Summary
A Markdown editor is a text editor that shows how plain-text Markdown will look once it is turned into headings, lists, tables and links. To use this one free and privately, type or paste Markdown into the Markdown pane, watch the Preview pane update beside it, then click Export HTML, Print / Save as PDF or Download .md. Parsing, the preview, auto-save and every export run in your browser and nothing you write is uploaded, as the Network tab in DevTools will show.
The editor renders GitHub Flavored Markdown (tables, task lists, strikethrough, fenced code blocks, autolinks) plus footnotes. Your draft is saved to this browser's local storage half a second after you stop typing, so it is still there when you come back on the same browser. If you only need the HTML code to paste somewhere, the Markdown to HTML converter is quicker; to turn an existing page back into Markdown, use the HTML to Markdown converter.
Table of Use: Common Jobs and What You Get
| Goal | What to do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Draft a README | Type # Project, add install commands with the code block button, click Download .md | A file named project.md (from the first heading); rename it to README.md before you commit it |
| Add a table without typing pipes | Click the table button, leave 3 body rows and 3 columns, click Insert | A header row, a --- separator row and three rows of Cell 1.1 to Cell 3.3 placeholders to overwrite |
| Make a PDF | Click Print / Save as PDF, choose Save as PDF as the printer | A PDF of the rendered document only, not of this web page |
| Get HTML for a CMS or email | Click Export HTML | One standalone .html file with its CSS inside; # Release Notes is saved as release-notes.html |
| Add a footnote | Type Text[^1], then [^1]: The note on its own line | A superscript 1 in the text and a numbered note under a rule at the end of the preview |
| Embed a screenshot | Click the image button, pick a file of 2 MB or less | An image line holding a base64 data URL, so the document carries its own picture |
Features
- Split view: the Markdown and Preview panes sit side by side from tablet width up and stack on phones. The preview uses the same stylesheet as the exported file.
- Formatting toolbar: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Heading 1 to 3, Bullet list, Numbered list, Quote, Inline code and Horizontal rule. Pressing a formatting, heading, list or quote button a second time removes it. Shortcuts: Ctrl/Cmd+B, I, E and K.
- Insert helpers: link, image, code block and table dialogs. Tables go up to 50 body rows by 10 columns; code blocks can be tagged with one of 17 languages (JavaScript, Python, SQL, Bash and others) or left plain. Link and image addresses containing spaces or parentheses are written so they still work.
- Auto-save: the draft is stored in this browser's local storage; Clear asks for confirmation and then also removes the saved copy.
- Files in and out: Open .md reads .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd and .txt files. If the editor already holds text, Open .md and Sample ask before replacing it.
- Sanitised preview: unsafe HTML is stripped (see the FAQs), and links in the preview open in a new tab so the editor is never navigated away.
- Status bar and Full screen: live word and character counts (for readability or keyword counts, use the word counter or character counter); Esc leaves Full screen.
What it does not do: there are no accounts, cloud sync or shared editing. Exported HTML tags code blocks with a language class such as language-javascript but does not colour them; for coloured snippets, paste the code into the code syntax highlighter.
How to Use the Markdown Editor
- Type or paste into the Markdown pane, click Open .md to load a file, or click Sample to see an example. The Preview pane updates as you type.
- Select text and click a toolbar button (Bold, Heading 2, Bullet list and so on), or press Ctrl/Cmd+B, I, E or K. With nothing selected, a placeholder such as "bold text" is inserted for you to overwrite.
- Click Insert link, Insert image, Insert code block or Insert table, fill in the dialog and click Insert.
- Check the status bar: it shows the word and character counts and "Auto-saved in this browser". Click the arrows icon for Full screen when you want more room.
- Click Export HTML, Print / Save as PDF or Download .md. Export HTML and Print / Save as PDF stay greyed out until you type more than spaces; Download .md is greyed out only while the editor is empty.
Shrink the exported file with the HTML minifier or check it in the HTML previewer.
Who Can Use It
Developers drafting READMEs and changelogs, technical writers, bloggers who publish through a CMS that accepts HTML, students keeping notes and support teams writing help articles all work the same way: write plain text, check the preview, export. Compare two versions of a draft with the text diff tool, turn the post title into a URL with the slug generator, and write its search snippet with the meta tag generator. Need filler text for a layout test? Try the Lorem Ipsum generator.
FAQs
Is it safe to write Markdown in an online editor?
Yes, in this Markdown editor: parsing, the preview, auto-save and every export run in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded (you can check the Network tab in DevTools). The only requests the preview makes are for images, audio or video that your Markdown or HTML links to by URL. Your draft stays in this browser's local storage until you click Clear, delete all the text or wipe the site's data.
How do I convert Markdown to PDF?
Click Print / Save as PDF. Your browser opens its print dialog for the rendered document only, not for this web page. Choose Save as PDF (or Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows) as the printer and confirm. The browser draws the text with your system fonts, so accented letters, other scripts and emoji print as they look in the preview.
Is my work saved if I close the tab?
Yes, on the same browser and device. Half a second after you stop typing, the draft is written to this browser's local storage and the status bar shows Auto-saved. Deleting all the text also removes the saved draft. It is not synced anywhere, and clearing browser data removes it, so use Download .md for anything important. If a document outgrows the storage quota, the status bar says auto-save failed.
Which Markdown syntax does this editor support?
GitHub Flavored Markdown: headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, fenced code blocks with a language tag, nested ordered and unordered lists, task lists (- [ ] and - [x]), tables, blockquotes, horizontal rules, links, autolinks and images. Footnotes written as [^1] are supported too. Raw HTML such as <details> and <kbd> is passed through after sanitising.
Why did my script or iframe disappear from the preview?
Raw HTML is allowed in Markdown, but before anything is shown, exported or printed it is cleaned with DOMPurify. That removes script, iframe, style and form tags, inline event handlers such as onerror, and javascript: links. This keeps a pasted document from running code or restyling the page around the preview. Ordinary markup such as headings, tables, details and kbd survives.
How do I add an image to Markdown without hosting it?
Click the image button in the toolbar and pick a file under Embed an image from your device. Files up to 2 MB are inserted as a base64 data URL, so the Markdown and the exported HTML carry the picture with them and nothing is uploaded. The trade-off is size: a data URL makes the text long and can push the draft past the browser storage limit.
What is the difference between Export HTML and Download .md?
Download .md saves your Markdown source exactly as typed, ready to commit or reopen with Open .md. Export HTML saves the rendered result as one standalone HTML file with responsive CSS built in. Both files are named from your first heading, so "# Release Notes" becomes release-notes.md or release-notes.html, and a document with no heading is saved as document.
Can I use the Markdown editor offline or on a phone?
Once the page has loaded, writing, the preview, auto-save and the exports do not need a connection; only images, audio or video linked by URL do. On a narrow screen the toolbar wraps and the Markdown and Preview panes stack one above the other instead of sitting side by side, and Full screen gives them the whole viewport.