# Markdown to Plain Text Convert Markdown formatted text to plain text by removing all Markdown syntax and formatting > Canonical page: https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/markdown-to-plain-text - **Category:** Format Conversion - **Keywords:** markdown, plain text, converter, format removal, text processing, clean text ## Overview The Markdown to Plain Text tool allows you to instantly strip away complex Markdown syntax, leaving you with clean, readable plain text for your documents, emails, or notes. ## Inputs - **Markdown Input** (textarea): Enter your Markdown formatted text here... - **Preserve Line Breaks** (checkbox): Keep original line breaks and paragraph structure - **Preserve Links** (checkbox): Keep link URLs in the format: text (url) - **Preserve Images** (checkbox): Keep image descriptions in the format: alt text (url) - **Remove Emphasis** (checkbox): Remove bold, italic, and other emphasis formatting - **Remove Headers** (checkbox): Remove header formatting (# ## ###) - **Remove Code Blocks** (checkbox): Remove code blocks and inline code formatting - **Remove Lists** (checkbox): Remove list formatting (- * * 1. 2.) - **Remove Blockquotes** (checkbox): Remove blockquote formatting (>) - **Remove Tables** (checkbox): Remove table formatting completely ## When to use - Preparing content for platforms that do not support Markdown formatting. - Cleaning up messy Markdown exports for use in standard text editors. - Extracting raw text content from technical documentation or README files. ## How it works - Paste your Markdown-formatted text into the input area. - Select your preferred cleanup options, such as removing headers, lists, or code blocks. - Click the convert button to instantly generate your plain text output. - Copy the cleaned text directly to your clipboard for immediate use. ## Use cases - Converting technical documentation into plain text for non-technical stakeholders. - Cleaning up Markdown-based notes for pasting into email clients or legacy software. - Removing formatting from copied web content to ensure a consistent look in your word processor. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I keep my original line breaks? Yes, enable the 'Preserve Line Breaks' option to maintain your document's paragraph structure. ### Will this tool remove my hyperlinks? By default, Markdown syntax is removed, but you can enable 'Preserve Links' to keep URLs visible in the output. ### Can I choose which Markdown elements to remove? Yes, you can toggle specific settings to remove or keep headers, tables, code blocks, and emphasis as needed. ### Is there a limit to the amount of text I can convert? The tool is designed to handle standard text blocks efficiently; simply paste your content and convert. ### Does this tool store my data? No, all processing is performed locally in your browser, ensuring your content remains private. ## Related tools - [HTML to Markdown Converter](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/html-to-markdown): Convert HTML content to Markdown format with customizable options using Turndown - [Number Format Cleaner](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/number-format-cleaner): Normalize and clean various number formats in text for consistency - [BOM Character Remover](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/data-bom-remover): Remove BOM (Byte Order Mark) characters from text and file content. Perfect for cleaning up text files that have encoding issues, fixing CSV imports, and preparing data for processing. Features: - Detect and remove UTF-8 BOM (EF BB BF) - Detect and remove UTF-16 BOM (FE FF or FF FE) - Detect and remove UTF-32 BOM (00 00 FE FF or FF FE 00 00) - Support multiple input formats - Visual BOM character display - Detailed detection report - Support for batch text processing Common Use Cases: - Fix CSV file import errors - Clean up text file encoding issues - Prepare data for JSON parsing - Fix XML parsing problems - Resolve API data encoding conflicts - Standardize text data format - [PDF Text Extractor](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-text-extractor): Extract text content from PDF documents with support for page selection, formatting options, and multi-language processing - [Prefix Remover](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/prefix-remover): Remove common prefixes from each line with intelligent detection and customizable options - [Suffix Remover](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/suffix-remover): Remove common suffixes from each line with intelligent detection and customizable options - [Word Text Extractor](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/word-text-extractor): Extract text content from Word documents with support for formatting options, paragraph selection, and multi-language processing - [Line Number Remover](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/line-number-remover): Remove line numbers from text or code with intelligent pattern recognition ## Samples - [Markdown Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/markdown-samples): Markdown format examples from simple to complex document structures - [Markdown Viewer Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/markdown-viewer-samples): Sample Markdown files for README preview, documentation rendering, and rich-text markup tests - [Markdown Slide Deck Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/md-slide-deck-to-pdf): Remark/Marp style Markdown slide decks for testing PDF export layouts - [PDF Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/pdf-samples): Generated PDF samples from tools dated 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-10 ## Related content - [Markdown Conversion, OCR, and Publishing Workflow](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/markdown-convert): Recover Markdown from PDFs or images, export Markdown to PDF, HTML, slides, reports, plain text, JSON, or CSV, and verify the result for the next channel. - [Markdown Writing and Publishing Workflow](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/markdown-utility): Clean Markdown structure, review links, merge files, preview the result, translate articles, and export publishable HTML, PDF, slide, text, or JSON deliverables.