diff --git a/scripts/get_external_content.py b/scripts/get_external_content.py
index c812b5a7c622d5c24c9ee273c46f357063867bec..7e4dbb367a41f8d0b6c4eff3a23cc0bd7cdcccc9 100755
--- a/scripts/get_external_content.py
+++ b/scripts/get_external_content.py
@@ -30,7 +30,9 @@ def replace_all_in(folder):
     for root, dirs, files in os.walk(folder):
         for name in files:
             filename = os.path.join(root, name)
-            replace(root, filename)
+            if filename.endswith(".md"):
+                # only do this on markdown files
+                replace(root, filename)
 
 def replace(folder, filename):
     """