RunLocalTools

Markdown Editor & Viewer

Open, edit, and preview Markdown files with a live split-screen view, then export the result as a polished PDF, a standalone HTML file, or clean .md — all rendered locally in your browser, with nothing uploaded to a server.

Where this actually gets used

Markdown has become the default format for writing that eventually needs to look presentable: README files, blog drafts, release notes, meeting notes, internal documentation, and static-site content. The gap is what happens after the writing is done — you need a real preview to catch formatting mistakes before you publish, a PDF to send someone who doesn’t use Markdown, or an HTML file you can drop straight into a CMS or static site. A plain text editor can’t do any of that. This tool is a full Markdown editor, live Markdown viewer, and Markdown-to-PDF / Markdown-to-HTML converter in one page, so you never have to juggle a separate renderer, a separate PDF export tool, and a separate HTML converter for the same document.

How to use it

  1. Start typing in the Source panel, or drag and drop an existing .md file onto the upload zone to load it instantly.
  2. Watch the Preview panel update live as you type — switch between Split, Editor, and Preview-only views depending on whether you want to focus on writing or reviewing.
  3. Use the formatting toolbar for one-click Markdown syntax: bold, italic, strikethrough, headings (H1–H6), blockquotes, bulleted and numbered lists, task-list checkboxes, links, images, inline code, fenced code blocks, tables, and horizontal rules — no need to memorize syntax.
  4. Add a YAML front-matter block (--- at the top with a title: field) and it’s automatically used as the filename when you export, so downloads are named correctly without manual renaming.
  5. Turn on Show table of contents to auto-generate a linked TOC from your document’s headings — useful for previewing longer docs, wikis, or documentation pages before publishing.
  6. Check the live word count, character count, and estimated read time in the sidebar as you write, handy for blog posts or anything with a length target.
  7. When you’re done, export as a real, selectable-text PDF (via your browser’s print dialog — not a screenshot), or download the file as HTML or .md, or just copy the rendered HTML or copy as plain text straight to your clipboard.

Common situations this solves

  • Turning a Markdown draft into a shareable PDF — release notes, a proposal, documentation, or a blog post — without installing Pandoc or a desktop app.
  • Previewing a README or docs file before pushing it, so you catch broken tables, malformed links, or heading structure issues before they go live on GitHub or a docs site.
  • Extracting clean HTML from a Markdown draft to paste into a CMS, static site generator, or email template.
  • Writing with a live table of contents for longer structured documents like technical guides, wikis, or internal knowledge-base articles.
  • Auto-saving drafts locally so you don’t lose work if you close the tab — your content stays in your browser and is never sent anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Does this tool upload my Markdown anywhere?

No — everything is parsed, rendered, and exported entirely client-side in your browser. Your draft also auto-saves locally so it’s there if you accidentally close the tab, but it’s never transmitted to a server.

How does “Export as PDF” actually work?

It opens your browser’s native print dialog scoped to just the rendered document — choose “Save as PDF” there. Because it uses your browser’s print engine rather than a screenshot or image conversion, the resulting PDF has real, selectable, searchable text and crisp print-quality output.

What’s the difference between “Download as HTML” and “Copy rendered HTML”?

Download as HTML saves a complete, standalone .html file you can open in any browser or host directly. Copy rendered HTML instead puts just the generated markup on your clipboard, ready to paste into a CMS field, email template, or another tool that expects raw HTML.

Does it support GitHub Flavored Markdown (tables, task lists, strikethrough)?

Yes — tables, task-list checkboxes, strikethrough text, and fenced code blocks with language hints are all supported and render exactly as they would on GitHub.

How does the YAML front-matter filename feature work?

Add a --- block at the very top of your document with a title: field (e.g. title: My Report), and that title is automatically used as the filename whenever you export or download — no need to manually rename files after the fact.

Are there keyboard shortcuts?

Yes: ⌘/Ctrl+B, ⌘/Ctrl+I, and ⌘/Ctrl+K apply bold, italic, and link formatting to selected text; ⌘/Ctrl+S downloads the current draft as .md; and Tab indents list items and code within the editor.

I have HTML and need Markdown instead — is that here too?

That’s the reverse direction, handled by the Rich Text / HTML → Markdown tool, which strips inline styles and formatting cruft from pasted rich text or raw HTML and converts it into clean Markdown.

Can I convert a Word document or PDF directly, without going through Markdown first?

Yes — the Document → Markdown Converter accepts Word, PDF, and PowerPoint files directly and converts them to Markdown, so you don’t need to manually extract HTML or plain text first.