Write Simply, Publish Anywhere

Markdown was created by John Gruber in 2004 with one goal: let writers produce web-ready content without writing HTML tags. Instead of bold, you write bold. Instead of

, you write ##. The result is text that reads naturally in its raw form and converts cleanly to HTML for display in browsers.

Today, Markdown is the default writing format for GitHub, Stack Overflow, Reddit, Discord, Notion, and countless other platforms. If you write documentation, README files, or technical content, you are almost certainly writing Markdown.

How the Conversion Works

A Markdown-to-HTML converter parses the Markdown syntax and translates each element into its HTML equivalent:

• # Heading becomes

  Heading

• bold becomes bold
• italic becomes italic
• link text becomes link text
• - list item becomes
• list item
inside a
• > quote becomes

  quote

The parser reads the Markdown line by line, identifies block-level elements (headings, paragraphs, lists, code blocks), then processes inline elements (bold, italic, links, code) within each block.

Markdown Syntax Reference

Headings: Use # for h1 through ###### for h6. Most documents use h2 (##) for top-level sections.

Emphasis: italic or _italic_ for italics. bold or __bold__ for bold. bold italic for both.

Lists: Start lines with -, *, or + for unordered lists. Use 1., 2., etc. for ordered lists.

Links: display text creates a clickable link.

Images: !alt text embeds an image.

Code: Backticks for inline code. Triple backticks for code blocks with optional language identifier for syntax highlighting.

Tables: Pipe-delimited columns with a header separator row.

Blockquotes: Lines starting with > are quoted text.

Horizontal rules: Three or more dashes (---), asterisks (*), or underscores (___).

When to Use Markdown vs HTML

Use Markdown when:

• Writing documentation (README files, wikis, guides)
• Creating content for platforms that support it (GitHub, forums, CMS)
• Drafting blog posts and articles
• Taking notes that may need to be published later

Use HTML when:

• You need precise control over layout and styling
• The content requires custom classes, attributes, or interactive elements
• Working within a template or theme system
• Building email templates (Markdown rendering varies across email clients)

How to Use the Toobits Markdown to HTML Converter

Type or paste your Markdown into the input panel and see the HTML output update in real time. Preview the rendered result or copy the raw HTML for use in your project. The converter supports standard Markdown syntax including headings, lists, links, code blocks, tables, and emphasis. Everything runs in your browser — your content never leaves your device.