URL to Markdown for Windsurf — Import Web Docs Into Your AI Editor
Windsurf (and the broader Codeium stack) is excellent at the libraries Codeium's indexer has seen and unreliable on everything else: niche packages, internal SDKs, brand-new APIs, beta features. The fix is the same as in any AI editor — give it the real docs as Markdown files in the workspace, where Windsurf's indexer treats them as first-class context for Cascade.
The "feed Windsurf your library docs" workflow
Open the documentation URL for whatever library Cascade is hallucinating against (https://library.dev/docs/api, a niche framework's migration guide, a private SDK reference). Open URL to Markdown, paste the URL, click Convert, download the .md file. Save it as docs/library-name.md at the root of the repo Windsurf has open. Within seconds Windsurf's indexer picks it up and Cascade can quote from it directly.
The unlock is one line in .windsurfrules: "When using library X, consult docs/library-name.md before suggesting code." Cascade then opens the relevant section autonomously before generating, and the resulting code uses real API signatures instead of training-data approximations.
Why URLs (not PDFs, not pasted prompts)
Library docs live on the web — versioned, searchable, regularly updated. Pasting docs into the Cascade chat works for one task, then evaporates with the conversation. Converting URLs to workspace Markdown gives you a snapshot you control: re-convert when the docs update, version-control the result with the code that depends on it, share with your team via the repo. Have PDFs to feed into Windsurf too? See PDF to Markdown for Cursor — same workflow, swap the converter.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add web documentation to Windsurf as Cascade context?
Drop converted Markdown files anywhere in the workspace — Windsurf's indexer picks them up automatically and Cascade can retrieve from them like any other file. For docs you reference constantly, pin them via the @docs prefix in chat, or add a .windsurfrules entry telling Cascade when to consult each one.
Windsurf vs Cursor for ingesting web docs as Markdown?
The mechanics are nearly identical — both index workspace files automatically, both honour project-level rule files, both let you reference docs explicitly in chat. Pick whichever editor you already use; the URL-to-Markdown step is the same.
How often should I re-convert when the source docs change?
Re-convert on library version bumps, on major doc reorganisations, or whenever Cascade starts producing code that doesn't match the live docs. For high-velocity libraries (LangChain, the Anthropic SDK, fast-moving frameworks), monthly is reasonable. The conversion itself is fast enough to make this a low-friction ritual.
Can I include private SDK docs that aren't public?
Yes, and it's often the highest-leverage use case. Private docs aren't in any LLM's training data, so without converted Markdown in the workspace, Cascade has to guess. With them, you get accurate completions against your private APIs the same way you do against React or Express.
Should I convert each doc page separately or merge into one Markdown file?
For typical library docs: convert the most-used pages (intro, API reference, common patterns) into a single library-name.md file with clear # Page: ... separators. Cascade retrieves chunks from large Markdown files just as well as from many small ones, and one file is easier to keep up to date.
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
Faithful and structured conversion of your documents
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Prompt Optimizer
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Audio to MD
2 credits
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Video to MD
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YouTube to MD
2 credits
per minute
Image OCR
4 credits
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PDF to MD
4 credits
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PPTX to MD
4 credits
per slide
Questions
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