About This Markdown Previewer
This tool lets you write Markdown in the left pane and see a fully rendered HTML preview in the right pane — in real time, with no server involved. Everything runs in your browser using a pure JavaScript Markdown parser, so your content never leaves your device. The editor supports the full GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) specification, including tables, task lists, fenced code blocks, and strikethrough text.
What Is Markdown?
Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It uses plain-text formatting syntax that converts to valid HTML. The core idea is that a Markdown document should be readable as plain text without appearing to have been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. A line starting with # becomes an <h1>; wrapping a word in **asterisks** makes it <strong>; surrounding text with backticks renders it as inline code. Markdown is now the standard format for README files, documentation, blog post drafts, forum posts, and developer notes across the industry.
Markdown Syntax Quick Reference
Headings: Use one to six # characters followed by a space — # H1, ## H2, up to ###### H6.
Emphasis: *italic* or _italic_ for italics; **bold** or __bold__ for bold; ~~strikethrough~~ for strikethrough (GFM).
Lists: Use -, *, or + for unordered lists. Use 1., 2. for ordered lists. Indent two or four spaces for nested lists.
Code: Wrap inline code in backticks: `code`. For multi-line code blocks, use three backticks and optionally specify the language: ```javascript. This triggers syntax highlighting in many renderers.
Links: [link text](https://example.com). For reference-style links: [link text][ref] then [ref]: https://example.com elsewhere in the document.
Images: Same syntax as links with a leading exclamation mark: .
Blockquotes: Prefix lines with >. Nest blockquotes with >>.
Tables (GFM): Use pipes and hyphens to create tables. The header separator row uses at least three hyphens per column. Colons in the separator control alignment: :--- left, :---: centre, ---: right.
Task lists (GFM): - [ ] unchecked item and - [x] checked item. These render as interactive checkboxes in GitHub and many Markdown renderers.
Horizontal rules: Three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores on their own line: ---.
How to Use This Tool
Type or paste your Markdown into the left editor pane. The preview updates live as you type — no button press required. Use the toolbar buttons to insert common formatting quickly without remembering syntax. The Word Count and Reading Time statistics at the bottom update in real time as your content changes.
The divider between the two panes is draggable — click and drag it left or right to give more space to whichever pane you need. On mobile, the panes stack vertically and both remain scrollable. The Copy MD button copies your raw Markdown source; Copy HTML copies the rendered HTML output — useful when you need the HTML version of your content for a CMS or email template.
Common Use Cases
README files: Draft and preview GitHub README.md files before committing. See exactly how your formatting, tables, and code blocks will render on GitHub without pushing a change just to check the output.
Blog post drafts: Write blog content in Markdown and preview how it will look rendered. Copy the HTML output directly into a CMS that accepts HTML, or paste the Markdown into a platform like Ghost, Hashnode, or Dev.to that natively supports Markdown.
Technical documentation: Markdown is the standard format for documentation sites built with tools like MkDocs, Docusaurus, and GitBook. Preview your docs content to catch formatting errors before committing.
Email templates: Write email content in Markdown, preview the rendered HTML, then copy the HTML into an email builder. This workflow is much faster than writing HTML email content by hand.
API documentation: Many API documentation tools (Swagger UI, Redoc, Postman) support Markdown in description fields. Preview your descriptions here before pasting them into your API spec.
Privacy & Data Handling
All Markdown parsing and HTML rendering happens in your browser. The text you type into this editor is never transmitted to any server. There are no accounts, no saving, no logging of content. Your drafts exist only in your browser tab while it is open — export them using the Copy buttons or by saving your Markdown to a local file before closing the tab.