PDFSwift › EPUB tools › EPUB to Markdown
↓ EPUBFree · runs in your browserConvert EPUB to Markdown Online
Convert an EPUB into a Markdown document that keeps heading levels, emphasis, lists, block quotations, code blocks and links. Choose whether images are dropped or packaged beside the file in a ZIP.
Drop an EPUB here
or choose a file from your device
What this tool does
Markdown sits between plain text and a full word-processor document. It is readable as-is, it converts cleanly to HTML, and note-taking tools, static-site generators and version control all understand it. People convert EPUBs to Markdown to annotate a book in a notes app, to quote from it, or to feed it into a documentation or publishing pipeline.
The converter reads each content document in reading order and maps the structure it finds. h1 to h6 become # to ######. Emphasis and strong text become *italic* and **bold**. Lists, nested lists and block quotations keep their nesting, preformatted blocks become fenced code, and links that point outside the book keep their addresses.
Tables are written as rows with cells separated by a vertical bar. This is readable but it is not a Markdown table with an alignment row, so complex tables are better extracted another way. Footnote jumps inside the book are flattened to plain text because the target pages do not exist in a single Markdown file.
How to use this tool
- Choose an EPUB with the file picker or drag it onto the page.
- Decide about images. Leave Include images off for a single
.mdfile with images replaced by their alt text. Turn it on to receive a ZIP containing the Markdown and animages/folder with working links. - Press Convert to Markdown. A preview of the beginning of the file appears with the chapter count.
- Press the download button to save the
.mdor the ZIP. - Open the result in your Markdown editor and look at one long chapter and one with a table to confirm the structure is what you need.
Supported formats and limitations
- Input: EPUB 2 and EPUB 3.
- Output: UTF-8 Markdown (
.md) or a ZIP with the Markdown and an images folder. - Converted: headings, paragraphs, emphasis, strong text, inline code, code blocks, ordered and unordered lists, block quotations, horizontal rules, external links, images.
- Simplified: tables become pipe-separated rows; CSS styling, fonts and page layout are not represented in Markdown.
- Limits: same as every EPUB tool on this site — up to 100 MB and no DRM-encrypted content.
- Input: EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 files (
.epub), up to 100 MB. Anything else is rejected before processing. - Archive safety: files with unsafe paths (such as
../), duplicate entries, more than 8,000 entries or an expanded size above 500 MB are refused. - Not supported: DRM-protected books and books with encrypted or font-obfuscated resources (
META-INF/encryption.xml) can be opened for inspection but cannot be converted or merged. - Memory: the whole book is held in your browser’s memory. Very large illustrated books may fail on a phone; a desktop browser has far more headroom.
Privacy and safety
This tool runs entirely in your browser. When you choose a file it is read by JavaScript on this page; it is not uploaded to PDFSwift or to any other server, and the result is created on your device and handed to you as a download. Closing or reloading the tab discards the book from memory.
The page shows advertising supplied by a third party. Advertising scripts run separately from the tool and never receive your book. If you prefer, you can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and the tool will still work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EPUB to TXT and EPUB to Markdown?
TXT keeps only the words. Markdown also keeps structure: heading levels, emphasis, lists, quotations, code blocks and links.
Does it work offline and keep the book private?
The conversion runs in your browser and the book is never uploaded. Once the page has loaded, the tool does not need a connection.
Are images included?
Only if you tick the images option, in which case you get a ZIP with the Markdown file and an images folder. Without it, an image becomes a bracketed note with its alt text.
Why do tables look odd?
Cells are separated with a vertical bar but there is no Markdown alignment row. This keeps the content readable without pretending to reproduce layout.
Which Markdown flavour is produced?
Plain CommonMark-style Markdown without extensions, so it renders in practically every editor and static-site tool.
Can I convert Arabic or other right-to-left books?
Yes. Characters are preserved exactly as UTF-8. Direction is controlled by the viewer, so use an editor or renderer that handles right-to-left text.
Will footnotes survive?
Footnote text is exported as ordinary paragraphs where the book places it. The clickable jump links are removed because they point to pages that no longer exist.