Free online AD to MD converter

Markdown is commonly required for README files, Git repositories, documentation sites, and lightweight editing, while some source documents arrive as AsciiDoc files with the shorter .ad extension. Converting the source preserves its readable content while adapting headings, lists, links, code blocks, and tables to Markdown syntax.

What the AD format is

In the Text files category, .ad commonly identifies an AsciiDoc source file. AsciiDoc is a plain-text markup language for technical documentation, books, manuals, README files, and web pages; the same language is more often stored with .adoc or .asciidoc.

AsciiDoc files can be created with the original AsciiDoc processor, Asciidoctor, text editors, and documentation build systems. They contain readable source markup such as section titles, lists, links, source-code blocks, admonitions, tables, attributes, and include directives. The extension alone is not definitive, so confirm that the file contains AsciiDoc syntax before converting it.

What the MD format is

.md identifies a Markdown file. Markdown uses plain-text characters for headings, emphasis, links, lists, quotations, code blocks, and other document structure. GitHub, GitLab, static-site generators, note-taking applications, documentation platforms, and code editors commonly render Markdown.

Markdown is useful when a document must remain easy to read without a renderer, work well with version control, or be accepted as a README or documentation source. GitHub Flavored Markdown, commonly called GFM, adds tables, task lists, strikethrough, and fenced code blocks.

How to actually convert AD to MD

Using Asciidoctor and Pandoc

For reliable conversion, use Asciidoctor to interpret the AsciiDoc source and emit DocBook XML, then use Pandoc to convert that structured intermediate file to GFM Markdown. Install Asciidoctor and Pandoc, place the source in the working directory, and run:

1. Convert the AsciiDoc file to DocBook XML:
   asciidoctor -b docbook5 -o input.xml input.ad
2. Convert the XML to Markdown:
   pandoc -f docbook -t gfm input.xml -o output.md
3. Open output.md in a Markdown editor and check headings, links, tables, images, lists, and code blocks.

For a one-step shell pipeline, use:

asciidoctor -b docbook5 -o - input.ad | pandoc -f docbook -t gfm -o output.md

Using the built-in online converter

You can convert the file for free on 101convert.com without installing software: select the AD input format, upload input.ad, choose MD as the output format, start the conversion, and download the resulting .md file.

Quality and compatibility limitations

The conversion changes markup rather than merely renaming the extension. AsciiDoc attributes, conditional content, macros, cross-references, embedded diagrams, and complex table or admonition structures may require manual editing after conversion.

Use paths that remain valid from the Markdown file's location. Image references may need correction, and AsciiDoc-specific roles or attributes may be discarded because standard Markdown has no equivalent. GFM output is usually the most compatible target for GitHub and GitLab, while basic Markdown is preferable when the destination supports only the original syntax.

AsciiDoc include directives and source substitutions can affect the generated result. Review the output after preprocessing, especially when the source uses external files, custom attributes, or relative image paths.