Strip Markdown

About this tool

Markdown syntax — asterisks for bold, hashes for headings, brackets for links, backticks for code — is invisible when rendered but ugly when pasted into a plain-text context. Copying from a Markdown file into an email, a plain-text field, a presentation slide, or a system that does not render Markdown leaves the raw symbols cluttering the text. Strip Markdown removes all Markdown formatting syntax and returns clean, human-readable plain text. It handles all standard CommonMark elements: headings (#), emphasis (* and _), bold (** and __), inline code (`), fenced code blocks (```), links ([text](url)), images (), blockquotes (>), horizontal rules, and ordered and unordered list markers. The underlying text content is preserved while all syntax scaffolding is removed.

Why use it

• All CommonMark Syntax Removed: Headings, bold, italic, links, images, code fences, blockquotes, and list markers are all stripped.

• Link URL Removal: Strips both the link text brackets and the URL parentheses, keeping only the display text.

• Image Tag Removal: Removes image syntax  entirely or optionally keeps the alt text as plain text.

• Code Block Content Preservation: Removes the fence delimiters (```) while optionally preserving the code content inside.

• Instant Real-Time Stripping: Output updates as you type — no button click needed, and no page reload.

• Email & Presentation Ready: Ideal for pasting Markdown content into email clients, slide editors, or any system that does not render Markdown.

How to use

1. Paste your Markdown-formatted text into the input area.
2. The plain text output appears instantly with all syntax removed.
3. Toggle 'Preserve line breaks' to keep blank lines between paragraphs.
4. Toggle 'Strip code block fences' to remove ``` delimiters and keep only the code text.
5. Review the output to verify all intended formatting was stripped.
6. Click Copy to copy the clean plain text to your clipboard.

When it helps

• When copying content from a Markdown README to paste into an email without the raw syntax showing.
• When extracting plain text from Markdown documentation for import into a translation tool.
• When pasting Markdown-formatted notes into a plain-text field in a CRM or ticket system.
• When preparing Markdown blog content for indexing by an NLP or search system that expects plain text.
• When cleaning up Markdown exported from a note-taking app like Obsidian or Notion before sharing.
• When converting Markdown to plain text for accessibility tools like screen readers that do not render formatting.

Examples

# My Title

**Important:** This is *emphasized* text.

My Title

Important: This is emphasized text.

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Steps:
- First step
- Second step

Run `npm install`.

Steps:
First step
Second step

Run npm install.

Tips

• After stripping, run the output through Word Counter to verify sentence and paragraph structure looks correct before pasting into a new context.
• If your Markdown contains HTML blocks, run Strip HTML after Strip Markdown to ensure all markup is removed.
• For translation workflows, strip Markdown first so the translation tool receives clean sentences without being confused by syntax brackets.
• Preserve alt text from images when stripping Markdown for accessibility documents — alt text provides important context for images.
• When copying from Obsidian or Notion markdown exports, the output may have frontmatter YAML — check the start of the stripped output and delete any YAML key-value pairs manually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary

Markdown

A lightweight markup language created by John Gruber that uses plain-text formatting syntax to produce HTML. Widely used for documentation, README files, and blogging.

CommonMark

A standardized Markdown specification that resolves ambiguities in the original Gruber spec. The most widely implemented Markdown dialect.

Fenced code block

A multi-line code block in Markdown delimited by triple backticks (```) or tildes (~~~), with an optional language identifier on the opening fence.

Front matter

YAML or TOML metadata at the start of a Markdown file, delimited by --- lines. Used by static site generators to set page metadata.

Emphasis

Markdown syntax for italic text using single asterisks or underscores: *italic* or _italic_.

Strong emphasis

Markdown syntax for bold text using double asterisks or underscores: **bold** or __bold__.