firecrawl-parse — Claude Code skill: local files to markdown
Turns a local PDF, DOCX or XLSX into markdown, writes a summary, or answers a question about the document. Built for file paths rather than URLs.
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a claude-codeWhat firecrawl-parse does
The skill wraps firecrawl parse and writes results under .firecrawl/. Input formats include PDF, DOCX, DOC, ODT, RTF, XLSX, XLS and HTML. Three modes: plain markdown conversion, a summary via -S, and a question answered with -Q.
Always pass -o. A parsed document can run into hundreds of KB, and streaming that to stdout floods the context window. Read the saved file in bounded chunks with head, grep or rg. Add .firecrawl/ to .gitignore.
Uploads cap at 50 MB per file. Expect roughly 1 credit per PDF page; HTML costs 1 flat. firecrawl credit-usage shows your balance but needs authentication. Quote any path that contains spaces.
What it helps with
- convert a PDF to markdown for later search
- pull a short summary out of a long report
- ask a question about a document's contents
- extract an XLSX table as text
- check remaining credits before batch processing
Example prompts for the agent
- Parse
./paper.pdfto markdown and save it as.firecrawl/paper.md - Summarize
./report.docxwith the-Sflag - Answer what the conclusions are in
./paper.pdfusing-Q
How to install firecrawl-parse
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/firecrawl-parse/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install firecrawl/cli firecrawl-parse2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/firecrawl/cli --path skills/firecrawl-parseManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about firecrawl-parse
How do I install firecrawl-parse in Claude Code?
Run npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a claude-code. The skill lands at ~/.claude/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md.
What does firecrawl-parse do?
It converts a local file to markdown, summarizes it, or answers questions about it. Supported inputs include PDF, DOCX, XLSX and HTML.
How is firecrawl-parse different from firecrawl-scrape?
This one takes a local file path; firecrawl-scrape handles URLs. Reach for that skill when your input is a link.
