What an MD generator is for
Markdown solved a problem that word processors created: formatting that only exists inside
one program. A .md file is plain text with a handful of punctuation
conventions — a hash for a heading, a dash for a list item, asterisks for emphasis. It opens
in any editor written in the last fifty years, it diffs cleanly in Git, and it renders
identically on GitHub, in Obsidian, in a static site generator and in your terminal.
The catch is the moment of transition. You have text that already exists — in a document, in an email, on a web page — and you need it as Markdown. Or you are writing something new and you want to see whether that table actually lines up before you commit it. That is what this MD generator is for: the conversion in both directions, with the rendered result visible the whole time.
Paste from Word or Google Docs and get Markdown
When you copy from a rich-text source, your clipboard carries two versions of the content: the plain text and an HTML representation. Most editors take the plain text and throw the structure away, which is why pasting a document into a Markdown editor usually flattens every heading into an ordinary paragraph.
This tool reads the HTML version instead and walks the structure: headings become
# levels, bold and italics become asterisks, links keep their targets, ordered
and unordered lists keep their nesting, tables become pipe tables, and code blocks stay code
blocks. Font sizes, colours and inline styles are dropped on purpose — carrying visual
decoration into Markdown defeats the point of using it.
The syntax, in one pass
You do not need the toolbar once these are in your fingers. Everything below works in the editor above.
| You write | You get |
|---|---|
# Title | Heading level 1, down to ###### for level 6 |
**bold** | Bold text |
*italic* | Italic text |
~~struck~~ | Strikethrough |
[text](url) | A link |
 | An image |
- item | Bullet list — indent two spaces to nest |
1. item | Numbered list |
- [ ] task | Checkbox, - [x] when done |
> quoted | Blockquote |
`code` | Inline code |
| Triple backticks | Fenced code block, with an optional language name |
--- | Horizontal rule |
Two rules cause most of the confusion. A blank line separates blocks — without one, your list will be absorbed into the paragraph above it. And a line break inside a paragraph needs either two trailing spaces or a blank line; a single Enter is treated as a space, which is why your carefully broken lines sometimes come out as one long sentence.
Tables without counting pipes
Markdown tables are the one piece of syntax nobody enjoys typing by hand. The separator row
under the header defines the alignment: :--- is left, :---: is
centred, ---: is right. The columns do not have to line up visually in the
source — only the pipes matter — but a tidy source is much easier to edit later.
The table builder above generates the skeleton for you. Pick the dimensions and the alignment, insert, and fill in the cells. If you already have a table in a document or a spreadsheet-backed web page, pasting it is usually faster still.
Frontmatter for static sites
If your Markdown ends up in Astro, Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy or a similar generator, the file
normally starts with a YAML block between two --- lines: title, date, tags,
and whatever else your template expects. It has to be the very first thing in the file, with
no blank line above it. The frontmatter button inserts a valid block with today's date so
you do not have to remember the shape of it.
Export: Markdown, HTML or PDF
Copy the Markdown for a Git repository or a documentation tool. Copy the HTML if you are pasting into a CMS that only understands markup. Download either as a file — the HTML download is a complete, self-contained document with readable default styling, not a naked fragment. Print to PDF opens a print-optimised version and lets your browser produce the file, which keeps the tool dependency-free and means the PDF respects your system fonts.
Why running it locally matters
Plenty of online converters ask you to paste your text into a form that posts it to a server. For a shopping list that is fine. For meeting notes, an unpublished article, an internal runbook or anything covered by a client contract, it is a data transfer you probably did not intend to make.
There is no server in this workflow. The parser is a few hundred lines of JavaScript running in your tab, the preview is rendered locally, and the export files are assembled in memory and handed to your browser download. Load the page once and you can work with the network disconnected — which is also the quickest way to verify the claim yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What does an MD generator actually do?
An MD generator turns your writing into Markdown — the plain-text formatting syntax used by GitHub, Obsidian, Notion exports, static site generators and most documentation tools. This one works in both directions: you can type Markdown and see the rendered result live, or paste formatted text from Word, Google Docs or a web page and get clean Markdown back.
Is this MD generator free?
Yes, completely, with no account and no daily limit. There is no premium tier hiding the export buttons. Copy, download and PDF printing are all available to everyone.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The entire tool runs inside your browser: the parser, the preview, the HTML conversion and the file export. Nothing is sent to a server, and there is no AI endpoint involved. Your draft is kept in your browser local storage so it survives a reload, and clearing the editor removes it.
Can I convert Word or Google Docs text to Markdown?
Yes. Copy the text in Word, Google Docs, Confluence or any web page and paste it into the editor. The tool reads the rich-text version of your clipboard and converts headings, bold, italics, links, lists, tables, quotes and code into Markdown. It deliberately drops font sizes, colours and other visual noise, because that is exactly what Markdown is not for.
Which Markdown flavour is supported?
CommonMark plus the GitHub Flavored Markdown extensions people actually use: tables, task lists, strikethrough, fenced code blocks with a language hint, and automatic linking of bare URLs. YAML frontmatter can be inserted with one click for static site generators like Astro, Hugo, Jekyll and Eleventy.
How do I create a Markdown table without counting pipes?
Use the table builder below the editor: pick the number of rows and columns and the alignment, then insert. You get a correctly formatted skeleton with the separator row already in place, and you only fill in the cells. The preview shows immediately whether the columns line up.
Can I export to HTML or PDF?
Both. The HTML tab shows the generated markup so you can copy it straight into a CMS, and the download button wraps it in a complete, styled HTML document. For PDF, use Print to PDF: it opens a print-optimised version of your document, and your browser writes the PDF.
What is the difference between .md and .txt?
Technically almost nothing — both are plain text. The .md extension tells editors, Git hosts and static site generators to interpret the formatting characters and render headings, lists and links. A .txt file is displayed exactly as typed. Same bytes, different expectations.
Does the tool work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded, you can disconnect and keep writing. There are no external scripts, no fonts loaded on demand and no API calls, so everything keeps working with the network switched off.
New to the format? Our guide explains what an .md file is and how to open one. Handy next: the meta title generator for publishing what you just wrote, and the Core Web Vitals test once the finished page is online.
Built by GetMind. No tracking, no sign-up, no upload — the tool runs entirely in your browser.