# How to convert a web page to Markdown

Updated 26 September 2026

To convert a web page to Markdown, install Pocketdown, open the page, click the Pocketdown icon and press **Clip as Markdown** — or press **Alt+Shift+S**. Pocketdown finds the main content, drops navigation, ads and cookie banners, and converts the rest to Markdown with headings, links, lists, code blocks and tables intact. It all happens in your browser; the page is never sent to a server, and it is free and unlimited.

## Step by step

1.  **Install Pocketdown.** Add it from the [Chrome Web Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nelaefmjglapmijpoehfdijofjgencla).
2.  **Open the page you want to keep.** Articles, documentation, blog posts, recipes — anything with readable content.
3.  **Click the Pocketdown icon and press Clip as Markdown.** The first time, the Markdown is copied to your clipboard. After that the button reuses how you delivered your last clip.
4.  **Or use the keyboard.** Alt+Shift+S (Option+Shift+S on a Mac) saves the page as a `.md` file. By default your browser asks where to save it; turn that off in Settings → Clip output.

## Three ways to clip a page

| How | What to do | Where the Markdown goes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Toolbar | Click the icon, then **Clip as Markdown** | Clipboard the first time; then whatever you used last |
| Keyboard | `Alt+Shift+S` | Downloads a `.md` file |
| Right-click | **Clip page to Markdown** | Downloads a `.md` file |

## Just the part you want

-   **A selection:** highlight text, then press `Alt+Shift+C` or right-click and choose **Clip selection to Markdown**.
-   **One block:** press `Alt+Shift+E` or right-click and choose **Pick an element to clip…**, then click the part of the page you want. Useful on pages that aren't articles, such as dashboards or product pages.
-   **Several highlights:** collect highlights as you read with the highlight tool in the popup and export them together as one note.
-   **Several tabs:** **Batch clip** converts a set of open tabs in one go.

## What the Markdown looks like

Real output. Tables become Markdown tables, code keeps its language, and the note opens with a YAML property block.

````markdown
---
title: Why Markdown outlasts every notes app
source: https://example.com/blog/markdown-lasts
author: Jane Doe
site: example.com
published: 2026-03-14
clipped: 2026-09-26
---

# Why Markdown outlasts every notes app

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created in 2004.

## Why plain text lasts

Plain text files open in **any** editor, today and in twenty years.

-   No vendor lock-in
-   Works with Git

```bash
echo "hello" > note.md
```

| Format | Portable |
| --- | --- |
| Markdown | Yes |
| Proprietary | No |
````

## Properties and file names

-   **Properties:** each note starts with `title`, `source`, `author`, `site`, `published` and `clipped` when the page provides them. Turn the block off in Settings → Clip output.
-   **File names:** a template with `{{title}}`, `{{site}}`, `{{date}}` and `{{kind}}`. A `/` makes folders, so `{{date}}/{{site}}/{{title}}` files each clip by day and site.

## Other formats

Besides Markdown, you can copy a clip as rich text (for Word or Google Docs), HTML or plain text, and download it as `.md`, `.html`, Word (`.doc`), `.txt`, or as a PDF through the print dialog.

## Limits worth knowing

-   **It saves what your browser has loaded.** Pages behind a login work when you are signed in; Pocketdown does not get around paywalls.
-   **Content that loads as you scroll** may be missing if it hasn't loaded yet — scroll to the end first.
-   **Web apps aren't articles.** On pages like dashboards, use the element picker to take the part you need.

## Questions

### Does Pocketdown send the page to a server to convert it?

No. The page is converted inside your browser and is never sent to Pocketdown's servers. It works offline, too.

### Is converting web pages to Markdown free?

Yes. Clipping pages, articles, selections and PDFs is free and unlimited, with no account needed.

### Does it keep tables and code blocks?

Yes. Tables become Markdown tables and code blocks keep their language, so syntax highlighting still works in your notes app.

### Can I clip only part of a page?

Yes. Clip a selection with Alt+Shift+C, or pick a single element with Alt+Shift+E and click the block you want.

## More guides

-   [Save a YouTube transcript as Markdown](https://pocketdown.com/guides/youtube-transcript-to-markdown/) — Captions to a timestamped transcript, including videos with no caption file.
-   [Save Bilibili subtitles as Markdown](https://pocketdown.com/guides/bilibili-subtitles-to-markdown/) — Human-made and AI subtitles from 哔哩哔哩, with links back to each moment.
-   [Convert a PDF to Markdown in your browser](https://pocketdown.com/guides/pdf-to-markdown/) — Headings and paragraphs rebuilt from the text layer, with no upload.
-   [Clip web pages into Obsidian](https://pocketdown.com/guides/clip-to-obsidian/) — Straight into your vault as notes with properties, in the folder you choose.

[Add Pocketdown to your browser — free](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nelaefmjglapmijpoehfdijofjgencla)

---

Source: https://pocketdown.com/guides/web-page-to-markdown/ · Updated: 2026-09-26