Free online ASCIIDOC to MD converter

GitHub, GitLab, and many documentation tools accept Markdown but not AsciiDoc, so an .adoc file may need conversion before publishing or editing there. Converting it to .md preserves the readable source while adapting headings, lists, links, and code blocks to Markdown syntax.

What the ASCIIDOC format is

AsciiDoc is a plain-text markup format used for software documentation, manuals, books, release notes, and README files. Common extensions include .adoc, .asciidoc, and .ad.

AsciiDoc files are commonly created or processed with Asciidoctor, the modern Ruby implementation, or the older AsciiDoc processor. Editors such as Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ IDEA, and dedicated documentation tools can also create these files because the source is ordinary text.

AsciiDoc supports attributes, include directives, admonition blocks, tables, cross-references, diagrams, citations, and reusable document structures. Some of these features have no direct Markdown equivalent.

What the MD format is

MD is the usual extension for Markdown files. Markdown is lightweight plain text designed for readable source and easy rendering as HTML. GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, static-site generators, wikis, note-taking applications, and code editors commonly support it.

Markdown is a practical target when a repository requires a README.md, when collaborators edit documentation in Markdown-oriented tools, or when source files must be displayed consistently across code-hosting platforms. GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) adds tables, task lists, autolinks, and fenced code blocks.

How to actually convert ASCIIDOC to MD

For a local conversion, install Pandoc, then run:

pandoc input.adoc -f asciidoc -t gfm -o output.md

Replace input.adoc with the source filename and output.md with the desired destination. The -f asciidoc option selects the AsciiDoc reader, -t gfm produces GitHub Flavored Markdown, and -o writes the result to a file.

To convert a file with the .asciidoc extension, use its actual name:

pandoc manual.asciidoc -f asciidoc -t gfm -o manual.md

If the installed Pandoc version does not provide an AsciiDoc reader, use Asciidoctor to create DocBook XML first, then convert that intermediate file:

asciidoctor -b docbook5 -o intermediate.xml input.adoc
pandoc intermediate.xml -f docbook -t gfm -o output.md

For a no-installation option, upload the source file to 101convert.com, choose Markdown as the output format, start the conversion, and download the resulting .md file. Avoid uploading documents containing confidential or restricted information.

Quality and compatibility limits

Conversion is not always lossless. AsciiDoc attributes, conditional content, includes, custom roles, macros, extensions, complex tables, admonitions, and cross-references may be simplified, omitted, or emitted as raw markup.

Inspect the generated Markdown for heading levels, list nesting, table formatting, image paths, code fences, links, and escaped characters. GFM supports tables and task lists, but other Markdown parsers may render those features differently.

AsciiDoc includes may require preprocessing before conversion. Resolve files referenced by include:: directives, and check that relative image and link paths still point to the correct locations after the output file is moved.