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JimLiu/baoyu-url-to-markdown

JimLiu

baoyu-url-to-markdown

Fetch any URL and convert to markdown using baoyu-fetch CLI (Chrome CDP with site-specific adapters). Built-in adapters for X/Twitter, YouTube transcripts, Hacker News threads, and generic pages via Defuddle. Handles login/CAPTCHA via interaction wait modes. Use when user wants to save a webpage as markdown.

NewUpdated Sep 9, 2026

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):

  1. Prefer built-in user-input tools exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g., AskUserQuestion, request_user_input, clarify, ask_user, or any equivalent.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

  1. Determine this SKILL.md file's directory path as {baseDir}
  2. Resolve ${BUN} runtime: if bun installed → bun; else suggest installing Bun
  3. If {baseDir}/scripts/node_modules does not exist, run ${BUN} install --cwd {baseDir}/scripts
  4. ${READER} = {baseDir}/scripts/baoyu-fetch
  5. 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:

  1. Determine base directory from EXTEND.md default_output_dir or default ./url-to-markdown/
  2. Extract domain from URL (e.g., example.com)
  3. Generate slug from URL path or page title (kebab-case, 2-6 words)
  4. Construct: {base_dir}/{domain}/{slug}/{slug}.md — each URL gets its own directory so media files stay isolated
  5. 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.

Files48
48 files · 265.0 KB

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Overall Score

82/100

Grade

B

Good

Grades are signals, not a certification. Always review a skill yourself before use.

Safety

80

Quality

88

Clarity

78

Completeness

76

Summary

baoyu-url-to-markdown is a sophisticated URL-to-markdown converter using Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) with site-specific adapters (X/Twitter, YouTube, Hacker News, generic). It fetches pages via headless or interactive Chrome, captures structured content, handles login/CAPTCHA gates, downloads media, and outputs markdown or JSON. The skill orchestrates a complex runtime (Chrome launcher, CDP client, network monitoring, adapter selection) with extensive configuration via EXTEND.md preferences.

Static Analysis Findings

1 finding

Patterns detected by deterministic static analysis before AI scoring. Hover over any finding code for detailed information and remediation guidance.

Credential Exposure
SEC-020Direct .env File Access3x in 1 file

Direct .env file access

scripts/lib/browser/profile.ts.env3x

Detected Capabilities

file read/writeshell execution (child_process)network requests (fetch, CDP WebSocket)Chrome process launch and controldesktop automation (macOS app activation)process introspection (ps, Windows registry)interactive user input (readline)environment variable access

Trigger Keywords

Phrases that agents use to match this skill to user intent.

convert webpage to markdownextract youtube transcriptcapture twitter threaddownload page mediahandle login pagebypass captchahacker news parserurl to structured data

Risk Signals

INFO

.env file referenced in setup documentation

SKILL.md | references/config/first-time-setup.md
WARNING

Direct .env file access via normalizeUrl/sanitizeFilename patterns

scripts/lib/browser/profile.ts
INFO

Chrome user profile directory with environment variable override (BAOYU_CHROME_PROFILE_DIR)

scripts/lib/browser/profile.ts | scripts/lib/browser/chrome-launcher.ts
WARNING

Cross-origin resource sharing (* origin in CDP flags)

scripts/lib/browser/chrome-launcher.ts | --remote-allow-origins=*
INFO

Child process spawn (ps aux, osascript)

scripts/lib/browser/profile.ts | scripts/lib/browser/session.ts
INFO

Fetch of arbitrary URLs without domain whitelist

scripts/lib/media/default-downloader.ts | fetchDefuddleApiMarkdown
INFO

Base64 data URI parsing and file write

scripts/lib/media/default-downloader.ts | parseBase64DataUri
INFO

Recursive directory creation (fs.mkdirSync recursive: true)

scripts/lib/browser/profile.ts
INFO

Network journal with response body capture and retrieval

scripts/lib/browser/network-journal.ts | ensureBody

Referenced Domains

External domains referenced in skill content, detected by static analysis.

defuddle.mdexample.comgithub.comi.ytimg.comnews.ycombinator.comtwitter.comwww.youtube.comx.com

Use Cases

  • Convert webpage to markdown with custom adapter selection
  • Extract YouTube transcripts with chapters and captions
  • Save X/Twitter threads and articles with thread context
  • Capture Hacker News stories with nested comment threads
  • Download page media (images/videos) to local directories
  • Handle login-protected pages with interaction detection
  • Bypass CAPTCHA and verification gates interactively
  • Extract structured JSON output with metadata and media assets

Quality Notes

  • Skill is comprehensive and well-documented with clear adapter architecture, extensive error handling, and safety guardrails around Chrome process management
  • Preferences system (EXTEND.md) with first-time setup is well-designed, blocking conversion until user explicitly chooses settings rather than silently applying defaults
  • References documentation is thorough: adapters.md, quality-gate.md, first-time-setup.md provide contextual guidance for each workflow
  • Code quality is high: strong type definitions, proper resource cleanup, timeout handling, fallback chains (Defuddle → Readability), media deduplication, and URL normalization
  • Security boundaries are explicit: Chrome runs in isolated user-data-dir, cookies are sidecarred and scoped per adapter, no credentials hardcoded, no privilege escalation
  • Network journal is sophisticated: tracks requests/responses with lazy body fetching, supports filtering and json parsing for X/Twitter GraphQL payloads
  • Media download implements practical safeguards: deduplication, content-type validation, extension resolution from MIME types, local relative path rewriting
  • First-time setup flow is intentionally blocking (MUST NOT proceed until preferences saved) and user-centric: asks media strategy, output directory, and preference location
  • Documentation maps user intent to CLI flags clearly (wait modes, adapter selection, media download), helping agents understand when to activate each option
  • Edge case coverage: headless/interactive modes, login detection, CAPTCHA gates (Cloudflare, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha), lazy-loaded thread expansion, frame materialization for shadow DOM
Model: claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Analyzed: Sep 9, 2026

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Version History

  1. v1.1

    Content updated

    ✦ AIUpdates dependencies in scripts/bun.lock.

    2026-09-09

    LATEST
  2. v1.0

    2026-07-12

    View This VersionInitial version

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