Markdown to PDF Converter
Turn a Markdown file into a laid-out PDF with headings, lists, tables and code intact.
The Markdown to PDF converter parses and lays out your document on your own device. Internal notes and unreleased changelogs are never uploaded.
Merge the result with other PDFs
About Markdown to PDF
Markdown is written to be read as source, which is exactly why it makes an awkward attachment. A README, a design note or a set of release notes has to become a document before anyone outside the repository will read it comfortably. This converter parses the Markdown properly rather than guessing at it: heading levels become sized headings, ordered lists keep their numbering and their start value, nested bullets stay indented, GFM tables are drawn with real borders and repeat their header row across page breaks, block quotes get a rule down the side, and fenced code is set in a monospaced face on a tinted band. What comes out is a paginated PDF you can send.
Features
- Full CommonMark and GitHub-flavoured Markdown parsing
- Heading levels 1 to 6, each sized in proportion to the body text
- Ordered lists keep their start number; nested lists stay indented
- GFM tables drawn with borders, sized to fit and split across pages
- Fenced code blocks set in a monospaced face on a tinted band
- Block quotes marked with a rule, horizontal rules drawn as rules
- Drop a .md file, or paste and edit the source in place
How to use the Markdown to PDF
- Paste your Markdown, or drop a .md file onto the page
- Check the counts of headings, tables and code blocks it found
- Choose page size, margins, text size and typeface
- Convert and read the preview, then download the PDF
Example
Input
## Release notes
- Faster first paint
- Exports keep the sort order
| Area | Before | After |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Export | 12 s | 4 s |
Output
A PDF with a sized heading, a bulleted list, and a bordered two-row table with a shaded header.
The table header repeats at the top of every page the table spills onto.
Common errors & troubleshooting
- Bold and italic have disappeared. — Inline emphasis is flattened on purpose — the standard PDF typefaces cannot switch weight partway through a line. Structure survives; character-level styling does not.
- A wide table is squeezed unreadably narrow. — Columns are sized to their content and then scaled to fit the page. Switch to landscape, drop the text size, or shorten the longest cells.
- Images referenced in the Markdown are not in the PDF. — Only the alt text is kept, because the image files live wherever the Markdown expects them and are not part of the text you pasted.
- Front matter appears at the top of the document. — YAML front matter is not Markdown, so it renders as a paragraph. Delete it from the editor before converting.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my Markdown uploaded anywhere to be rendered?
- No. Parsing and page layout both run in this tab, so a private README or an unreleased changelog stays on your machine.
- Does it understand GitHub-flavoured Markdown?
- Yes — tables, strikethrough and fenced code with a language tag are all parsed. Task lists render as ordinary bullets, since a PDF has nothing to tick.
- What happens to links in the text?
- The link text is kept and the URL is dropped. Write the address out in the text where readers need to be able to type it.
- Can I convert several Markdown files into one PDF?
- Convert each one and then merge the results — that also lets you control the order and drop a cover page in front.
- Why is the code block a different size from the body text?
- Monospaced faces run wider per character, so code is set slightly smaller to fit the same column without wrapping every second line.
Related tools
- Markdown Preview — Render Markdown to HTML with a live preview.
- HTML to PDF — Convert HTML markup into a clean, paginated PDF document.
- Text to PDF — Turn typed or pasted text into a paginated, downloadable PDF.
- PDF to Text — Extract selectable text from a PDF as plain text or Markdown.
- HTML to Markdown — Paste HTML and convert it to clean Markdown live, with GFM tables, lists and code blocks.
- Merge PDFs — Combine multiple PDFs into one, with reordering.
- PDF Header and Footer — Stamp a running header and footer onto every page.
All ArrayKit tools