Markdown Editor
Runs on your device. Nothing is sent.Everything happens on your own device. Nothing you type is ever sent anywhere.
Markdown
Preview
Your rendered preview will appear here
Write Markdown with a live preview, then export clean HTML or the raw Markdown file, entirely in your browser.
This editor converts Markdown to HTML live as you type, entirely in your browser, and supports the syntax people actually reach for day to day: headings, bold and italic text, links, images, lists, blockquotes, inline code, and fenced code blocks. Everything you type is HTML-escaped before any formatting is applied, so pasted HTML or script tags render as plain visible text instead of being executed - nothing you write is ever uploaded anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the full CommonMark specification?
No - this covers the syntax people use most often (headings, emphasis, links, images, lists, blockquotes, code), not the complete CommonMark spec with all its edge cases like nested lists, tables, or footnotes. For everyday notes, READMEs, and documentation, that core subset covers the overwhelming majority of real-world Markdown.
Is it safe to paste Markdown from somewhere I don't fully trust?
Yes. Every character you type or paste is HTML-escaped before any Markdown formatting is applied, and link or image URLs are checked against an allowlist of safe schemes (http, https, mailto, and relative paths) before being used - a pasted javascript: link or an embedded <script> tag renders as inert, visible text rather than running.
What's the difference between the HTML and Markdown downloads?
The Markdown download saves exactly what you typed, as a .md file, for further editing later or committing to a repository. The HTML download saves the rendered output as a standalone .html file, ready to paste into a CMS, email, or anywhere else that expects finished HTML rather than Markdown source.
Why did my line breaks disappear in the preview?
The parser follows standard Markdown paragraph rules: lines that aren't separated by a blank line get joined into one paragraph, with each line break collapsed to a single space. If you want a new paragraph, leave an empty line between blocks of text - pressing Enter just once won't create a visible break in the rendered output.
Does the code block support syntax highlighting for a language like ```js?
Not yet - the language you write after the opening triple backticks is only used to mark where the block starts and is discarded, not displayed or color-coded. Everything inside the fence is escaped and rendered as plain monospace text, so your code stays exactly as typed, just without syntax coloring.
Does it support tables?
Not yet - this parser focuses on the syntax people reach for most often, and pipe-delimited tables aren't part of that set. A table written in Markdown syntax will render as plain paragraph text instead of an actual table, so for now tables need to be written directly in HTML if you need them in the exported output.
Are nested lists supported?
No - every list item is treated as flat, regardless of leading spaces, so indenting a line to create a sub-list won't produce a nested list; it renders as another top-level item instead. If you need a hierarchy, the closest workaround is writing it out with headings or manual indentation inside a code block.
Does it matter if I use * or _ for bold and italic?
No - both are treated the same. **bold** and __bold__ both produce bold text, and *italic* and _italic_ both produce italic text. The toolbar's B and I buttons always insert the asterisk form, but typing the underscore form works identically.
Can I strike through text with ~~like this~~?
Not currently - strikethrough isn't part of the syntax this parser recognizes, so ~~text~~ renders literally as tildes around plain text instead of struck-through text. It's one of the more common extensions beyond core Markdown that this tool doesn't cover yet.
What are the different ways to write a horizontal rule?
Three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores on their own line - ---, ***, or ___ - all render as a horizontal rule. The toolbar's ― button always inserts the hyphen form, but any of the three work identically if you type them yourself.
Can a blockquote span multiple paragraphs?
Each block of consecutive > lines is rendered as a single paragraph inside the blockquote, with line breaks collapsed to spaces just like regular paragraphs. Leaving a blank quoted line to start a second paragraph inside the same quote isn't supported - it ends the blockquote instead.
Can I paste formatted text from Word or Google Docs?
You can paste into the editor, but only as plain text - browsers strip rich formatting (bold, headings, links) when pasting into a plain text box, so the words survive but the formatting doesn't automatically become Markdown syntax. You'll need to re-apply headings, bold, and links yourself, which is exactly what the toolbar buttons above the editor are for.
What do the buttons above the editor do?
Each one inserts the matching Markdown syntax at your cursor, or wraps it around whatever text you have selected - click B with a word selected and it becomes **word**, click H2 on an empty line and it becomes a heading. They're a shortcut for the exact syntax this parser understands, not a separate formatting system.
Is there a limit to how much text I can paste in?
There's no hard-coded limit, but the whole document is re-parsed from scratch on every keystroke, entirely in your browser's main thread. That's instant for notes and articles, but a very large document (tens of thousands of lines) may start to feel sluggish as you type, since there's no incremental or background parsing.
Does this work the same for right-to-left languages like Arabic or Persian?
Yes - the page layout flips to right-to-left for those languages, and the rendered preview follows the same direction, so headings, lists, and paragraphs read naturally. The Markdown syntax itself (#, *, >, etc.) stays exactly the same regardless of language.
For developers: open this page with a `q` parameter in the URL - e.g. gizke.com/markdown?q=# Hello world - and that value is pre-filled automatically. Most visitors won't need this; it's meant for linking directly to a ready-to-use example.