Markdown editor. Rendered live as you type.

How to use the Markdown Editor

This editor turns Markdown into formatted text as you type, with the source on the left and a live preview on the right. It uses a small parser built into the page that handles the common syntax: headings, emphasis, lists, links, images, tables, quotes and code blocks. It suits anyone drafting README files, notes, posts or emails who wants to see the result before pasting it somewhere.

Step by step

1. 1
   Start from the sample

   The Editor opens with a sample document that uses headings, lists, a link, a quote, a code block, a table and a rule. Read it, then press Clear and type or paste your own Markdown.

2. 2
   Write and watch the preview

   Type in the Editor and the Preview pane updates a moment after you stop typing. The word count above the panes updates at the same time.

3. 3
   Format with the toolbar

   Select text and press B for bold, i for italic or the </> button for inline code. H adds ## and the List button adds a dash to the start of every selected line. Link turns the selected words into [your words](https://), or inserts [text](https://) when nothing is selected; click after https:// and type the rest of the address.

4. 4
   Copy the HTML

   Press Copy HTML to put the rendered HTML fragment on your clipboard, ready to paste into a CMS or an email tool that accepts HTML.

5. 5
   Save a file

   Press Download .md to save your source as document.md, or Download .html to save document.html, a complete page with simple styles built in that opens in any browser.

What the preview supports

• Headings from # to ######, bold with ** or __, italic with * or _, inline code in backticks, links, images, and horizontal rules made of three or more dashes, stars or underscores.
• Bullet lists that start with a dash, star or plus, numbered lists written as 1., and nested lists, made by indenting a line further than the one above it.
• Blockquotes that start with >, fenced code blocks with three backticks or tildes and an optional language name, and pipe tables whose dash row can use colons to align columns.
• Lines next to each other join into one paragraph. End a line with two spaces or a backslash to force a line break.

Tips and common mistakes

• Raw HTML is not rendered. Tags you type appear as plain text in the preview, which keeps pasted content safe but means you cannot mix HTML into the document.
• Strikethrough, task list checkboxes and footnotes are not part of this parser, so that syntax stays as plain text.
• Links that start with javascript:, data: or vbscript: are replaced with #, so an image embedded as a data: address will not show.
• Your text is not saved. Reloading the page brings back the sample, so press Download .md before you leave.
• Nesting depends on indentation alone. Indent child items by two or more spaces and keep each level consistent.

Privacy and limits

Parsing and rendering happen in your browser with code that is part of the page, and your text is never uploaded or stored. The only requests your document can cause come from its own content: an image written as  is loaded from that address by the preview, as on any web page.

Back to the tool

Frequently asked questions.

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