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Markdown RTF Swap

Markdown to RTF

Your file never leaves this device. Conversion runs in your browser. The document itself is not uploaded.

1 · Choose a Markdown file

…or drop a Markdown file here

.md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd · stays in this tab

2 · Convert

3 · Download

Choose a file to convert. It is not uploaded.

FAQ and format details
Why convert Markdown to RTF?

Choose Markdown→RTF when a portal's upload button rejects .md and .docx but accepts .rtf, or when you are preparing paste-friendly rich text for an application that is not a full word processor. It is a compatibility export, not a publishing format.

How this conversion runs

GFM is parsed to HTML, then serialized with RTF control words: paragraphs, bold/italic/underline, and simple lists. Unicode is escaped. There is no full stylesheet table, which is why WordPad can open the result.

Keep in mind for Markdown → RTF

GFM tables become crude pipe-separated paragraphs rather than real RTF tables. Code fences lose most of their monospace guarantee in WordPad. Images do not embed. If the recipient has Word, Markdown→DOCX is strictly better.

After you have a RTF file

Open the .rtf in WordPad first (that is the litmus test for the subset). If it looks acceptable, send it. If they can take DOCX, regenerate from the Markdown instead of 'upgrading' this RTF in Word, which often creates a messier file than Markdown→DOCX directly.

Will Markdown links work in RTF?

Link text is kept; this RTF writer does not emit a full \field HYPERLINK structure for every anchor. Put important URLs in the prose if the reader will print.

Does task-list syntax survive?

Checkboxes become ordinary list text, not Word content controls. '[ ] item' in the Markdown is safer if you need the box to remain visible as characters.

This pair at a glance
Accepts
.md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd
Writes
.rtf · application/rtf
Read fidelity
high (Markdown → HTML)
Write fidelity
medium (HTML → RTF)
Source size
Plan for files under 3.8 MB

The file is read in this tab. It is not uploaded.

Something off with this pair? Send feedback.

About Markdown and Rich Text Format

Source file

Markdown

A lightweight plain-text syntax for structured writing that compiles to HTML. The lingua franca of README files, wikis, and note apps.

Markdown stores documents as readable plain text with a small set of punctuation conventions for headings, emphasis, lists, links, and code. GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM) adds tables, strikethrough, task lists, and fenced code blocks. Conversion through HTML is a natural fit because Markdown was designed as an HTML shorthand.

Extensions
.md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd
MIME types
text/markdown, text/x-markdown
Kind
text · utf-8
Category
markup
Standard
Open format · since 2004
Comfortable size
Up to about 3.8 MB in this browser converter
Read into HTML
high fidelity · implemented — Parsed as GitHub-Flavored Markdown.

What this format can hold

  • headings
  • paragraphs
  • lists
  • tables
  • links
  • images
  • inline formatting
  • code blocks
  • blockquotes

Usually dropped on the way in

  • raw html passthrough is sanitized

Apps that consume Markdown

  • GitHub (GitHub) — creates and opens on Web
  • Obsidian (Dynalist) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
  • VS Code (Microsoft) — creates on Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Typora — creates and opens on Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Notion — creates and opens on Web, Windows, macOS
  • Jupyter — creates and opens on Web
  • Discord — opens on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Catalog notes

  • Front matter (YAML between --- lines) is preserved as a prefix when converting from Markdown, and ignored when converting to Markdown.
  • Obsidian wikilinks and footnotes have no lossless HTML equivalent yet.

Destination file

Rich Text Format

A text-based interchange format from Microsoft for basic rich text: fonts, colors, bold/italic, and simple pictures.

RTF was designed so Word, WordPad, TextEdit, and mail clients could exchange formatted text without the full Word binary. It is verbose (control words like \b, \i, \par) but human-inspectable. Fidelity is lower than DOCX: no modern styles, limited tables, and vendor-specific extensions.

Extensions
.rtf
MIME types
application/rtf, text/rtf
Kind
text · mixed
Category
word processing
Standard
Open format · since 1987
Comfortable size
Up to about 7.6 MB in this browser converter
Written from HTML
medium fidelity · implemented — Emits RTF 1.x with ANSI/Unicode mixed encoding, nested list indents, Word-style tables, and PNG/JPEG picts.

What this format can hold

  • paragraphs
  • lists
  • inline formatting
  • images
  • tables

Usually dropped on the way out

  • css layout
  • semantic html5
  • responsive images

Apps that consume RTF

  • Microsoft Word (Microsoft) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS
  • WordPad (Microsoft) — creates and opens on Windows
  • TextEdit (Apple) — creates and opens on macOS
  • LibreOffice Writer (The Document Foundation) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Apple Notes (Apple) — creates and opens on macOS, iOS

Catalog notes

  • WordPad-era RTF is the target subset — not the full Word RTF dump.
  • WMF/EMF and OLE picts are skipped; PNG/JPEG picts are inlined as data URLs.
Other conversions

Other conversions from Markdown: HTMLWordOpenDocumentPDFEPUB

Other ways to get RTF: HTMLWordOpenDocumentPDFEPUB