merge w/ main

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 		// Sets the run context to one level up instead of the .devcontainer folder.
 		"context": "..",
 		// Update the 'dockerFile' property if you aren't using the standard 'Dockerfile' filename.
-		"dockerfile": "../Dockerfile"
+		"dockerfile": "../Dockerfile",
+		"args": {
+			"INSTALL_GIT": "true"
+		}
 	},
 
 	// Features to add to the dev container. More info: https://containers.dev/features.

.github/dependabot.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+version: 2
+updates:
+  - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
+    directory: "/"
+    schedule:
+      interval: "weekly"

.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml

@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@ jobs:
   pre-commit:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Set up Python
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.x"
 

.github/workflows/tests.yml

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ jobs:
   tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: |
             3.10
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
             3.12
       - name: Set up pip cache
         if: runner.os == 'Linux'
-        uses: actions/cache@v3
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
           path: ~/.cache/pip
           key: ${{ runner.os }}-pip-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}

.gitignore

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+.vscode
+
 # Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
 __pycache__/
 *.py[cod]
@@ -160,3 +162,5 @@ cython_debug/
 #  and can be added to the global gitignore or merged into this file.  For a more nuclear
 #  option (not recommended) you can uncomment the following to ignore the entire idea folder.
 #.idea/
+src/.DS_Store
+.DS_Store

Dockerfile

@@ -2,10 +2,15 @@ FROM python:3.13-slim-bullseye
 
 USER root
 
+ARG INSTALL_GIT=false
+RUN if [ "$INSTALL_GIT" = "true" ]; then \
+    apt-get update && apt-get install -y git && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+    fi
+
 # Runtime dependency
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     ffmpeg \
- && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 RUN pip install markitdown
 

README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # MarkItDown
 
 [![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/markitdown.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/markitdown/)
+![PyPI - Downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dd/markitdown)
+[![Built by AutoGen Team](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20by-AutoGen%20Team-blue)](https://github.com/microsoft/autogen)
+
 
 MarkItDown is a utility for converting various files to Markdown (e.g., for indexing, text analysis, etc).
 It supports:
@@ -24,6 +27,12 @@ To install MarkItDown, use pip: `pip install markitdown`. Alternatively, you can
 markitdown path-to-file.pdf > document.md
 ```
 
+Or use `-o` to specify the output file:
+
+```bash
+markitdown path-to-file.pdf -o document.md
+```
+
 You can also pipe content:
 
 ```bash
@@ -60,6 +69,42 @@ print(result.text_content)
 docker build -t markitdown:latest .
 docker run --rm -i markitdown:latest < ~/your-file.pdf > output.md
 ```
+<details>
+    
+<summary>Batch Processing Multiple Files</summary>
+
+This example shows how to convert multiple files to markdown format in a single run. The script processes all supported files in a directory and creates corresponding markdown files.
+
+
+```python convert.py
+from markitdown import MarkItDown
+from openai import OpenAI
+import os
+client = OpenAI(api_key="your-api-key-here")
+md = MarkItDown(llm_client=client, llm_model="gpt-4o-2024-11-20")
+supported_extensions = ('.pptx', '.docx', '.pdf', '.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png')
+files_to_convert = [f for f in os.listdir('.') if f.lower().endswith(supported_extensions)]
+for file in files_to_convert:
+    print(f"\nConverting {file}...")
+    try:
+        md_file = os.path.splitext(file)[0] + '.md'
+        result = md.convert(file)
+        with open(md_file, 'w') as f:
+            f.write(result.text_content)
+        
+        print(f"Successfully converted {file} to {md_file}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Error converting {file}: {str(e)}")
+
+print("\nAll conversions completed!")
+```
+2. Place the script in the same directory as your files
+3. Install required packages: like openai
+4. Run script ```bash python convert.py ```
+
+Note that original files will remain unchanged and new markdown files are created with the same base name.
+
+</details>
    
 ## Contributing
 
@@ -75,6 +120,20 @@ This project has adopted the [Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct](https://ope
 For more information see the [Code of Conduct FAQ](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/faq/) or
 contact [opencode@microsoft.com](mailto:opencode@microsoft.com) with any additional questions or comments.
 
+### How to Contribute
+
+You can help by looking at issues or helping review PRs. Any issue or PR is welcome, but we have also marked some as 'open for contribution' and 'open for reviewing' to help facilitate community contributions. These are ofcourse just suggestions and you are welcome to contribute in any way you like.
+
+
+<div align="center">
+
+|                       | All                                      | Especially Needs Help from Community                                                                 |
+|-----------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| **Issues**            | [All Issues](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/issues) | [Issues open for contribution](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22open+for+contribution%22) |
+| **PRs**               | [All PRs](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/pulls)     | [PRs open for reviewing](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22open+for+reviewing%22)               |
+
+</div>
+
 ### Running Tests and Checks
 
 - Install `hatch` in your environment and run tests:

pyproject.toml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 [project]
 name = "markitdown"
 dynamic = ["version"]
-description = ''
+description = 'Utility tool for converting various files to Markdown'
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 license = "MIT"
@@ -32,9 +32,11 @@ dependencies = [
   "python-pptx",
   "pandas",
   "openpyxl",
+  "xlrd",
   "pdfminer.six",
   "puremagic",
   "pydub",
+  "olefile",
   "youtube-transcript-api",
   "SpeechRecognition",
   "pathvalidate",

src/markitdown/__main__.py

@@ -1,45 +1,80 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024-present Adam Fourney <adamfo@microsoft.com>
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-import sys
 import argparse
-from ._markitdown import MarkItDown
+import sys
+from textwrap import dedent
+from .__about__ import __version__
+from ._markitdown import MarkItDown, DocumentConverterResult
 
 
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description="Convert various file formats to markdown.",
+        prog="markitdown",
         formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
-        usage="""
+        usage=dedent(
-SYNTAX: 
+            """
+            SYNTAX:
 
-    markitdown <OPTIONAL: FILENAME>
+                markitdown <OPTIONAL: FILENAME>
-    If FILENAME is empty, markitdown reads from stdin.
+                If FILENAME is empty, markitdown reads from stdin.
 
-EXAMPLE:
+            EXAMPLE:
 
-    markitdown example.pdf
+                markitdown example.pdf
 
-    OR
+                OR
 
-    cat example.pdf | markitdown
+                cat example.pdf | markitdown
 
-    OR 
+                OR
 
-    markitdown < example.pdf
+                markitdown < example.pdf
-""".strip(),
+                
+                OR to save to a file use
+    
+                markitdown example.pdf -o example.md
+                
+                OR
+                
+                markitdown example.pdf > example.md
+            """
+        ).strip(),
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-v",
+        "--version",
+        action="version",
+        version=f"%(prog)s {__version__}",
+        help="show the version number and exit",
     )
 
     parser.add_argument("filename", nargs="?")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-o",
+        "--output",
+        help="Output file name. If not provided, output is written to stdout.",
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.filename is None:
         markitdown = MarkItDown()
         result = markitdown.convert_stream(sys.stdin.buffer)
-        print(result.text_content)
+        _handle_output(args, result)
     else:
         markitdown = MarkItDown()
         result = markitdown.convert(args.filename)
+        _handle_output(args, result)
+
+
+def _handle_output(args, result: DocumentConverterResult):
+    """Handle output to stdout or file"""
+    if args.output:
+        with open(args.output, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            f.write(result.text_content)
+    else:
         print(result.text_content)
 
 

src/markitdown/_markitdown.py

@@ -15,11 +15,13 @@ import traceback
 import zipfile
 from xml.dom import minidom
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Union
+from pathlib import Path
 from urllib.parse import parse_qs, quote, unquote, urlparse, urlunparse
 from warnings import warn, resetwarnings, catch_warnings
 
 import mammoth
 import markdownify
+import olefile
 import pandas as pd
 import pdfminer
 import pdfminer.high_level
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
 from charset_normalizer import from_path
 
 # Optional Transcription support
+IS_AUDIO_TRANSCRIPTION_CAPABLE = False
 try:
     # Using warnings' catch_warnings to catch
     # pydub's warning of ffmpeg or avconv missing
@@ -173,7 +176,10 @@ class PlainTextConverter(DocumentConverter):
         # Only accept text files
         if content_type is None:
             return None
-        elif "text/" not in content_type.lower():
+        elif all(
+            not content_type.lower().startswith(type_prefix)
+            for type_prefix in ["text/", "application/json"]
+        ):
             return None
 
         text_content = str(from_path(local_path).best())
@@ -783,7 +789,31 @@ class XlsxConverter(HtmlConverter):
         if extension.lower() != ".xlsx":
             return None
 
-        sheets = pd.read_excel(local_path, sheet_name=None)
+        sheets = pd.read_excel(local_path, sheet_name=None, engine="openpyxl")
+        md_content = ""
+        for s in sheets:
+            md_content += f"## {s}\n"
+            html_content = sheets[s].to_html(index=False)
+            md_content += self._convert(html_content).text_content.strip() + "\n\n"
+
+        return DocumentConverterResult(
+            title=None,
+            text_content=md_content.strip(),
+        )
+
+
+class XlsConverter(HtmlConverter):
+    """
+    Converts XLS files to Markdown, with each sheet presented as a separate Markdown table.
+    """
+
+    def convert(self, local_path, **kwargs) -> Union[None, DocumentConverterResult]:
+        # Bail if not a XLS
+        extension = kwargs.get("file_extension", "")
+        if extension.lower() != ".xls":
+            return None
+
+        sheets = pd.read_excel(local_path, sheet_name=None, engine="xlrd")
         md_content = ""
         for s in sheets:
             md_content += f"## {s}\n"
@@ -922,14 +952,25 @@ class MediaConverter(DocumentConverter):
     Abstract class for multi-modal media (e.g., images and audio)
     """
 
-    def _get_metadata(self, local_path):
+    def _get_metadata(self, local_path, exiftool_path=None):
-        exiftool = shutil.which("exiftool")
+        if not exiftool_path:
-        if not exiftool:
+            which_exiftool = shutil.which("exiftool")
+            if which_exiftool:
+                warn(
+                    f"""Implicit discovery of 'exiftool' is disabled. If you would like to continue to use exiftool in MarkItDown, please set the exiftool_path parameter in the MarkItDown consructor. E.g., 
+
+    md = MarkItDown(exiftool_path="{which_exiftool}")
+
+This warning will be removed in future releases.
+""",
+                    DeprecationWarning,
+                )
+
             return None
         else:
             try:
                 result = subprocess.run(
-                    [exiftool, "-json", local_path], capture_output=True, text=True
+                    [exiftool_path, "-json", local_path], capture_output=True, text=True
                 ).stdout
                 return json.loads(result)[0]
             except Exception:
@@ -950,7 +991,7 @@ class WavConverter(MediaConverter):
         md_content = ""
 
         # Add metadata
-        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path)
+        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path, kwargs.get("exiftool_path"))
         if metadata:
             for f in [
                 "Title",
@@ -1005,7 +1046,7 @@ class Mp3Converter(WavConverter):
         md_content = ""
 
         # Add metadata
-        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path)
+        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path, kwargs.get("exiftool_path"))
         if metadata:
             for f in [
                 "Title",
@@ -1066,7 +1107,7 @@ class ImageConverter(MediaConverter):
         md_content = ""
 
         # Add metadata
-        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path)
+        metadata = self._get_metadata(local_path, kwargs.get("exiftool_path"))
         if metadata:
             for f in [
                 "ImageSize",
@@ -1135,6 +1176,79 @@ class ImageConverter(MediaConverter):
         return response.choices[0].message.content
 
 
+class OutlookMsgConverter(DocumentConverter):
+    """Converts Outlook .msg files to markdown by extracting email metadata and content.
+
+    Uses the olefile package to parse the .msg file structure and extract:
+    - Email headers (From, To, Subject)
+    - Email body content
+    """
+
+    def convert(
+        self, local_path: str, **kwargs: Any
+    ) -> Union[None, DocumentConverterResult]:
+        # Bail if not a MSG file
+        extension = kwargs.get("file_extension", "")
+        if extension.lower() != ".msg":
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            msg = olefile.OleFileIO(local_path)
+            # Extract email metadata
+            md_content = "# Email Message\n\n"
+
+            # Get headers
+            headers = {
+                "From": self._get_stream_data(msg, "__substg1.0_0C1F001F"),
+                "To": self._get_stream_data(msg, "__substg1.0_0E04001F"),
+                "Subject": self._get_stream_data(msg, "__substg1.0_0037001F"),
+            }
+
+            # Add headers to markdown
+            for key, value in headers.items():
+                if value:
+                    md_content += f"**{key}:** {value}\n"
+
+            md_content += "\n## Content\n\n"
+
+            # Get email body
+            body = self._get_stream_data(msg, "__substg1.0_1000001F")
+            if body:
+                md_content += body
+
+            msg.close()
+
+            return DocumentConverterResult(
+                title=headers.get("Subject"), text_content=md_content.strip()
+            )
+
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise FileConversionException(
+                f"Could not convert MSG file '{local_path}': {str(e)}"
+            )
+
+    def _get_stream_data(
+        self, msg: olefile.OleFileIO, stream_path: str
+    ) -> Union[str, None]:
+        """Helper to safely extract and decode stream data from the MSG file."""
+        try:
+            if msg.exists(stream_path):
+                data = msg.openstream(stream_path).read()
+                # Try UTF-16 first (common for .msg files)
+                try:
+                    return data.decode("utf-16-le").strip()
+                except UnicodeDecodeError:
+                    # Fall back to UTF-8
+                    try:
+                        return data.decode("utf-8").strip()
+                    except UnicodeDecodeError:
+                        # Last resort - ignore errors
+                        return data.decode("utf-8", errors="ignore").strip()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        return None
+
+
 class ZipConverter(DocumentConverter):
     """Converts ZIP files to markdown by extracting and converting all contained files.
 
@@ -1193,27 +1307,33 @@ class ZipConverter(DocumentConverter):
         extracted_zip_folder_name = (
             f"extracted_{os.path.basename(local_path).replace('.zip', '_zip')}"
         )
-        new_folder = os.path.normpath(
+        extraction_dir = os.path.normpath(
             os.path.join(os.path.dirname(local_path), extracted_zip_folder_name)
         )
         md_content = f"Content from the zip file `{os.path.basename(local_path)}`:\n\n"
 
-        # Safety check for path traversal
-        if not new_folder.startswith(os.path.dirname(local_path)):
-            return DocumentConverterResult(
-                title=None, text_content=f"[ERROR] Invalid zip file path: {local_path}"
-            )
-
         try:
-            # Extract the zip file
+            # Extract the zip file safely
             with zipfile.ZipFile(local_path, "r") as zipObj:
-                zipObj.extractall(path=new_folder)
+                # Safeguard against path traversal
+                for member in zipObj.namelist():
+                    member_path = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(extraction_dir, member))
+                    if (
+                        not os.path.commonprefix([extraction_dir, member_path])
+                        == extraction_dir
+                    ):
+                        raise ValueError(
+                            f"Path traversal detected in zip file: {member}"
+                        )
+
+                # Extract all files safely
+                zipObj.extractall(path=extraction_dir)
 
             # Process each extracted file
-            for root, dirs, files in os.walk(new_folder):
+            for root, dirs, files in os.walk(extraction_dir):
                 for name in files:
                     file_path = os.path.join(root, name)
-                    relative_path = os.path.relpath(file_path, new_folder)
+                    relative_path = os.path.relpath(file_path, extraction_dir)
 
                     # Get file extension
                     _, file_extension = os.path.splitext(name)
@@ -1237,7 +1357,7 @@ class ZipConverter(DocumentConverter):
 
             # Clean up extracted files if specified
             if kwargs.get("cleanup_extracted", True):
-                shutil.rmtree(new_folder)
+                shutil.rmtree(extraction_dir)
 
             return DocumentConverterResult(title=None, text_content=md_content.strip())
 
@@ -1246,6 +1366,11 @@ class ZipConverter(DocumentConverter):
                 title=None,
                 text_content=f"[ERROR] Invalid or corrupted zip file: {local_path}",
             )
+        except ValueError as ve:
+            return DocumentConverterResult(
+                title=None,
+                text_content=f"[ERROR] Security error in zip file {local_path}: {str(ve)}",
+            )
         except Exception as e:
             return DocumentConverterResult(
                 title=None,
@@ -1271,6 +1396,7 @@ class MarkItDown:
         llm_client: Optional[Any] = None,
         llm_model: Optional[str] = None,
         style_map: Optional[str] = None,
+        exiftool_path: Optional[str] = None,
         # Deprecated
         mlm_client: Optional[Any] = None,
         mlm_model: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -1280,6 +1406,9 @@ class MarkItDown:
         else:
             self._requests_session = requests_session
 
+        if exiftool_path is None:
+            exiftool_path = os.environ.get("EXIFTOOL_PATH")
+
         # Handle deprecation notices
         #############################
         if mlm_client is not None:
@@ -1312,6 +1441,7 @@ class MarkItDown:
         self._llm_client = llm_client
         self._llm_model = llm_model
         self._style_map = style_map
+        self._exiftool_path = exiftool_path
 
         self._page_converters: List[DocumentConverter] = []
 
@@ -1326,6 +1456,7 @@ class MarkItDown:
         self.register_page_converter(BingSerpConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(DocxConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(XlsxConverter())
+        self.register_page_converter(XlsConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(PptxConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(WavConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(Mp3Converter())
@@ -1333,14 +1464,15 @@ class MarkItDown:
         self.register_page_converter(IpynbConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(PdfConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(ZipConverter())
+        self.register_page_converter(OutlookMsgConverter())
         self.register_page_converter(EpubConverter())
 
     def convert(
-        self, source: Union[str, requests.Response], **kwargs: Any
+        self, source: Union[str, requests.Response, Path], **kwargs: Any
     ) -> DocumentConverterResult:  # TODO: deal with kwargs
         """
         Args:
-            - source: can be a string representing a path or url, or a requests.response object
+            - source: can be a string representing a path either as string pathlib path object or url, or a requests.response object
             - extension: specifies the file extension to use when interpreting the file. If None, infer from source (path, uri, content-type, etc.)
         """
 
@@ -1357,10 +1489,14 @@ class MarkItDown:
         # Request response
         elif isinstance(source, requests.Response):
             return self.convert_response(source, **kwargs)
+        elif isinstance(source, Path):
+            return self.convert_local(source, **kwargs)
 
     def convert_local(
-        self, path: str, **kwargs: Any
+        self, path: Union[str, Path], **kwargs: Any
     ) -> DocumentConverterResult:  # TODO: deal with kwargs
+        if isinstance(path, Path):
+            path = str(path)
         # Prepare a list of extensions to try (in order of priority)
         ext = kwargs.get("file_extension")
         extensions = [ext] if ext is not None else []
@@ -1490,12 +1626,15 @@ class MarkItDown:
                 if "llm_model" not in _kwargs and self._llm_model is not None:
                     _kwargs["llm_model"] = self._llm_model
 
-                # Add the list of converters for nested processing
-                _kwargs["_parent_converters"] = self._page_converters
-
                 if "style_map" not in _kwargs and self._style_map is not None:
                     _kwargs["style_map"] = self._style_map
 
+                if "exiftool_path" not in _kwargs and self._exiftool_path is not None:
+                    _kwargs["exiftool_path"] = self._exiftool_path
+
+                # Add the list of converters for nested processing
+                _kwargs["_parent_converters"] = self._page_converters
+
                 # If we hit an error log it and keep trying
                 try:
                     res = converter.convert(local_path, **_kwargs)
@@ -1538,6 +1677,25 @@ class MarkItDown:
         # Use puremagic to guess
         try:
             guesses = puremagic.magic_file(path)
+
+            # Fix for: https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown/issues/222
+            # If there are no guesses, then try again after trimming leading ASCII whitespaces.
+            # ASCII whitespace characters are those byte values in the sequence b' \t\n\r\x0b\f'
+            # (space, tab, newline, carriage return, vertical tab, form feed).
+            if len(guesses) == 0:
+                with open(path, "rb") as file:
+                    while True:
+                        char = file.read(1)
+                        if not char:  # End of file
+                            break
+                        if not char.isspace():
+                            file.seek(file.tell() - 1)
+                            break
+                    try:
+                        guesses = puremagic.magic_stream(file)
+                    except puremagic.main.PureError:
+                        pass
+
             extensions = list()
             for g in guesses:
                 ext = g.extension.strip()

tests/test_files/test.json

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+    "key1": "string_value",
+    "key2": 1234,
+    "key3": [
+        "list_value1",
+        "list_value2"
+    ],
+    "5b64c88c-b3c3-4510-bcb8-da0b200602d8": "uuid_key",
+    "uuid_value": "9700dc99-6685-40b4-9a3a-5e406dcb37f3"
+}

tests/test_markitdown.py

@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ XLSX_TEST_STRINGS = [
     "affc7dad-52dc-4b98-9b5d-51e65d8a8ad0",
 ]
 
+XLS_TEST_STRINGS = [
+    "## 09060124-b5e7-4717-9d07-3c046eb",
+    "6ff4173b-42a5-4784-9b19-f49caff4d93d",
+    "affc7dad-52dc-4b98-9b5d-51e65d8a8ad0",
+]
+
 DOCX_TEST_STRINGS = [
     "314b0a30-5b04-470b-b9f7-eed2c2bec74a",
     "49e168b7-d2ae-407f-a055-2167576f39a1",
@@ -63,6 +69,15 @@ DOCX_TEST_STRINGS = [
     "AutoGen: Enabling Next-Gen LLM Applications via Multi-Agent Conversation",
 ]
 
+MSG_TEST_STRINGS = [
+    "# Email Message",
+    "**From:** test.sender@example.com",
+    "**To:** test.recipient@example.com",
+    "**Subject:** Test Email Message",
+    "## Content",
+    "This is the body of the test email message",
+]
+
 DOCX_COMMENT_TEST_STRINGS = [
     "314b0a30-5b04-470b-b9f7-eed2c2bec74a",
     "49e168b7-d2ae-407f-a055-2167576f39a1",
@@ -142,6 +157,34 @@ EPUB_TEST_STRINGS = [
     "> This is a blockquote for testing",
 ]
 
+EPUB_TEST_STRINGS = [
+    "Author: Test Author",
+    "A test EPUB document for MarkItDown testing",
+    "# Chapter 1: Test Content",
+    "This is a **test** paragraph with some formatting",
+    "* A bullet point",
+    "* Another point",
+    "# Chapter 2: More Content",
+    "_different_ style",
+    "> This is a blockquote for testing",
+]
+
+JSON_TEST_STRINGS = [
+    "5b64c88c-b3c3-4510-bcb8-da0b200602d8",
+    "9700dc99-6685-40b4-9a3a-5e406dcb37f3",
+]
+
+
+# --- Helper Functions ---
+def validate_strings(result, expected_strings, exclude_strings=None):
+    """Validate presence or absence of specific strings."""
+    text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
+    for string in expected_strings:
+        assert string in text_content
+    if exclude_strings:
+        for string in exclude_strings:
+            assert string not in text_content
+
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
     skip_remote,
@@ -182,73 +225,59 @@ def test_markitdown_local() -> None:
 
     # Test XLSX processing
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.xlsx"))
-    for test_string in XLSX_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, XLSX_TEST_STRINGS)
+
+    # Test XLS processing
+    result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.xls"))
+    for test_string in XLS_TEST_STRINGS:
         text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
         assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test DOCX processing
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.docx"))
-    for test_string in DOCX_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, DOCX_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test DOCX processing, with comments
     result = markitdown.convert(
         os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_with_comment.docx"),
         style_map="comment-reference => ",
     )
-    for test_string in DOCX_COMMENT_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, DOCX_COMMENT_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test DOCX processing, with comments and setting style_map on init
     markitdown_with_style_map = MarkItDown(style_map="comment-reference => ")
     result = markitdown_with_style_map.convert(
         os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_with_comment.docx")
     )
-    for test_string in DOCX_COMMENT_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, DOCX_COMMENT_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test PPTX processing
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.pptx"))
-    for test_string in PPTX_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, PPTX_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test HTML processing
     result = markitdown.convert(
         os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_blog.html"), url=BLOG_TEST_URL
     )
-    for test_string in BLOG_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, BLOG_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test ZIP file processing
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_files.zip"))
-    for test_string in DOCX_TEST_STRINGS:
+    validate_strings(result, XLSX_TEST_STRINGS)
-        text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test Wikipedia processing
     result = markitdown.convert(
         os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_wikipedia.html"), url=WIKIPEDIA_TEST_URL
     )
     text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-    for test_string in WIKIPEDIA_TEST_EXCLUDES:
+    validate_strings(result, WIKIPEDIA_TEST_STRINGS, WIKIPEDIA_TEST_EXCLUDES)
-        assert test_string not in text_content
-    for test_string in WIKIPEDIA_TEST_STRINGS:
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test Bing processing
     result = markitdown.convert(
         os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_serp.html"), url=SERP_TEST_URL
     )
     text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
-    for test_string in SERP_TEST_EXCLUDES:
+    validate_strings(result, SERP_TEST_STRINGS, SERP_TEST_EXCLUDES)
-        assert test_string not in text_content
-    for test_string in SERP_TEST_STRINGS:
-        assert test_string in text_content
 
     # Test RSS processing
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_rss.xml"))
@@ -258,9 +287,20 @@ def test_markitdown_local() -> None:
 
     ## Test non-UTF-8 encoding
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_mskanji.csv"))
-    text_content = result.text_content.replace("\\", "")
+    validate_strings(result, CSV_CP932_TEST_STRINGS)
-    for test_string in CSV_CP932_TEST_STRINGS:
+
-        assert test_string in text_content
+    # Test MSG (Outlook email) processing
+    result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test_outlook_msg.msg"))
+    validate_strings(result, MSG_TEST_STRINGS)
+
+    # Test JSON processing
+    result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.json"))
+    validate_strings(result, JSON_TEST_STRINGS)
+
+    # Test input with leading blank characters
+    input_data = b"   \n\n\n<html><body><h1>Test</h1></body></html>"
+    result = markitdown.convert_stream(io.BytesIO(input_data))
+    assert "# Test" in result.text_content
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
@@ -268,9 +308,29 @@ def test_markitdown_local() -> None:
     reason="do not run if exiftool is not installed",
 )
 def test_markitdown_exiftool() -> None:
-    markitdown = MarkItDown()
+    # Test the automatic discovery of exiftool throws a warning
+    # and is disabled
+    try:
+        with catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+            markitdown = MarkItDown()
+            result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.jpg"))
+            assert len(w) == 1
+            assert w[0].category is DeprecationWarning
+            assert result.text_content.strip() == ""
+    finally:
+        resetwarnings()
 
-    # Test JPG metadata processing
+    # Test explicitly setting the location of exiftool
+    which_exiftool = shutil.which("exiftool")
+    markitdown = MarkItDown(exiftool_path=which_exiftool)
+    result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.jpg"))
+    for key in JPG_TEST_EXIFTOOL:
+        target = f"{key}: {JPG_TEST_EXIFTOOL[key]}"
+        assert target in result.text_content
+
+    # Test setting the exiftool path through an environment variable
+    os.environ["EXIFTOOL_PATH"] = which_exiftool
+    markitdown = MarkItDown()
     result = markitdown.convert(os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.jpg"))
     for key in JPG_TEST_EXIFTOOL:
         target = f"{key}: {JPG_TEST_EXIFTOOL[key]}"
@@ -332,8 +392,8 @@ def test_markitdown_llm() -> None:
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     """Runs this file's tests from the command line."""
-    test_markitdown_remote()
+    # test_markitdown_remote()
-    test_markitdown_local()
+    # test_markitdown_local()
     test_markitdown_exiftool()
-    test_markitdown_deprecation()
+    # test_markitdown_deprecation()
-    test_markitdown_llm()
+    # test_markitdown_llm()