Markdown to Plain Text AI & Writing
Strip the markdown formatting out of AI output and leave clean, pasteable prose.
Markdown to Plain Text is a free online tool that strip the markdown formatting out of AI output and leave clean, pasteable prose. It runs entirely in your web browser using plain JavaScript, so files are processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server. There is no sign-up, no file size limit imposed by the site, no watermark and no paid tier.
- Price
- Free — no account, no quota, no watermark
- Category
- AI & Writing
- Where it runs
- In your browser, on your device
- Files uploaded
- None
- Technology
- plain JavaScript
- Settings
- 4
- Works offline
- Yes, after the first visit
About Markdown to Plain Text
Chat models format everything in markdown whether you asked for it or not, which is right in a chat window and wrong in an email, a form field, a CMS box or a slide. Paste it unaltered and you get literal asterisks, pound signs and backticks. This strips the syntax and keeps the structure — headings become plain lines, bullets stay bullets, and tables lose their pipes but keep their columns readable.
How to use it
- Paste the text you want to run through markdown to plain text.
- Set keep list bullets, keep headings as plain lines and keep link urls in parentheses and the remaining options.
The 4 settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Keep list bullets | On or off. On by default. | On |
| Keep headings as plain lines | On or off. On by default. | On |
| Keep link URLs in parentheses | On or off. Off by default. | Off |
| Keep code block contents | On or off. On by default. | On |
Under the hood
| Runs on | plain JavaScript — runs the whole thing |
| Controls | Keep list bullets, Keep headings as plain lines, Keep link URLs in parentheses, Keep code block contents |
Questions
Why not just delete the asterisks?
Because asterisks mean three different things depending on how many there are and where they sit, and a naive delete mangles a multiplication sign, a footnote marker and a literal asterisk in code. Parsing the syntax properly is the difference between clean output and a new set of typos.
What happens to code blocks?
The fence markers go and the code inside is kept by default, since that is usually the part you wanted. Turn the option off to drop code blocks entirely — useful when you want only the prose from a technical answer.
Can I keep the link URLs?
Yes. By default only the link text survives, which is what reads well in prose. Turn on the URL option and each link becomes "text (url)", the convention for plain-text email where the reader cannot click anything.