# Plain Markdown

Docs

Plain Markdown converts webpages into clean Markdown. Use the browser extension for one-off conversions, or the API to convert URLs programmatically.

Extension

Getting started

  1. Install from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Open any webpage with http or https.
  3. Click the extension icon to extract and edit Markdown.

Floating editor panel

From the popup, click the floating panel button to open an embedded editor on the page.

Drafts

  • Changes are saved automatically as you type.
  • Drafts are saved per page and restore when you reopen the extension.
  • Click the refresh button to discard your draft and re-extract from the page.

Keyboard shortcuts

  • Find & replace: Cmd+F (macOS) or Ctrl+F (Windows/Linux).
  • Open a link: Hold Cmd or Ctrl and click any Markdown link in the editor.

Using with AI

Plain Markdown is a fast way to prepare web content for large language models. Markdown strips away ads, navigation, and formatting noise, giving the AI only the relevant content in a structured format that uses fewer tokens.

  • Convert any article, then copy the Markdown and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or any LLM.
  • Use the editor to trim irrelevant sections before sending to the AI.

Troubleshooting

  • Only http and https pages are supported. Browser internal pages won't work.
  • If extraction or the floating panel fails, reload the tab and try again.

API

Overview

The Plain Markdown API converts any URL to clean Markdown with a single request. Send a URL, get structured Markdown back.

  • One endpoint: POST /v1/convert. Authenticate with a Bearer token.
  • Every account includes 500 free conversions per month. Prepaid credit packs are available for higher volume. Paid credits never expire.
  • Create your API key and manage billing from the dashboard.

Parameters

Send a JSON body with the following fields:

Parameter Type Required Description
url string Yes The page to convert. Must be http or https.
response_format string No "markdown" (default) or "text" for plain text.
include_metadata boolean No Include title, byline, excerpt, and site name alongside the content.

For the full request/response schema, see the interactive API reference or the OpenAPI spec.

Rate limits

Rate limits apply per API key. Accounts with prepaid credits get higher limits.

Tier Per minute Per hour
Free 30 500
Paid 100 2,000

If you hit a limit the API returns 429 with a Retry-After header.

MCP server

The API also works as an MCP server. This lets you use Plain Markdown as a tool directly from your coding editor or AI agent, with no extra setup beyond adding the server config.

  • Supported in Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex, OpenCode, and Claude Desktop.
  • Setup instructions and copy-paste configs are on the API page.

Support

For help or bug reports, contact support@plainmarkdown.com.