Convert Markdown to TXT without losing meaning
This Markdown to TXT converter strips Markdown syntax — #, **, _, backticks, link brackets and table pipes — and leaves clean, readable plain text. Paste Markdown or open a .md file and the text appears instantly, ready to copy into an e-mail, a form field, a text message, a subtitle file or any app that shows asterisks literally.
Deleting symbols with find-and-replace breaks things: numbered lists lose their numbers, link addresses vanish, tables collapse into a jumble of words and code loses its indentation. This tool reads the Markdown properly with the marked parser (MIT licence) and rebuilds the text: numbers and bullets stay, nested items are indented, links keep their URLs in brackets or as numbered references, tables become aligned columns and code blocks keep every space.
It is particularly handy for answers from AI chat assistants, which arrive full of Markdown. Conversion happens in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to use the Markdown to TXT Converter
- Paste Markdown into the Markdown box or press Open .md file.
- Choose how links appear: text with the URL in brackets, numbered references with a list of URLs at the end, or link text only.
- Pick aligned or tab-separated tables, the heading style, the bullet character and an optional line width.
- Copy the result, or choose line endings and an encoding and press Download .txt.
Markdown to TXT Converter features
A real Markdown parser
Built on marked’s lexer, so emphasis, escapes, HTML entities such as ©, autolinks and nested lists are understood exactly as a Markdown renderer understands them.
Lists that keep their shape
Numbered lists keep their starting number, bullets show • ◦ ▪ by level (or - or *), nested items are indented under their parent, and task items show [x] or [ ].
Three ways to keep links
“Text (URL)” for readable e-mails, “Text[1]” with a reference list for long documents, or text only when the addresses don’t matter.
Tables in plain text
Columns are padded with spaces and follow the alignment from the Markdown, with Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters counted as double width — or use tabs for spreadsheets.
Wrapping and encodings
Wrap at 30 to 80 characters, choose LF or CRLF, and save as UTF-8, UTF-8 with BOM, UTF-16 or Windows-1252.
Live and private
The text updates as you type and never leaves your device.
Before and after
## Shopping list
1. **Milk** from [the shop](https://shop.example)
2. Bread
- wholemeal
| Item | Qty |
|:-----|----:|
| Eggs | 12 |becomes
Shopping list
1. Milk from the shop (https://shop.example)
2. Bread
◦ wholemeal
Item Qty
---- ---
Eggs 12Why not just delete the symbols?
Markdown symbols carry meaning. A leading “1.” is a list number; “**” marks emphasis, but inside a code span “2 ** 3” is maths; brackets followed by parentheses make a link whose address you may need; pipes and dashes describe a table. A regular-expression clean-up can’t tell these apart, so it either leaves debris or removes too much. Parsing the Markdown first means only the syntax goes and the content stays.
Escaped characters such as \* and entities such as & become the characters they stand for, inline HTML tags are removed while their text is kept, and images are replaced by their alt text in brackets, so nothing disappears silently.
Related conversions
- Need formatting instead of plain text? Use Markdown to DOCX for Word or Markdown to HTML for the web.
- Extract text from Word files with DOCX to TXT.
- Count the words in the result with the Word Counter.
Markdown to TXT Converter FAQ
How do I remove Markdown formatting from text?
Paste the Markdown into the converter. The plain-text version appears immediately next to it; copy it or download it as a .txt file.
What happens to links?
By default the link text is followed by the address in brackets, like “the shop (https://shop.example)”. You can switch to numbered references with a list of URLs at the end, or keep only the link text.
Will tables still make sense?
Yes. Tables become aligned columns with a dashed line under the header, respecting left, centre and right alignment, or tab-separated rows that paste neatly into a spreadsheet.
Can I clean up ChatGPT or other AI answers?
Yes. Copy the answer, paste it here and copy the plain text back. Headings, bold markers and code fences disappear while lists, numbers and code stay readable.
Are code blocks kept?
Yes, line by line with their original spacing. They are indented by four spaces so they stand out; untick the option to keep them flush left.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The Markdown is parsed in your browser and nothing is uploaded.