Free online MMD to RST converter

Projects using Sphinx, Docutils, or another reStructuredText-based documentation system require an .rst file instead of MultiMarkdown source. Converting the document preserves headings, lists, links, code blocks, and other supported structure in an editable plain-text format.

What the MMD format is

MMD usually means MultiMarkdown, an extended Markdown format stored as a plain-text .mmd file. It adds features such as metadata, tables, footnotes, citations, definition lists, and cross-references to standard Markdown.

MultiMarkdown files are created by the MultiMarkdown command-line tools and by Markdown editors that support the MultiMarkdown syntax. You may encounter them in writing projects, technical documentation repositories, and source files prepared for conversion to HTML, PDF, or other document formats.

What the RST format is

RST, or reStructuredText, is a structured plain-text markup format used by Docutils, Sphinx, Python documentation, and documentation generators. Its explicit section markers, directives, roles, labels, and field lists make it suitable for large documentation projects and automated builds.

RST is useful when the destination system expects files ending in .rst, especially a Sphinx project. It also supports admonitions, API directives, internal references, tables, literal code blocks, and metadata fields, although some MultiMarkdown features require manual adjustment after conversion.

How to actually convert MMD to RST

Using Pandoc

Pandoc is the most practical desktop or command-line option for a structured conversion. Install a current Pandoc release, open a terminal in the folder containing the source file, and run:

pandoc input.mmd -f markdown_mmd -t rst -o output.rst

The markdown_mmd reader tells Pandoc to interpret the source as MultiMarkdown, while rst selects reStructuredText output. Replace input.mmd and output.rst with the actual filenames.

For a document that uses standard Markdown syntax rather than MultiMarkdown-specific extensions, this alternative is usually sufficient:

pandoc input.mmd -f markdown -t rst -o output.rst

Open the resulting file in a text editor, check the generated section underlines and directives, then build it with Sphinx or Docutils. In a Sphinx project, place output.rst in the documentation source directory and run the project’s normal build command.

Using the online converter

You can convert the file for free on the 101convert.com website without installing software: select the MMD file, choose RST as the output format, start the conversion, and download the generated .rst file.

Quality and compatibility limitations

• MultiMarkdown metadata may become RST field-list syntax, ordinary paragraphs, or document comments depending on the field and Pandoc version; verify title, author, date, and other metadata manually.
• Headings, emphasis, links, images, ordered lists, fenced code blocks, and many tables generally convert well, but RST requires unique section underline styles and stricter indentation.
• MultiMarkdown citations, transclusion, special attributes, and custom extensions may have no direct RST equivalent. Pandoc can preserve unsupported material as raw text, but it cannot reproduce behavior that RST or the target builder does not implement.
• Check image paths, link targets, anchors, footnotes, and escaping after conversion. Sphinx may require explicit labels such as .. _label: and directives such as .. code-block:: python for features that were implicit in the MMD source.