Markdown to HTML Converter

Convert Markdown to HTML in your browser. Preview headings, lists, links, images, blockquotes, and code blocks.

Free to use. Runs in your browser.

Paste Markdown and see the rendered HTML side by side. Supports headings, emphasis, links, images, lists, blockquotes, and fenced code blocks.

Review the generated HTML before publishing, and sanitise untrusted Markdown in production apps.

Markdown Input

HTML Output

<h1>Hello World</h1>

<p>This is a <strong>bold</strong> and <em>italic</em> example.</p>

<h2>Features</h2>

<ul>
<li>Client-side conversion</li>
<li>Common Markdown elements</li>
<li>Copyable HTML output</li>
</ul>

<h3>Code Example</h3>

<pre><code class="language-javascript">const greeting = "Hello, World!";
console.log(greeting);</code></pre>

<blockquote>This is a blockquote</blockquote>

<p>Visit <a href="https://iforgeapps.com">iForge Apps</a> for more tools.</p>

<hr />

<p><strong>That's it!</strong> Review the HTML before publishing.</p>

Live Preview

Hello World

This is a bold and italic example.

Features

Client-side conversion
Common Markdown elements
Copyable HTML output

Code Example

const greeting = "Hello, World!";
console.log(greeting);

This is a blockquote

Visit iForge Apps for more tools.

That's it! Review the HTML before publishing.

Why Markdown Exists

Markdown was created by John Gruber in 2004 with one goal: let people write formatted text using plain characters that are still readable without rendering. Instead of wrapping text in HTML tags, you use symbols you already know, asterisks for bold, hashes for headings, dashes for lists.

Think of Markdown as shorthand for HTML. Writing **bold** is faster and more readable than <strong>bold</strong>, but they produce the same result. The converter here handles the translation so you can write in Markdown and deploy in HTML.

Today, Markdown is the default writing format for GitHub READMEs, Notion, Obsidian, Slack messages, technical documentation, and most developer tools. If you write on the internet, you're probably already using some form of Markdown.

Markdown Syntax Quick Reference

Element	Markdown	HTML Output
Heading 1	# Title	<h1>Title</h1>
Heading 2	## Subtitle	<h2>Subtitle</h2>
Bold	text	<strong>text</strong>
Italic	text	<em>text</em>
Link	[text](url)	<a href="url">text</a>
Image	![alt](src)	<img src="src" alt="alt">
Unordered list	- item	<ul><li>item</li></ul>
Ordered list	1. item	<li>item</li> (no <ol> wrapper)
Code (inline)	`code`	<code>code</code>
Code block	```lang ... ```	<pre><code>...</code></pre>
Blockquote	> quote	<blockquote>quote</blockquote>
Horizontal rule	---	<hr />

What this means for you: Memorise the first six rows and you've covered 90% of what you'll write. The rest you can look up when needed.

Markdown Flavours

Not all Markdown is the same. The original spec by Gruber was intentionally simple, it didn't cover tables, strikethrough, or task lists. Different platforms extended it:

CommonMark

The standardised spec that removes Gruber's ambiguities. Many full-featured parsers use CommonMark as their baseline for consistent cross-platform output.

GitHub Flavoured Markdown (GFM)

Adds tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolinks, and syntax highlighting. The most widely used flavour for developer documentation.

MDX

Markdown + JSX components. Used in Next.js, Gatsby, and Docusaurus for interactive documentation. You can embed React components directly in your Markdown.

MultiMarkdown

Extends the original with footnotes, citations, cross-references, and metadata. Popular in academic writing and long-form publishing.

When to Convert Markdown to HTML

You'd reach for this converter when you've written content in Markdown but need raw HTML for a CMS, email template, static site, or anywhere that doesn't render Markdown natively. Common scenarios include migrating documentation from GitHub to a company wiki, embedding formatted content in HTML emails, or generating static pages from Markdown source files.

For build-time conversion (blogs, docs sites), you'd normally use a Markdown library in your build pipeline. This tool is for quick one-off conversions where you just need the HTML output now.

Where Markdown Is Used

Platform	Flavour	Notable Extensions
GitHub	GitHub Flavored Markdown	Task lists, tables, syntax highlighting, autolinked references
Reddit	Custom Markdown	Spoiler tags, superscript, strikethrough
Notion	Notion Markdown	Toggles, callouts, databases, not standard Markdown
Discord	Subset of Markdown	Bold, italic, code blocks, spoilers, no headings or images
Jekyll / Hugo	CommonMark + YAML frontmatter	Static site generators that convert .md files to HTML pages

Every platform handles Markdown slightly differently. If your converted HTML looks wrong, check which flavour your target platform expects. This tool is a lightweight regex converter that handles the most common writing elements; for full platform fidelity use a dedicated parser in your build pipeline.

Supported Output and Known Limits

This converter is a regex pipeline that supports: ATX headings (# to ######), bold, italic, bold-italic, strikethrough, inline code, fenced code blocks with language hints, inline links, images, blockquotes, unordered lists, and horizontal rules. It does not support nested lists, ordered list wrapping, reference-style links, tables, or setext-style headings.

Markdown Feature	Output	Notes
Headings	<h1> to <h6>	One to six # characters at the start of a line
Bold and italic	<strong>, <em>	Triple asterisks produce nested strong and emphasis
Links and images	<a>, <img>	Check URLs before publishing generated HTML
Fenced code blocks	<pre><code>	Language hints become class names for highlighters
Tables	Not supported	Use a full GFM parser when table output matters
Task lists	Not supported	Checklist syntax remains plain list text

HTML Output and Sanitisation

Markdown conversion and HTML sanitisation are different jobs. A converter turns Markdown syntax into HTML tags. A sanitiser removes unsafe tags, attributes, URLs, and event handlers before content is shown to other people.

Your own draft

Converting a README, release note, or blog draft you wrote yourself is usually a formatting task. Review the output and paste it where your CMS expects HTML.

Untrusted input

If other people can submit Markdown, sanitise the generated HTML before rendering it in an app. Libraries such as DOMPurify are built for that job.

Email templates

Many email clients strip CSS, scripts, forms, and unsupported tags. Test the generated HTML in the email platform before sending.

Static sites

For repeated publishing, use a build-time Markdown pipeline so headings, slugs, syntax highlighting, and sanitisation stay consistent.

Publishing Checklist

Check heading order

Use one h1 for the page title, then h2 and h3 for sections. Skipping levels can make the document harder to navigate with assistive technology.

Add meaningful image alt text

Markdown image syntax turns the bracket text into the alt attribute. Replace empty alt text unless the image is decorative.

Inspect links

Generated anchor tags preserve the URL you entered. Check for missing protocols, accidental spaces, tracking links, and URLs copied from staging.

Review code blocks

Language hints such as javascript or css become class names. Your final page still needs a syntax highlighter if you want coloured code.

Related Tools

HTML Beautifier

Clean up the converted HTML with proper indentation.

HTML Minifier

Compress your converted HTML for production deployment.

HTML to Text

Strip HTML back to plain text, the reverse direction.

Word Counter

Check word and character counts of your Markdown content.

Text Diff Checker

Compare Markdown source with HTML output side by side.

JSON Formatter

Format frontmatter metadata from your Markdown files.

How to use this tool

Paste or type your Markdown in the left panel

See the live HTML output on the right

Click 'Copy HTML' to copy the result

Common uses

Converting README files to HTML for websites
Turning blog drafts written in Markdown into CMS-ready HTML
Generating HTML documentation from Markdown source files
Previewing Markdown rendering before publishing

Share this tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this tool support all Markdown syntax?

It supports the most common Markdown features: headings (h1-h6), bold, italic, strikethrough, links, images, code blocks, inline code, blockquotes, unordered lists, and horizontal rules. For complex GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown) like tables, we recommend a dedicated parser.

Is my content processed on a server?

No. All conversion happens directly in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded or stored anywhere.

Can I copy the generated HTML?

Yes! Click the 'Copy HTML' button to copy the full HTML output to your clipboard.

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It lets you write formatted text using plain characters, asterisks for bold, hashes for headings, dashes for lists. It's the default format for GitHub READMEs, Notion, and most developer documentation.

What's the difference between Markdown and HTML?

Markdown is a shorthand for HTML. Writing **bold** is faster and more readable than <strong>bold</strong>, but they produce the same rendered result. Markdown is for writing; HTML is for browsers.

Does this handle GitHub Flavoured Markdown (GFM)?

It handles most GFM features including strikethrough (~~text~~) and fenced code blocks with language hints. Tables and task lists are not supported in this lightweight converter.

Can I convert HTML back to Markdown?

This tool converts Markdown to HTML only. For the reverse direction, you'd need an HTML-to-Markdown converter. You can use our HTML to Text tool to strip HTML tags.

How are code blocks handled?

Fenced code blocks (triple backticks) are converted to <pre><code> elements. If you specify a language after the opening backticks, a class attribute is added for syntax highlighting compatibility.

What happens with nested lists?

The converter handles single-level unordered and ordered lists. Deeply nested lists may not render perfectly, for complex documents, consider a full-featured parser like marked.js or remark.

Can I use this for blog posts?

Absolutely. Write your blog content in Markdown, convert it here, and paste the HTML into any CMS that accepts raw HTML. It's a common workflow for WordPress, Ghost, and custom CMSs.

Is the live preview accurate?

The preview renders the converted HTML directly, so it shows exactly what a browser would display. Styling may differ from your final site since it uses default prose styles.

What are code block language hints used for?

When you write ```javascript, the converter adds class="language-javascript" to the code element. Syntax highlighting libraries like Prism.js and highlight.js use this class to apply colour coding.

Results are for general informational purposes only and should be checked before use. They are not professional advice. See our Disclaimer and Terms of Service.