About HTML → Markdown

Convert HTML content to Markdown format. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Web / Frontend collection.

Use Cases

• Migrating CMS blog content to static site generators like Hugo
• Converting HTML documentation to Markdown for GitHub wikis
• Preparing web content for Markdown-based knowledge bases
• Transforming HTML emails into readable Markdown archives

Tips

• Convert blog posts from CMS HTML to Markdown for static sites
• Preserves heading hierarchy and link formatting accurately
• Use this to prepare content for Markdown-based documentation

Fun Facts

• Markdown was created by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz in 2004 with the goal of being readable as plain text without rendering.
• CommonMark, an effort to standardize Markdown, was launched in 2014 by Jeff Atwood (Stack Overflow co-founder) and John MacFarlane.
• GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) adds tables, task lists, and strikethrough to standard Markdown and was formalized in 2017.

FAQ

Which Markdown flavor?

GitHub-Flavored Markdown by default. Toggle CommonMark for stricter output (no tables, task lists, strikethrough).

What gets preserved?

Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, code blocks, links, images, bold/italic/strikethrough, blockquotes, and task lists. The common HTML → Markdown mapping.

What doesn't convert?

Complex layouts (CSS-positioned divs, tables for layout), inline styles, iframes, and custom elements. These become stripped plain text or fall back to inline HTML.

Is it lossy?

Yes — Markdown is simpler than HTML. Multi-class divs and structural details are lost. Use for content extraction, not round-tripping.