Markdown beautifier - format MD in your browser
Markdown in its natural state is usually fine - because Markdown is designed to be easy to write by hand. But after years of edits, copy-paste from docs, merging fragments from different sources - formatting drifts. List markers (`-` vs `*`), tables with unaligned pipes, headings with random space counts.
The beautifier uses Prettier with the markdown parser. It unifies list markers (default `-`), aligns tables, normalises code-block indent, fixes line endings.
Accepts `.md`, `.markdown`. Supports GitHub Flavored Markdown (tables, task lists, strikethrough, fenced code blocks with language).
How to use it
- Pick a mode (Gentle / Aggressive / Cosmetic-only) or keep the default.
- Paste your code into the left panel, or use "Upload file".
- Tune settings (gear icon): indent, width, quotes, semicolons.
- Click Format - first click takes a moment (libraries lazy-load).
- On the right you get the output with syntax highlighting - copy, download, or open in new tab.
When this is useful
Five Markdown situations:
- README after several PRs. After 5 people edited it, formatting is inconsistent - beautify, one convention.
- Tables after manual edits. You added a column and pipes drifted. Prettier aligns them.
- Word/Docs → MD conversion. `docx-to-markdown` returns correct but ugly MD.
- Research notes. Files exported from Obsidian / Notion - beautify to a consistent style.
- **Documentation site (`docs/*.md`)**. Pre-commit fix for the entire docs folder.
Questions and answers
Because Prettier has a default list marker of `-`. That is Prettier convention (and CommonMark - `-` is less confused with emphasis). If you prefer `*` or `+`, there is no option in standalone - in the Prettier CLI you can change it, in the browser you cannot.