What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004 that lets you write formatted text using plain text syntax. It was designed to be readable even in its raw form — asterisks for emphasis, hash marks for headings, dashes for lists. Markdown is used extensively in documentation (GitHub READMEs), note-taking apps (Obsidian, Notion), blogging platforms, and developer communication.

This tool provides a live preview of your Markdown as you type. The left panel shows the raw Markdown source and the right panel renders the formatted output in real time. It supports standard Markdown, GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM) extensions (tables, task lists, strikethrough, fenced code blocks), and syntax highlighting for code blocks.

Basic Markdown syntax

• Headings: use # for H1, ## for H2, ### for H3, and so on up to ###### for H6.
• Bold: wrap text in double asterisks or double underscores. Italic: use single asterisks or underscores.
• Lists: start lines with - or * for bullets, or 1. for numbered lists. Nest with indentation.
• Links: [link text](URL). Images: .
• Code: use backticks for inline code, triple backticks for fenced code blocks with optional language for syntax highlighting.

How to use this tool

Type or paste Markdown in the editor. The preview updates in real time. You can switch between side-by-side and preview-only modes. The tool supports copy to clipboard (both Markdown source and rendered HTML), download as .md file, and export as HTML.

GitHub Flavored Markdown

GitHub Flavored Markdown extends standard Markdown with tables (pipe-separated columns), task lists (checkboxes with - [ ] and - [x]), strikethrough text (wrapped in double tildes), auto-linked URLs, and fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting. This tool supports all GFM features, making it ideal for previewing README files and documentation before pushing to GitHub.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use HTML inside Markdown?

Yes. Standard Markdown allows inline HTML for anything the Markdown syntax cannot express (like complex tables, colored text, or embedded videos). However, some Markdown renderers (like GitHub) strip certain HTML tags for security reasons. This preview tool renders most HTML tags to show you the expected output.

What is the difference between Markdown and rich text?

Rich text (like Word documents) stores formatting as hidden codes within the file. Markdown stores formatting as visible text characters — **bold** is literally typed with asterisks. This makes Markdown files portable (any text editor can read them), version-control friendly (diffs are clean), and future-proof (no proprietary format to worry about).