Markdown Preview

How It Works

Markdown is a plain-text way of writing formatted documents: a # makes a heading, **word** makes it bold, [text](url) makes a link, and a - at the start of a line makes a list item. It is the standard format for README files, documentation and notes, because it stays readable as plain text and converts cleanly to HTML. This previewer converts your Markdown in your browser as you type, so you can see exactly how it will look before you publish it anywhere.

The parser supports the Markdown features people use most: headings, bold and italic text, links, unordered and ordered lists, inline code, fenced code blocks, blockquotes and horizontal rules. For safety, raw HTML in your input is escaped and shown as text rather than run as code, and links with javascript: addresses are neutralised.

Worked Example

Type this Markdown:

# Shopping List

- Milk
- **Bread**
- Eggs

The preview shows a large heading reading “Shopping List” followed by a bulleted list of three items, with “Bread” in bold. The underlying HTML is <h1>Shopping List</h1> and a <ul> list whose second item is <li><strong>Bread</strong></li>. Type <script>alert(1)</script> and the preview shows the literal text — the tags are escaped, so nothing runs.

How to Use This Tool

Type or paste Markdown into the box and the preview below updates with every keystroke — there is no button to press. Use Copy HTML to copy the generated HTML, or Reset to clear the box and start over. The counts below the preview show the words and characters in your Markdown source, which is handy when you are writing to a length limit.

Tips and Practical Advice

• Leave a blank line between blocks. A heading, a list and a paragraph each need a blank line before and after them, or they run together into one paragraph.
• Use fenced code blocks for code. Three backticks before and after a block keep indentation and symbols intact, and stop asterisks inside code turning into bold text.
• Keep link text short. A link that reads “our pricing page” is easier to scan than a bare URL pasted into a sentence.