Markdown to BBCode Converter
Free online Markdown to BBCode converter — convert Markdown to BBCode instantly with live preview. Paste a GitHub README, an Obsidian note, or any Markdown document and get forum-ready BBCode for phpBB, vBulletin, MyBB, and SMF bulletin boards. 100% client-side: nothing is uploaded.
Rendered preview
How to convert Markdown to BBCode
- Paste your Markdown into the input box — a full document or a snippet. GitHub-flavored Markdown (tables, strikethrough, task lists) is accepted.
- Pick your forum preset. phpBB and vBulletin accept the full tag set; choose Strict / minimal for boards that strip
[size]tags. - Copy the BBCode — conversion is live, so the output is always current. Paste it into any forum post editor.
Markdown → BBCode syntax mapping
| Markdown | BBCode output |
|---|---|
# Heading 1 | [size=200][b]Heading 1[/b][/size] |
## Heading 2 | [size=170][b]Heading 2[/b][/size] |
**bold** | [b]bold[/b] |
*italic* | [i]italic[/i] |
~~strike~~ | [s]strike[/s] |
`inline code` | [c]inline code[/c] |
``` fenced block | [code]…[/code] |
[text](https://example.com) | [url=https://example.com]text[/url] |
 | [img]https://example.com/i.png[/img] |
- item | [list][*]item[/list] |
1. item | [list=1][*]item[/list] |
> quote | [quote]quote[/quote] |
--- | [hr] |
| GFM pipe table | [table][tr][th]…[/th][/tr][tr][td]…[/td][/tr][/table] |
Built for every forum dialect
Whether you search for md to bbcode, markdown to forum code, or a markdown bbcode converter online, this page does the same job: convert Markdown to BBCode online free, with no sign-up and no uploads. Turn a GitHub README to BBCode for release announcements, convert Obsidian to BBCode for community wikis, or translate Markdown to phpBB, Markdown to vBulletin, Markdown to MyBB, and Markdown to SMF without learning each board's quirks. Markdown table to BBCode becomes a real [table][tr][td] grid — no more retyping pipes by hand. If you need to convert md to bbcode online regularly, bookmark this forum BBCode converter: your bulletin board code is generated locally in milliseconds.
What people use it for
- README → forum post: convert a GitHub README from Markdown to BBCode to announce a release on phpBB or vBulletin boards without retyping formatting.
- Obsidian / Notion → bulletin board: draft in your favorite Markdown editor, then publish the md-to-bbcode output to classic forums, modding communities (NexusMods, Steam discussions), and game boards.
- Markdown tables → BBCode tables: pipe tables become
[table][tr][td]grids that render correctly on boards with no Markdown support. - Changelogs & guides: keep one Markdown source of truth and generate the forum BBCode version on demand — no double maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Markdown to BBCode converter?
A Markdown to BBCode converter rewrites Markdown syntax as BBCode, the bracket-tag markup used by classic forums. Paste Markdown — headings, bold and italic text, links, images, lists, blockquotes, code blocks, tables, and horizontal rules — and this free online tool outputs BBCode you can paste straight into phpBB, vBulletin, MyBB, or SMF post editors.
How do I convert Markdown to BBCode online?
Paste or type your Markdown into the input box. The conversion happens live as you type — no button needed. Pick a forum preset (phpBB, vBulletin, or strict), choose your heading and inline-code style, then click Copy BBCode or Download to save the result as a text file. A rendered preview shows how the BBCode will look on the forum.
Which Markdown syntax is supported?
The converter supports ATX and Setext headings, bold, italic, bold-italic, strikethrough, inline code, fenced code blocks, links, images, autolinks, unordered and ordered lists with nesting, task lists, blockquotes (including nested quotes), horizontal rules, and GitHub-flavored Markdown tables. Reference-style links and images are not converted and pass through as text.
How are Markdown tables converted to BBCode?
GitHub-flavored Markdown pipe tables become BBCode tables: the header row maps to [tr][th] cells and each body row maps to [tr][td] cells inside a [table] wrapper. Column alignment markers (:---, :---:, ---:) are dropped because standard phpBB and vBulletin [td] tags do not support alignment attributes.
How do Markdown headings convert to BBCode?
BBCode has no heading tags, so headings are simulated. The default style wraps the heading in [size] and [b] tags — # becomes [size=200][b], ## becomes [size=170][b], scaling down to [size=100][b] for ######. If your forum strips size tags, switch the heading style to "Simple bold" to emit plain [b] headings instead.
What is the difference between the phpBB, vBulletin, and strict presets?
phpBB and vBulletin both accept [size], [b], [i], [s], [url], [img], [list], [quote], [code], [table], and [hr], so those presets use big [size]+[b] headings and [c] for inline code. The strict preset is for boards with a minimal tag set: it renders headings as plain [b] and inline code as [code], which every BBCode dialect understands.
Is my Markdown uploaded to a server?
No. The entire conversion runs in JavaScript inside your browser — zero network requests, zero tracking, zero uploads. Your Markdown and the generated BBCode never leave your device, so it is safe for private drafts, work documents, and unreleased announcements.
Can I convert BBCode back to Markdown?
This tool converts one direction only: Markdown to BBCode. Reverse conversion (BBCode to Markdown) is a separate planned tool with its own syntax mapping, because BBCode dialects differ enough that a single round-trip cannot be lossless.
Related tools
Free tool by NRTechStudio