CONVERT XHTML → MD (XHTML to MD)
Fast, secure XHTML to MD conversion. No registration required.
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Ghostscript + QPDFHOW TO CONVERT XHTML → MD
Drop the XHTML file
Upload your document — or a ZIP of several documents for batch conversion — through the web form.
Convert through pandoc
Our pandoc-based pipeline opens the XHTML, preserves structure and typography, and writes the MD.
Retrieve the document
Click the download button; the MD is delivered as a single file (or ZIP of files for batch jobs).
Here is the short version — XHTML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. Hence the need for MD. A XHTML to MD job turns one office document into another without retyping anything. Styles, pagination and embedded content cross the bridge cleanly because we use the same engine that powers professional document pipelines. Upload a XHTML file above, adjust any Advanced options, and download a ready-to-use MD. In practice XHTML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. On the other end, MD is Markdown, a plain-text format with minimal syntax that renders to formatted HTML.
Why convert XHTML to MD
Opening XHTML in the tool that natively reads MD is rarely clean. Converting upstream rebuilds the document in the target format so headings become headings, lists stay lists, and the receiving tool does not flag layout warnings.
XHTML vs MD — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
XHTML
- MIME types
- application/xhtml+xml, text/html
- Extensions
- .xhtml, .xht, .xml
- Standards
- XHTML 1.0 (2000), XHTML 1.1 (2001)
- Encoding
- UTF-8 (required with XML prolog)
- Used in
- EPUB, DocBook, some government sites
- MIME Type
- application/xhtml+xml
- Extension
- .xhtml
- Category
- Documents & Text
- Full Name
- XHTML Document
- Conversion Engine
- PANDOC
MD
- Extensions
- .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd
- Encoding
- UTF-8 (conventional)
- MIME Type
- text/markdown
- Extension
- .md
- Category
- Documents & Text
- Full Name
- Markdown
- Conversion Engine
- PANDOC
- MIME type
- text/markdown
- Standard
- CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM)
- Companion spec
- RFC 7763 (2016)
| Specification | XHTML | MD |
|---|---|---|
| MIME types | application/xhtml+xml, text/html | — |
| Extensions | .xhtml, .xht, .xml | .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd |
| Standards | XHTML 1.0 (2000), XHTML 1.1 (2001) | — |
| Encoding | UTF-8 (required with XML prolog) | UTF-8 (conventional) |
| Used in | EPUB, DocBook, some government sites | — |
| MIME Type | application/xhtml+xml | text/markdown |
| Extension | .xhtml | .md |
| Category | Documents & Text | Documents & Text |
| Full Name | XHTML Document | Markdown |
| Conversion Engine | PANDOC | PANDOC |
| MIME type | — | text/markdown |
| Standard | — | CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) |
| Companion spec | — | RFC 7763 (2016) |
XHTML vs MD — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
XHTML Strengths
- Rigorous XML syntax — can be parsed with any XML tool.
- Native EPUB and DocBook support.
- Enforces clean markup — no sloppy error recovery.
- Namespaces allow mixing SVG, MathML, and XHTML in one document.
Limitations
- Browsers reject XHTML with strict MIME on any markup error — harsh failure mode.
- Authoring is more tedious than HTML5.
- Not served by ~99% of the web.
MD Strengths
- Readable as plain text even before rendering — fits in version control beautifully.
- Dead-simple: 90% of needs covered in 10 minutes of learning.
- Converts trivially to HTML, PDF, EPUB, and DOCX via Pandoc.
- Every modern IDE, note-taking app, and developer tool renders it natively.
- Lightweight — a typical Markdown file is kilobytes, not megabytes.
Limitations
- No formal authoritative spec — CommonMark, GFM, and MultiMarkdown differ on edge cases.
- Tables and complex layouts are clunky; footnotes and math require extensions.
- Links to images stay external — no embedded media unless you base64-inline.
Quality & Compatibility
Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, hyperlinks and inline images all survive the conversion with their semantic structure intact. Rare features unique to XHTML — legacy macros, form fields, obscure frame styles — are flattened to static content where no direct MD equivalent exists. Tracked changes, where both formats support them, transfer cleanly.
Tips for Best Results
- Round-tripping between XHTML and MD (converting back and forth) can accumulate small formatting drift — do one conversion and stay in that format.
- If the XHTML has tracked changes, accept or reject them before converting to avoid surprises in the MD output.
- Very long documents split cleanly at existing section breaks; add section breaks deliberately if you need precise page boundaries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the fonts are standard (system fonts or common office fonts like Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica). Custom corporate fonts survive if they are embedded in the source document; otherwise the conversion substitutes the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two.
Yes. Inline images are embedded into the MD at full resolution, editable tables become native MD tables, and hyperlinks keep their URLs. Complex features unique to XHTML — macros, form fields, track-changes — are mapped where an equivalent exists in MD and flattened into static content otherwise.
All uploads go over TLS, files are processed in isolated containers and both the source and the output are deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never indexed or used for training, and the paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
XHTML Document
Source formatXHTML is XML-compliant HTML for strict document processing.
Markdown
Target formatMarkdown is a lightweight markup language that uses plain text formatting syntax. It is widely used in software development, technical documentation, and content management systems.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send MD files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for XHTML.
Embed in documents
Drop MD output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
MD often produces smaller files than XHTML for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
XHTML vs MD — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
- EPUB chapter 5-50 KB
- DocBook reference page 10-100 KB
- README 1-15 KB
- Blog post 2-30 KB
- Full technical manual 50 KB - 2 MB
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Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
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