Markdown Viewer | Live Preview & HTML Export
Preview Markdown instantly with headings, lists, links, blockquotes, code, tables, task lists, and a clean reading pane. Copy rendered HTML or plain text for docs, posts, and notes.
Getting Started Guide
Overview
This Markdown viewer supports live preview with headings, lists, links, tables, code, and task lists.
Features
- Headings (h1–h6)
- Bold, italic,
strikethrough -
inline codeand fenced code blocks - Tables with alignment
- Task lists with checkboxes
- Footnotes (coming soon)
Example Table
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | ✅ Ready | h1-h6 |
| Code blocks | ✅ Ready | Language tags |
| Task lists | ✅ Ready | Checkboxes |
Code Example
const greet = (name: string) => `Hello, ${name}!`;
console.log(greet('world'));
Tip: Use the toolbar above to insert formatting, or switch views with Split / Editor / Preview.
What Is the Markdown Viewer?
The Markdown Viewer is a free online Markdown editor and live preview tool that renders your Markdown source as formatted HTML in real time — no account, no software to install, and nothing sent to a server. Paste any Markdown text and see exactly how it will look when published on GitHub, a blog, documentation site, Notion, or any other Markdown-aware platform.
The viewer supports all core Markdown syntax: headings from h1 to h6, bold and italic text, strikethrough, inline code and fenced code blocks with language labels, unordered and ordered lists, task lists with checkboxes, tables with headers, blockquotes, horizontal rules, and links. It works in Split view (editor on the left, preview on the right), Editor Only view (full-width Markdown editor), or Preview Only view (full-width rendered output). A generated Table of Contents makes navigating long documents easy. Export the rendered output as HTML to paste directly into email clients, CMS editors, or websites.
Markdown Viewer Formula and Method
Markdown parser: inline rules (code, bold, italic, strikethrough, links) applied first, then block-level rules (headings, lists, tables, blockquotes, fenced code blocks).
HTML output is sanitised — angle brackets in source are escaped to prevent XSS.
Table of Contents generated from h1–h3 headings.
Word count = whitespace-split tokens in raw Markdown source.
How to Use
- 1
Paste your Markdown source into the editor panel on the left (Split view) or switch to Editor Only view for a full-width writing experience. The preview updates instantly with every keystroke — there is no render button.
- 2
Use the view toggle at the top to switch between Split (editor + preview side by side), Editor Only, and Preview Only modes. Split view is ideal when writing and checking formatting simultaneously; Preview Only is useful for a clean reading view.
- 3
Check the stats row below the toolbar for word count, character count, heading count, link count, code block count, and estimated reading time. These update live as you edit the Markdown source.
- 4
Click Copy HTML to copy the rendered HTML output to your clipboard. This is ready to paste into email builders (Mailchimp, Constant Contact), WordPress, Confluence, or any rich-text editor that accepts HTML input.
- 5
Use the .html and .md download buttons to save the output locally. The HTML download produces a complete standalone HTML file. The .md download saves your raw Markdown source. The Import button lets you load any .md or .txt file from your device.
- 6
Scroll to the Table of Contents below the editor to navigate long documents. Click any heading link to jump directly to that section in the preview, which is useful for reviewing long READMEs or documentation pages.
Markdown Viewer Example
A developer is writing a GitHub README for a new open-source library. They paste the draft Markdown into the editor and switch to Split view. The preview immediately shows the rendered headings, formatted code blocks, and the feature table — exactly as it will appear on GitHub. They notice a table column is misaligned and fix the source on the left, watching the preview update instantly on the right. When the README is complete, they copy the Markdown source and paste it directly into GitHub.
A content marketer writes a newsletter in Markdown to avoid the formatting headaches of rich text editors. They use headings, bold text, and links in the Markdown Viewer to structure the piece, then click Copy HTML to get the rendered output. That HTML is pasted directly into Mailchimp's code editor — bypassing the drag-and-drop builder entirely and producing a clean, well-structured email without fighting the email editor's formatting tools.
Understanding Markdown
What Is Markdown and Why Use It?
Markdown is a lightweight plain-text markup language created by John Gruber in 2004, designed so that the formatting reads naturally even in its raw form. A heading is just # before the text. Bold is just **text**. A list is just - item lines. This simplicity means Markdown files are readable in any text editor without rendering, making them durable, portable, and version-control-friendly. Markdown is now the de facto standard for: GitHub READMEs and wikis, technical documentation (MkDocs, Docusaurus, Read the Docs), static site generators (Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy), note-taking apps (Obsidian, Notion, Bear, Typora), forum posts (Reddit, Stack Overflow, Dev.to), messaging tools (Slack, Discord), and API documentation.
Markdown Syntax Supported by This Viewer
This online Markdown viewer supports the full CommonMark-compatible core syntax. Headings are marked with # (h1) through ###### (h6). Bold uses **double asterisks** or __double underscores__. Italic uses *single asterisks* or _single underscores_. Strikethrough uses ~~tildes~~. Inline code uses backticks. Fenced code blocks use triple-backtick fences optionally followed by a language identifier (e.g., javascript, python, css). Unordered lists use - or * prefixes; ordered lists use 1. numbering. Task lists are created with - [ ] and - [x] syntax and render as clickable (but disabled) checkboxes. Tables use pipe | characters to separate columns, with a separator row (| --- |) between header and body. Blockquotes start with > and are rendered with a visual indent. Links use [text](url) syntax and open in a new tab. Horizontal rules use three or more --- or *** characters on a line.
Converting Markdown to HTML for Email and Web
One of the most practical uses of this Markdown viewer is generating clean HTML output for email campaigns or web pages. Writing HTML by hand for email is tedious and error-prone. Writing in Markdown is far faster and more readable. Once you have your formatted Markdown, clicking Copy HTML gives you standards-compliant HTML that pastes directly into email platforms. The HTML is clean — no unnecessary wrapper divs, no inline style bloat — making it compatible with most email clients including Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.
Markdown Viewer vs Local Markdown Editors
Desktop Markdown editors like Typora, Obsidian, and VS Code offer powerful features including file system access, spell check, and plugin ecosystems. However, they require installation and are tied to a specific device. This online Markdown preview tool requires nothing — open a browser tab and start rendering. For quickly checking how a block of Markdown will render, reviewing a GitHub README before committing, or sharing a preview with someone who doesn't have a Markdown editor installed, a browser-based viewer is faster and more accessible.
GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) Compatibility
This viewer renders the core Markdown features used in GitHub Flavored Markdown, which is the dialect used by GitHub READMEs, GitHub Issues, GitHub Pull Requests, and GitHub Wikis. GFM extends standard Markdown with task lists, tables, strikethrough, and fenced code blocks — all of which are supported here. Note that some GFM-specific features like @mentions, issue references (#123), and emoji shortcodes (:smile:) are GitHub-specific rendering that requires GitHub's own processing and are not rendered by this tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Markdown syntax is supported?
This Markdown viewer supports all core CommonMark syntax including: headings (# to ######), bold (**text** or __text__), italic (*text* or _text_), strikethrough (~~text~~), inline code (`code`), fenced code blocks (``` with optional language label), unordered lists (- or *), ordered lists (1. 2. 3.), task lists (- [ ] and - [x]), tables (with | pipe separators), blockquotes (>), horizontal rules (---), and hyperlinks ([text](url)). HTML tags in the source are escaped for security to prevent XSS. Images are not rendered as a precaution against remote content loading.
Can I use the rendered HTML in email campaigns?
Yes — this is one of the most popular use cases. Click Copy HTML to get the rendered HTML and paste it into Mailchimp's code editor, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, or any email builder that accepts raw HTML input. The output is clean, standards-compliant HTML without framework dependencies or excessive inline styles. However, email client CSS support varies significantly. Outlook in particular does not support many CSS properties. For complex email layouts with buttons or image layouts, a dedicated email HTML builder is more appropriate. For text-heavy emails with headings and lists, the Markdown-generated HTML works well.
Is there a file size or length limit?
No hard limit is enforced by the tool. The Markdown parser runs entirely in your browser, so performance depends on your device. Very large documents — hundreds of thousands of words, or Markdown with thousands of table rows — may cause slight input lag as the parser re-renders on every keystroke. For documents of typical length (up to 10,000–20,000 words), rendering is instantaneous. If you are working with very long files, switching to Editor Only view and toggling Preview Only when you want to check formatting avoids continuous parsing and improves performance.
Why are images not rendered?
Images in Markdown use the syntax . Rendering external images would cause the browser to make network requests to external servers for every image URL in the Markdown source. This creates privacy concerns (external servers log the request), potential security concerns (malicious image URLs), and unpredictable loading behavior. Because this is a client-side tool with no server to proxy requests, the decision was made to escape image syntax for safety. If you need to preview Markdown with images, use a local editor like VS Code with the Markdown Preview extension or Typora.
How is the Table of Contents generated?
The Table of Contents is automatically extracted from all h1, h2, and h3 headings in your Markdown source (lines starting with #, ##, or ###). Each heading is converted to a URL-safe anchor slug by lowercasing, removing inline formatting, and replacing non-alphanumeric characters with hyphens. The TOC entries are indented to reflect the heading hierarchy — h1 at the left, h2 indented one level, h3 indented two levels. Clicking a TOC entry scrolls the preview panel to that heading. The TOC updates instantly when you edit headings. It is only shown when the Markdown contains at least one heading.
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