills/baoyu-url-to-markdown/EXTEND.md | XDG |
| 3 | $HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-url-to-markdown/EXTEND.md | User home |
| Result | Action |
|---|
| Found | Read, parse, apply settings |
| Not found | MUST run first-time setup (see below) — do NOT silently create defaults |
EXTEND.md supports: download media by default, default output directory.
First-Time Setup ⛔ BLOCKING
When EXTEND.md is not found, you MUST use AskUserQuestion to gather preferences before creating EXTEND.md. NEVER create EXTEND.md with silent defaults. Generation is BLOCKED until setup completes. Batch all three questions into a single call:
- Q1 — Media (header "Media"): "How to handle images and videos in pages?"
- "Ask each time (Recommended)" — Prompt after each save
- "Always download" — Download to local
imgs/ and videos/
- "Never download" — Keep remote URLs
- Q2 — Output (header "Output"): "Default output directory?"
- "url-to-markdown (Recommended)" — Save to
./url-to-markdown/{domain}/{slug}.md
- User may pick "Other" and type a custom path
- Q3 — Save (header "Save"): "Where to save preferences?"
- "User (Recommended)" —
~/.baoyu-skills/ (all projects)
- "Project" —
.baoyu-skills/ (this project only)
After answers, write EXTEND.md, confirm "Preferences saved to [path]", then continue.
Full template: references/config/first-time-setup.md.
Supported Keys
| Key | Default | Values | Description |
|---|
download_media | ask | ask / 1 / 0 | ask = prompt each time, 1 = always, 0 = never |
default_output_dir | empty | path or empty | Default output directory (empty = ./url-to-markdown/) |
EXTEND.md → CLI mapping:
| EXTEND.md key | CLI argument | Notes |
|---|
download_media: 1 | --download-media | Requires --output to be set |
default_output_dir: ./posts/ | Agent constructs --output ./posts/{domain}/{slug}.md | Agent generates path, not a direct flag |
Value priority: CLI arguments → EXTEND.md → skill defaults.
Usage
# Default: headless capture, markdown to stdout
${READER} <url>
# Save to file
${READER} <url> --output article.md
# Save with media download
${READER} <url> --output article.md --download-media
# Wait for interaction (login/CAPTCHA) — auto-detect and continue
${READER} <url> --wait-for interaction --output article.md
# Wait for interaction — manual control (Enter to continue)
${READER} <url> --wait-for force --output article.md
# JSON output
${READER} <url> --format json --output article.json
# Force specific adapter
${READER} <url> --adapter youtube --output transcript.md
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
<url> | URL to fetch |
--output <path> | Output file path (default: stdout) |
--format <type> | Output format: markdown (default) or json |
--json | Shorthand for --format json |
--adapter <name> | Force adapter: x, youtube, hn, or generic (default: auto-detect) |
--headless | Force headless Chrome (no visible window) |
--wait-for <mode> | Interaction wait mode: none (default), interaction, or force |
--wait-for-interaction | Alias for --wait-for interaction |
--wait-for-login | Alias for --wait-for interaction |
--timeout <ms> | Page load timeout (default: 30000) |
--interaction-timeout <ms> | Login/CAPTCHA wait timeout (default: 600000 = 10 min) |
--interaction-poll-interval <ms> | Poll interval for interaction checks (default: 1500) |
--download-media | Download images/videos to local imgs/ and videos/, rewrite markdown links. Requires --output |
--media-dir <dir> | Base directory for downloaded media (default: same as --output directory) |
--cdp-url <url> | Reuse existing Chrome DevTools Protocol endpoint |
--browser-path <path> | Custom Chrome/Chromium binary path |
--chrome-profile-dir <path> | Chrome user data directory (default: BAOYU_CHROME_PROFILE_DIR env or ./baoyu-skills/chrome-profile) |
--debug-dir <dir> | Write debug artifacts (document.json, markdown.md, page.html, network.json) |
Agent Quality Gate
CRITICAL: treat default headless capture as provisional. Some sites render differently in headless mode and can silently return low-quality content without failing the CLI.
After every headless run, inspect the saved markdown. See references/quality-gate.md for the full checklist, recovery workflow, and capture-mode table. Read it whenever a run looks suspicious or the user asks about login/CAPTCHA handling.
Output Path Generation
The agent must construct the output file path — baoyu-fetch does not auto-generate paths.
Algorithm:
- Determine base directory from EXTEND.md
default_output_dir or default ./url-to-markdown/
- Extract domain from URL (e.g.,
example.com)
- Generate slug from URL path or page title (kebab-case, 2-6 words)
- Construct:
{base_dir}/{domain}/{slug}/{slug}.md — each URL gets its own directory so media files stay isolated
- Conflict resolution: append timestamp
{slug}-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS/{slug}-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md
Pass the constructed path to --output. Media files (--download-media) are saved into subdirectories next to the markdown file, keeping each URL's assets self-contained.
Adapters & Media
See references/adapters.md for the adapter catalog (X, YouTube, Hacker News, generic), per-adapter notes, the media download flow (ask / always / never), and the JSON output schema. Read it before answering adapter-specific questions or handling media prompts.
Environment Variables
| Variable | Description |
|---|
BAOYU_CHROME_PROFILE_DIR | Chrome user data directory (can also use --chrome-profile-dir) |
Troubleshooting: Chrome not found → use --browser-path. Timeout → increase --timeout. Login/CAPTCHA → --wait-for interaction. Debug → --debug-dir to inspect captured HTML and network logs.
Extension Support
Custom configurations via EXTEND.md. See Preferences section above for paths and supported keys.