# firecrawl-parse

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.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 51000 installs · ★ 671
- Author: firecrawl
- License: not stated · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/firecrawl/cli/tree/HEAD/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/firecrawl-parse

## What it 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.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/firecrawl-parse/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install firecrawl/cli firecrawl-parse
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/firecrawl/cli --path skills/firecrawl-parse
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add firecrawl/cli --skill firecrawl-parse -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/firecrawl/cli/tree/HEAD/skills/firecrawl-parse/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- 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
- Parse `./paper.pdf` to markdown and save it as `.firecrawl/paper.md`
- Summarize `./report.docx` with the `-S` flag
- Answer what the conclusions are in `./paper.pdf` using `-Q`

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From the same set: [firecrawl/cli](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/firecrawl/cli.md) — 10 cards

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