Convert Markdown to PDF

How it works

Tap or click the box and pick your Markdown file; .md, .markdown and .txt files are accepted. The file is read with the GFM rules GitHub uses: lines starting with # become headings sized by level, lines starting with - or 1. become bulleted or numbered lists (nested lists are indented), code between triple backticks goes into a grey box with its line breaks and spacing kept, tables built with | become rows of equal-width columns with a grey header row, > quotes are indented and --- becomes a horizontal rule. Bold and italic marks are dropped and the words kept, since only one typeface is embedded; links are written as "text (address)" so they can be found on paper. Example: a 40-line README with 3 headings and a 12-item list fits on 2 Letter pages, and the result line reads "2 pages · 3 headings, 6 paragraphs, 12 list items, 1 table". Images are not loaded; the alt text is written in square brackets instead, and the result line says how many images were handled that way. The paper size defaults to Letter on this English page; choose A4 for a reader in the UK, Europe or India.

This tool is also known as markdown to pdf, md to pdf converter, convert markdown to pdf, readme to pdf, md file to pdf, markdown to pdf online free, export markdown as pdf.

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a way of formatting a plain-text file with a handful of punctuation marks: a # at the start of a line makes a heading, a - makes a list item, text between double asterisks is bold. GitHub README files, Obsidian and Notion notes, software documentation and many blog drafts are written this way, with the extension .md. It needs no special program, which is why it spread, but anyone who opens a .md file on a phone sees the raw marks. This tool turns the marks into a page layout and produces a PDF that anyone can open, search and print.

What is GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown)?

GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown) is the rule set GitHub added on top of basic Markdown, and most editors now treat it as the default: tables drawn with | characters, task lists written as - [ ], strikethrough between double tildes and fenced code blocks opened with three backticks all come from it. This tool reads your file with GFM rules, so a table in your README stays a table in the PDF and a task list is written with [x] and [ ] marks. If your editor uses a different dialect, such as wiki syntax, those marks pass through as plain text.

What is the difference between Markdown and PDF?

Markdown is a source format for writing: small, editable, easy to keep in version control, but its look depends on the program that opens it and it has no idea of a page. PDF is an output format: paper size, margins and page order are stored in the file, it looks the same on every device, and it is what you print or attach to an email. This tool is a one-way bridge between them: it turns the structure of the .md file into a page layout and writes the text so it stays selectable. To go back from PDF to Markdown you would use the PDF to text tool on this site and add the marks by hand.

What is laid out on the page, and what stays plain text?

Laid out: six heading levels (by size and bold weight), bulleted and numbered lists (each nested level indented by 18 points), task lists ([x] and [ ]), code blocks (a grey box with line breaks and spaces kept), tables (equal-width columns, long cells wrapped inside the cell, grey header row), block quotes (indented) and horizontal rules. Because a single typeface is embedded, bold and italic are not drawn separately; the words stay and the asterisks and underscores are dropped.

Plain text: inline code (between backticks) is written in the normal typeface; a link becomes "text (address)" so the address survives on paper; raw HTML tags are stripped and their text is kept. Image files are never loaded — the tool makes no network requests and cannot open a relative path on your computer — so "[image: alt text]" is written in their place and the result line reports how many images were written that way. For a document with images, produce the PDF and add the pictures in a PDF editor, or convert the document to HTML first.

Which setting for which document?

Leave the paper size on its default: this English page picks Letter (8.5 × 11 in), while the German, French, Spanish and Turkish pages pick A4; choose A4 by hand for a reader in the UK, Europe, India or Australia, and Letter for the US and Canada. Margins are 1 inch on all sides. The font size applies to body text and headings scale up from it: 11 pt is the normal reading size, 10 pt fits a long document on fewer pages, 12 pt suits a document read on screen or by an older reader. Code blocks are set 1.5 pt smaller than the body and table cells 1 pt smaller.

A very wide table gets narrow columns and wrapped cell text; above eight columns a table may no longer be readable on portrait Letter or A4, and splitting it in the source document gives a better result. Accented letters (é, ü, ñ, ç and the rest of the Latin range) render from a Noto Sans subset embedded in the PDF; if that font script fails to load, the tool falls back to a standard font, writes those letters with their ASCII equivalents and says so in the result line — reloading the page and converting again usually fixes it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert a README.md file to PDF?

Pick the file in the box and press "Convert to PDF"; no other setting is needed. Headings, lists, tables and code blocks are laid out on the page and the text stays selectable. If you pick several .md files, each one downloads as a separate PDF under its own name; to combine them into one document, feed the downloaded files to the merge PDF tool on this site.

Do Markdown tables show up in the PDF?

Yes. GFM tables built with | characters are set in equal-width columns, the header row gets a grey background, and long cell text wraps inside its cell; a row that lands on a page break is not split but moved whole to the next page. Column widths are shared equally rather than sized to content, so text gets narrow in a table with many columns.

Why did bold and italic text come out plain in the PDF?

Only one typeface is embedded in the PDF; bold and italic need separate font files, which would double the data the page loads. The emphasis marks (asterisks, underscores) are dropped and the words are kept; headings are still set apart by size and weight. If emphasis must survive, convert the document to HTML first and save it as PDF from your browser's print menu.

Is my file uploaded anywhere?

No. Your Markdown file never leaves your device: reading the file, parsing the marks and writing the PDF all happen inside your browser. That matters for unpublished documentation or private notes. Once the page has loaded, the conversion works even without an internet connection.