microsoft / microsoft/markitdown

`--help` can be improved

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Dominant language
Python
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Description

I noticed that the startup time even when just running markitdown --help can be substantial (over 1s on my system).

This can be improved by avoiding top-level imports. It's quite simple, but requires to split the package, so I haven't submited a PR, as I realize it's a major decision for you to make. You can see my proof-of-concept here: https://github.com/AdrianVollmer/markitdown/commit/d57b959b00f7e16a5f3cb3a800fea36f8ef5aa7d

I'd also suggest to add argcomplete for shell completion. Example in the fish shell:

Image

What do you think?

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by running markitdown --help and inspecting the proof-of-concept commit linked in the issue. Trace the CLI's top-level imports and determine the package split needed to reduce startup work, then evaluate the suggested argcomplete integration for fish completion. Done means the help command starts faster and shell completion is supported without breaking the CLI.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
fish, python
Domain
cli, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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