Marker: lesson test 2026-10-11 (partial)

Record test:lq2atao. Question: Convert an owner-chosen local PDF without enabling optional remote LLM processing.

Answer

On 2026-10-11, the headlesson operator ran this lesson with Marker 2.0.0 (macOS26.5.2 arm64; Python3.11.13 disposable venv; wheel-only PyPI installation; no LLM use); the first 2 of 4 steps passed, then it stopped: Step3 conversion needs additional artifacts/models; exact marker_single ./sample.pdf first requests missing official font. Safety guard blocked this HTTP request before sending; no output created. Model download not performed. The final Next step is advice and was not run. An independent check (revision 3fadc9d) covered: Independent trial and audit up to install and help; the conversion step's font download was stopped by a guard and produced no output. Its limits: Bounded to the stopping point. Conversion after font and model preparation is unverified. This is the operator's own run, not a vendor claim.

Tested on

• Test date: 2026-10-11
• Record confirmed: 2026-10-11
• Version: 2.0.0
• Environment: macOS26.5.2 arm64; Python3.11.13 disposable venv; wheel-only PyPI installation; no LLM use
• Result: partial, 2/4 steps; stopped: Step3 conversion needs additional artifacts/models; exact marker_single ./sample.pdf first requests missing official font. Safety guard blocked this HTTP request before sending; no output created. Model download not performed.

Lesson steps and what happened

• 1. [passed] pip install marker-pdf
• 2. [passed] marker_single --help
• 3. [stopped here] marker_single ./sample.pdf
• 4. [not run] Inspect the generated output against the source PDF.

Next (advice, not tested)

Next: Select the real PDF and destination, run marker_single <confirmed-PDF-path>, and compare text, tables and equations with the original. Choose --output_format json for structured output; only enable --use_llm after agreeing on provider, data transfer, cost and model-weight terms.

Cautions recorded with the lesson

These notes come from the lesson. Some describe failures seen in tests; others are general cautions. Each one is not a separately tested result.

• Python 3.10 or newer, PyTorch and an owner-provided local sample are prerequisites.
• Apache-2.0 and free code use do not establish unconditional rights to model weights. Modified model-weight terms and paid commercial licensing may apply.
• The optional --use_llm path can incur provider costs; the initial conversion steps do not enable it. Next treats LLM use as optional and requires the user's data-transfer, cost and model-term decision.
• The bundled REST server supports fewer flags than CLI/SDK and omits --use_llm and --disable_ocr.
• Conversion output is not independent evidence of transcription accuracy.
• Confirm: Check output location, recognition quality on this document, provider credentials/costs and applicable model-weight terms; optional LLM use is not an accuracy guarantee.

What this record does not show

• Steps after step 2 were not completed in this run.
• Not measured in this run: no conversion output was produced, so extraction fidelity is untested.
• Not measured in this run: conversion after the font and model download.
• Not measured in this run: the optional --use_llm path.
• Whether an agent new to this tool can use it from this record alone (the operator wrote and ran the lesson).
• Comparisons between models or clients.
• Production use, accounts, or real customer data.
• Behaviour of the latest version (the test is tied to the version and date below).
• The final "Next" step is advice and was not part of the test.

Primary record

Operator record: a past lesson trial (legacy). It is not claimed to meet level L1 of run-task-contract/0.1.0.

Independent check

Independent check (revision 3fadc9d6215b): Independent trial and audit up to install and help; the conversion step's font download was stopped by a guard and produced no output.

Limits: Bounded to the stopping point. Conversion after font and model preparation is unverified.

Evidence

A non-public test report exists and is not published, so third parties cannot check it directly.

Retrieve over MCP

headlesson_get id="app:marker" sections ["lesson","gotchas"] on https://mcp.headlesson.com/mcp

Source version

This page is built from the catalog record app:marker at revision f7fe23dbe39f. It is not rewritten when the current lesson changes; a new test gets a new record ID.

Sources (lesson text at the fixed revision)

Each line names fields of this page (as JSON pointers into the .json version) and where they come from. Labels without a link are non-public sources. Fields not listed (such as test results) are the headlesson operator's own observations.

• /question, /steps/3/step, /cautions/items/0, /cautions/items/4: headlesson editorial judgement (checked 2026-10-09, inferred, editorial)
• /steps/0/step, /steps/1/step, /steps/2/step: https://github.com/datalab-to/marker/blob/master/README.md (checked 2026-10-09, primary, editorial)
• /next_advice, /cautions/items/5: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/datalab-to/marker/master/README.md (checked 2026-10-10, inferred, editorial)
• /cautions/items/1, /cautions/items/3: https://github.com/datalab-to/marker/blob/master/README.md (checked 2026-10-09, primary, official)
• /cautions/items/2: https://github.com/datalab-to/marker/blob/master/README.md (checked 2026-10-10, inferred, editorial)

Corrections

None.

Cite

headlesson test:lq2atao (app:marker): On 2026-10-11, the headlesson operator ran this lesson with Marker 2.0.0 (macOS26.5.2 arm64; Python3.11.13 disposable venv; wheel-only PyPI installation; no LLM use); the first 2 of 4 steps passed, then it stopped: Step3 conversion needs additional artifacts/models; exact marker_single ./sample.pdf first requests missing official font. Safety guard blocked this HTTP request before sending; no output created. Model download not performed. The final Next step is advice and was not run. An independent check (revision 3fadc9d) covered: Independent trial and audit up to install and help; the conversion step's font download was stopped by a guard and produced no output. Its limits: Bounded to the stopping point. Conversion after font and model preparation is unverified. This is the operator's own run, not a vendor claim. https://headlesson.com/tests/lq2atao

Page updated: 2026-10-13 (the date its content last changed).

要約（日本語）: Marker の lesson を 2026-10-11 に headlesson の運営が 2.0.0 で試し、2/4 段が通った（partial、運営の実測で製品側の主張ではない）。この記録が示さないこと・独立確認の状況は本文のとおり。