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GFM task lists · filter open/done · export JSON · CSV · list

Extract tasks from Markdown

Scan any Markdown document and pull every GFM task-list item with its checked state and enclosing heading. Filter by status and export as a list, JSON, or CSV.

Markdown task extractor
Input
208 B
14 lines
Output
226 B
7 lines
Status
ready
live
Ratio
1.09×
out/in
input · markdown
output · tasks
[ ] write release notes (Sprint 5)
[x] ship feature flag (Sprint 5)
[ ] review open PRs (Sprint 5)
[x] update changelog (Sprint 5)
[ ] migrate auth (Backlog)
[ ] add metrics dashboard (Backlog)
[x] resolve flaky test (Backlog)
Quick Start

How to extract tasks from Markdown

Walks every line, captures the most recent heading, and collects each task-list item with its status. The output is filtered and serialised to a list, JSON, or CSV.

  1. 01

    Paste Markdown

    Any GFM document with - [ ] / - [x] items.

    Parsing runs through marked with GFM extensions enabled — tables, task lists, strikethrough, and fenced code blocks all match GitHub’s rendering.

    inputGFMmarkedCommonMarklive
    input · markdownmd · GFM
    - [ ] task
    loaded · GFMGFM · ready
  2. 02

    Filter

    Show all tasks, only open, or only completed.

    Soft-break behaviour is configurable: by default a single newline becomes a space (CommonMark), toggle on for chat-style <br> insertion.

    filtersoft-breaksoptionsconfiglive
    filter · optionsopen · live
    open · done · all
    options applied · livelive
  3. 03

    Pick format

    Plain list with heading context, JSON, or CSV.

    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.

    formatpreviewscoped CSSrenderstable
    fmt · renderedlist · ready
    list · json · csv
    rendered · liverendered
  4. 04

    Copy or download

    Import into a tracker, spreadsheet, or board.

    Export covers both raw Markdown and rendered HTML; downloads stream as text/markdown or text/html via Blob + object URL.

    exportclipboard.md.htmlblob
    OK · exportedout · done
    shipped
    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.

Related toolsTOC GeneratorEditorList ConverterLine SorterLinterWord Counter
Use Cases

When to extract tasks

Sprint planning, audits, exports, dashboards.

Sprint review

Pull open tasks from a sprint plan into a tracker. 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

PR audits

List unchecked checklist items from a PR template. 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

Status reports

Generate weekly status from project notes. 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

Dashboards

Pipe the CSV into a dashboard query. 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

Migration

Export tasks before moving to a new tool. 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

Static sites

Auto-list TODOs across a docs repo at build time. 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

GFM task lists — leading bullet (-, *, or +) followed by [ ] or [x]/[X]. Any indentation is preserved.
Each task records the most recent ATX heading (# … ######) above it. Useful for grouping by section.
Yes — nesting is preserved as ordinary task text; the heading association still works.
Three columns: done (true/false), text, heading. Quotes are doubled per RFC 4180.
No. Extraction runs locally in your browser.
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