URL to Markdown for Cursor — Feed Documentation to Your IDE
Cursor knows the popular libraries it was trained on. It hallucinates everything else — niche libraries, internal SDKs, recently-released APIs, beta features. The fix is to give it the real docs as Markdown files in the workspace, where Cursor's indexer treats them as first-class context.
The "feed Cursor your library docs" workflow
Step one: find the documentation URL for whatever library Cursor is hallucinating against (https://library.dev/docs/getting-started, /api/v2, etc.). Step two: convert the URL — and ideally each major sub-page — to Markdown. Step three: save as docs/library-name.md at the root of your repo. Cursor's indexer immediately treats Markdown files as searchable, retrievable context.
Step four: add a one-line .cursorrules entry: "When using library X, consult docs/library-name.md for accurate API signatures." Cursor will then autonomously read the relevant section of the docs before writing code that uses the library.
Why URLs (not PDFs, not pasted text)
Library documentation lives on the web — versioned, searchable, regularly updated. Pasting docs into Cursor chat works for one task, then evaporates. Converting URLs to workspace Markdown gives you a snapshot you control: re-convert when the docs update, version-control the result, share with your team via the repo.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add web documentation to Cursor as context?
Two ways. (1) Drop converted Markdown files anywhere in the workspace — Cursor's indexer picks them up automatically. (2) Add the live URL via Cursor Settings > Features > Docs (good for evergreen public docs). Use (1) for offline-friendly snapshots, internal docs, or anything you want version-controlled.
Should I convert documentation pages individually or in bulk?
For typical library docs: convert the most-used pages (intro, API reference, common-task guides) into a single library-name.md file, concatenated with clear # Page: ... separators. Cursor retrieves chunks from large Markdown files just as well as from many small ones.
Does this work for internal/private API docs?
Yes — and it's often the highest-leverage use case. Private SDK docs aren't in any LLM's training data, so without converted Markdown in the workspace, Cursor will guess. With them, Cursor produces correct code against your private APIs the same way it does against React or Express.
How often should I re-convert when docs change?
Re-convert when you bump the library version, or on any major doc reorganisation. For high-velocity libraries (LangChain, the Anthropic SDK, etc.), a monthly re-convert is reasonable. The conversion itself is fast enough to script in CI.
Cursor's native @Docs vs converted Markdown: which is better?
@Docs is great for public, well-known libraries Cursor already knows about. Converted Markdown wins for: private SDKs, beta-only docs, snapshots of specific versions, and any docs you want available offline. Use both — they don't overlap.
Your AI doesn't read PDFs directly. It first has to extract the text, decode the layout, ignore the metadata — before it can even start answering. A Markdown file removes all of those steps. Your AI reads it instantly. So you get faster responses, more accurate results, and zero information lost along the way.
Size-wise, it's 100 to 500 times lighter for the same content. A 15 MB PDF becomes a 30 KB .md file. So your AI knowledge base can hold hundreds of documents instead of a handful.
MDisBetter brings 19 free tools together for that — documents, videos, audio, web pages and prompts.
How does it work?
Drop a PDF, a video, an audio file or a URL. MDisBetter extracts the content and gives you a clean Markdown file. So you can send it to your AI, add it to your project files, or store it in your knowledge base — without losing anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a PDF to Markdown for free?
Upload your PDF to MDisBetter, click Convert, and get structured Markdown in seconds. No signup, no installation — it works directly in your browser. The free plan includes 50 credits per month.
Why is Markdown better than PDF for AI?
Markdown reduces token usage by up to 95% compared to PDF. AI models like ChatGPT and Claude process Markdown far more efficiently because it contains only content structure — no fonts, no layout data, no binary overhead.
What file types can MDisBetter convert?
MDisBetter converts PDF, Word (.docx), plain text, YouTube videos (transcript), audio files (MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, FLAC, WEBM), and any web page URL to clean Markdown.
Is MDisBetter free?
Yes, free to start. The free plan includes 50 credits per month. All processing happens securely — your files are never stored.
Can I extract a YouTube transcript as Markdown?
Yes. Paste the YouTube video URL, click Convert, and get the full transcript structured as Markdown with headings and timestamps. Perfect for feeding video content to AI tools.
PDF → Markdown
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