Markdown Formatter
Format Markdown — normalise headings, lists, spacing and tables. It runs entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded.
Example
Format Markdown — normalise headings, lists, spacing and tables.
How it works
Prettier parses your Markdown and re-emits it with consistent spacing, list markers and wrapping.
Good to know
The Markdown Formatter takes raw Markdown and rewrites it into a clean, consistent style using the Prettier engine running locally in your browser. It standardises the small things people format inconsistently by hand: heading spacing, blank lines between blocks, list marker characters, indentation of nested lists, table column alignment, and line wrapping. It is aimed at developers, technical writers, and anyone maintaining README files, documentation, or notes who wants every file to look the same regardless of who edited it.
Reach for it when you have Markdown that "works" but looks messy — pasted-together notes, content from different authors, or output from another tool that used a different list style or ragged spacing. It is also handy before committing docs to a repository, since a single canonical format makes diffs smaller and code review easier: real content changes stop being buried under whitespace and marker noise.
The output is functionally identical Markdown, just normalised, so reading the result is mostly about spotting what changed. Expect markers to be unified (for example bullets converted to a single style and ordered lists renumbered), tables padded so the pipes line up, a consistent number of blank lines around headings and code fences, and long paragraphs either left intact or rewrapped depending on the wrapping behaviour. If the formatter leaves something unchanged, that part already matched its preferred style.
One practical caveat: a formatter is not a linter or a renderer, so it will faithfully reformat broken structure rather than fix meaning — a mis-indented list item or a malformed table can be "tidied" into a shape you did not intend. Always glance at the result, and be aware that fenced code blocks are preserved literally, so whitespace inside your code samples is left untouched.
Frequently asked questions
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No — everything runs in your browser. Your code never leaves your device, so it's safe for private work and runs offline once loaded.
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely free with no sign-up and no limits.
People also ask
Does formatting Markdown change how it looks when rendered?
No. A formatter only adjusts the source text (spacing, markers, indentation, table padding) without altering the meaning, so the rendered HTML output stays the same. The goal is consistent, readable source, not a different rendered result.
What Markdown style does this formatter enforce?
It uses Prettier's default Markdown conventions, which include consistent blank lines around blocks, unified list markers, renumbered ordered lists, aligned table columns, and standardised heading and code-fence spacing. These defaults are opinionated and not configurable on this page.
Will it preserve code blocks and inline code exactly?
Yes. Content inside fenced code blocks and inline code spans is treated as literal and is not reformatted, so indentation and whitespace in your code samples are kept intact.
Can it format the Markdown tables in my document?
Yes. It pads and aligns table cells so the pipe characters line up into neat columns, which makes the raw source much easier to read and edit. It does not change the table's data or column order.
Is a Markdown formatter the same as a Markdown linter?
No. A formatter rewrites text to a consistent style automatically, while a linter checks for rule violations and reports them, often without changing the file. This tool only formats; it will reshape questionable structure rather than warn you about it.
Does this work with GitHub Flavored Markdown features like task lists?
Prettier supports common GitHub Flavored Markdown elements such as tables, strikethrough, and task list checkboxes, normalising their spacing while keeping their syntax valid. Very unusual or non-standard extensions may be left as-is.
Is there a size limit on the Markdown I can format?
There is no server-side limit because everything runs in your browser, but very large documents are constrained only by your device's memory and processing speed. Most README and documentation files format instantly.
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