Which characters does it escape?

The Markdown-significant characters * _ [ ] ( ) # + - . ! ` > | { } and backslashes are prefixed with a backslash.

When should I escape Markdown?

Whenever you embed user input, filenames, or code identifiers that contain characters Markdown would interpret as formatting.

Does it escape characters inside code blocks too?

No. Code blocks pass through unchanged because their content is already literal — escaping there would actually break it.

Is the input sent to a server?

No. Escaping happens in your browser — nothing is logged or transmitted.

escapes * _ [ ` # > and every other special char

Escape Markdown special characters

Insert literal text safely inside Markdown — backslash-escape every character that would otherwise be interpreted as formatting.

Markdown Escape

Input

110 B

5 lines

Output

123 B

5 lines

Status

ready

live

Ratio

1.12×

out/in

input · text

output · escaped

Filename: report\_v2\.md
List: \[a\] \(b\) \*c\*
Heading: \# Not a heading
Code: \`inline\`
Path: docs/getting\-started\.md

Quick Start

How to escape Markdown

Prefixes every CommonMark/GFM punctuation character with a backslash so it renders literally instead of as syntax.

01
Paste raw text
Filenames, code, prose — anything with * _ [ ] etc.
Parsing runs through marked with GFM extensions enabled — tables, task lists, strikethrough, and fenced code blocks all match GitHub’s rendering.
inputGFMmarkedCommonMarklive
input · markdownraw · GFM
```
*hi*
```
loaded · GFMGFM · ready
02
Live escape
Each special character gets a leading backslash.
Soft-break behaviour is configurable: by default a single newline becomes a space (CommonMark), toggle on for chat-style <br> insertion.
regexsoft-breaksoptionsconfiglive
out · optionsesc · live
```
\*hi\*
```
options applied · livelive
03
Drop into Markdown
The text now renders literally — no accidental bold/italic.
The preview is scoped under a .mde class so its CSS doesn’t bleed into the rest of the page. Output HTML is whitespace-controlled for clean diffs.
safepreviewscoped CSSrenderstable
check · renderedok · ready
```
safe
```
rendered · liverendered
04
Copy or download
Drop into your README, comment, or template.
Export covers both raw Markdown and rendered HTML; downloads stream as text/markdown or text/html via Blob + object URL.
exportclipboard.md.htmlblob
✓ · exportedmd · done
```
✓ copied
```
shipped · ready to shipsuccess

Pro tips

Author Markdown that renders everywhere

GFM is the safe default

GitHub-Flavored Markdown is the de-facto baseline (tables, task lists, strikethrough). CommonMark is stricter but ubiquitous as a fallback.

Soft-break behaviour varies

A single newline is a space in CommonMark, a <br> in GFM. Toggle soft breaks when source matters.

Escape inside code fences

Backticks inside fenced blocks need a longer fence — three becomes four. Use ~~~ if your content has many backticks.

Anchors are slugified

GitHub lowercases, strips punctuation, and joins with hyphens. Duplicate headings get -1, -2 suffixes.

Tables need a header row

The dash row sets alignment (:---, :-:, ---:). Use Table Aligner for diff-friendly columns.

Front matter is YAML

Triple-dash blocks at the top of files are parsed by static-site generators. Use the Front-Matter Validator to catch syntax errors.

Use Cases

When to escape Markdown

Prevent formatting accidents in user-supplied text.

Filenames in prose

Stop report_v2.md becoming italic on underscore. Render path uses marked with GFM extensions enabled (tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolinks), so what you preview matches what GitHub publishes bit-for-bit. Soft-break behaviour is configurable for chat-style vs prose Markdown.

GFM-compliant

API responses

Render API strings inside Markdown without surprises. Pairs cleanly with the Markdown Cheatsheet for syntax you can't quite remember — callout blocks, footnotes, definition lists. Output stays diff-friendly so style-only changes don't drown out real edits in PRs.

GitHub-perfect

Comment templates

Embed user input in PR/issue comment templates safely. Cross-platform safe: anchors, code fences, and tables behave identically on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Gitea. Heading-anchor slugs follow GitHub's lowercase-and-hyphenate rules so deep links survive a docs migration.

diff-friendly

Code samples in prose

When inline backticks aren't enough, escape every special char. No server roundtrip — perfect for proprietary content you can't paste into a public tool. The full marked + GFM bundle ships with the page, so it works offline once loaded.

render-stable

Generated docs

Sanitize generated tables and lists for Markdown rendering. Front matter (YAML / TOML / JSON) passes through unchanged so static-site pipelines (Jekyll, Hugo, Astro, Eleventy) read it correctly. Pair with the Front-Matter Validator to catch syntax errors before deploy.

cross-platform

Email to Markdown

Pipe email subjects/bodies to Markdown without rendering bugs. Output is reproducible: identical input always produces identical Markdown, so doc-generation scripts can rely on it for snapshot tests and embedded into release workflows.

SEO-friendly

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which characters are escaped?

\\, \`, *, _, {, }, [, ], (, ), #, +, -, ., !, >, |, ~ — the full CommonMark/GFM punctuation set.

Will this break valid Markdown?

Yes — that's the point. Use this for literal text you want to render as-is, not for Markdown documents you want to preserve.

What if my text already has backslashes?

They're escaped too — single \\ becomes double \\\\ — so the round-trip via the Unescape tool is lossless.

Is this CommonMark or GFM?

Both. The escape set is identical between the two specs.

Where does this run?

Entirely locally in your browser — escaping never touches a server.

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