Why convert MD to TXT?
Some apps and systems only accept .TXT files and refuse .md. Converting also helps when pasting text into a form or email where raw Markdown symbols would appear as noise. Writers moving content into legacy systems or plain-text archives often want the formatting stripped as well.
How to convert MD to TXT
Rename the file BUILT-IN
Change the extension from .md to .txt - no software needed; content stays identical, Markdown marks included.
Text editor - VS Code or Notepad++ FREE
Open the .md file, remove #, **, and text marks by hand, then use Save As with a .txt extension.
Command line - Pandoc CLI
Run pandoc file.md -t plain -o file.txt to strip all Markdown syntax and output clean prose.
About these formats
.MD
Markdown Document
An MD file is a Markdown document: plain text that uses simple marks like # for headings and bold for emphasis. Any text editor opens the raw content. To see it properly formatted, use VS…
Open .MD details →
.TXT
Plain Text File
A TXT file is plain, unformatted text - the simplest document format on any computer. Double-click it: Windows opens it in Notepad, macOS in TextEdit, Linux in gedit. Nothing to install. If…
Open .TXT details →Quality & what to watch
- A renamed
.mdfile still contains all Markdown symbols - they show as literal characters (e.g.,# Heading,bold) to any reader that does not render Markdown. - YAML front matter (the
---block at the top of files from Jekyll, Hugo, or Obsidian) stays visible in plain text; delete it manually or let Pandoc handle it automatically. - Links written as
textbecome raw syntax after a rename; Pandoc's-t plainoutput preserves the link text and adds the URL in brackets.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just rename the file from `.md` to `.txt`?
.txt extension and do not mind the Markdown marks staying visible. The file content is unchanged.Will bold text and headings survive the conversion?
bold, # Heading) as visible text. Stripping them with a converter or Pandoc removes the visual formatting entirely, since plain text has no equivalent.My file has YAML front matter at the top - does it carry over?
pandoc -t plain to strip it automatically.Can I batch-convert many `.md` files at once?
for f in *.md; do pandoc "$f" -t plain -o "${f%.md}.txt"; done. A similar loop works in PowerShell on Windows.
