---
title: "Markdown Render"
description: "Turn Markdown back into HTML or plain text with POST /v1/convert/markdown/{html,text}, at no credit cost."
url: https://markitdown.ai/docs/render
updated: 2026-09-25
source: markitdown.ai
---

# Markdown Render

> Turn Markdown back into HTML or plain text with POST /v1/convert/markdown/{html,text}, at no credit cost.

## Request

**POST** `/v1/convert/markdown/html` — Render Markdown to sanitized HTML

**POST** `/v1/convert/markdown/text` — Render Markdown to plain text

**Body — send exactly one input kind**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `text` | string | no | Markdown source, inline. |
| `file` | multipart or string | no | A `.md` upload, or a `file_…` id referencing a stored `markdown` output. |
| `links` | string | no | `markdown/text` only: `text-url` (default) appends the URL to the link text, `text` keeps the text alone. |

**Inline Markdown to HTML**

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.markitdown.ai/v1/convert/markdown/html \
  -H "x-api-key: mdai_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "text": "# Notes\n\nHello **world**." }'
```

## Responses

Render returns the same conversion envelope as a parse call — `html` and `text` are the value of `files[0].outputs[0].content`, inlined whenever the rendered document is at most 256 KB. There is no separate raw-body content negotiation any more: fetch a larger output, or automate a download, with `GET .../files/{file_id}/content`. `usage.credits_charged` is always 0.

## Is rendering free?

Yes. HTML and plain-text rendering run synchronously and cost 0 credits; they still count toward your plan's per-minute rate limit. The HTML output is sanitized CommonMark with GitHub tables, task lists, and strikethrough, so it can be inserted into a page without executing scripts from the source Markdown.

## Can it render PDF or DOCX?

Not on the server yet. There is no `/v1/convert/markdown/pdf` or `/markdown/docx` endpoint, so calling one returns `404 not_found`. To make a PDF today, render HTML and print it, or use the browser Markdown to PDF tool on the website, which prints locally without uploading the document.

## What does plain-text output look like?

Plain text keeps the reading order and drops the Markdown syntax. Headings become their own lines followed by a blank line, list items keep a marker and their indentation, tables become aligned columns, and fenced code keeps its content without the fences. Links keep their text followed by the URL in parentheses, so nothing is lost when the text is pasted into an email or a ticket; send `links: "text"` to drop the URLs. Use HTML output when the destination can display formatting, and plain text for search indexes, SMS, or prompts that should not see markup.

## Related

- [Convert](https://markitdown.ai/docs/convert)
- [Conversions](https://markitdown.ai/docs/conversions)
- [Batches](https://markitdown.ai/docs/batches)
- [Introduction](https://markitdown.ai/docs)
- [Document Conversion APIs](https://markitdown.ai/developers)