Markdown to BBCode
Paste Markdown, copy BBCode for phpBB, vBulletin or XenForo. Bold, links, images, code, quotes and lists become forum tags.
BBCode output will appear here...
To convert Markdown to BBCode, paste your post into the left panel and copy the BBCode from the right. Bold, italics, strikethrough, links, images, inline and fenced code, quotes, numbered, bulleted and nested lists, tables and headings are turned into the matching square-bracket tags. Paste the result into a phpBB, vBulletin, XenForo or other BBCode forum editor.
What does the output look like?
Patch notes with a heading and a link
## Patch 1.4 notes
The **inventory bug** is fixed. Full list on the [tracker](https://example.com/1.4).[size=5]Patch 1.4 notes[/size]
The [b]inventory bug[/b] is fixed. Full list on the [url=https://example.com/1.4]tracker[/url].Install steps with inline and block code
Install steps:
1. Back up your save
2. Copy the mod folder
3. Run `enable.sh`
```
mods/enable.cfg
```Install steps:
[list=1]
[*]Back up your save
[*]Copy the mod folder
[*]Run [code]enable.sh[/code]
[/list]
[code]mods/enable.cfg
[/code]Quote, strikethrough and an image
> Can we get dark mode?
It shipped in ~~1.5~~ 1.4.
[quote]Can we get dark mode?[/quote]
It shipped in [s]1.5[/s] 1.4.
[img]https://example.com/dark.png[/img]Which forums can I paste the result into?
Any forum that reads BBCode: phpBB, vBulletin, XenForo, MyBB, SMF and many game and hobby boards. The tags for bold, links, images, code, quotes and lists are the same nearly everywhere. Headings are the exception, see the next question. Discourse and Reddit take Markdown directly, so post the original instead.
How are headings converted?
BBCode has no heading tag, so headings become text sizes: # becomes [size=6], ## becomes [size=5], down to [size=1] for ######.
vBulletin and XenForo read sizes on a 1 to 7 scale, so this works as expected there. phpBB reads the number as a percentage, so [size=6] is unreadably small. On phpBB, change the numbers to something like [size=150], or use [b] for headings.
What has no BBCode equivalent?
Tables are the shakiest part. Pipe tables become [table], [tr], [th] and [td], which XenForo 2.1 and later displays. phpBB and MyBB show them only if an admin has added a table BBCode, otherwise the tags appear as text; wrap the original pipe table in [code] instead.
Footnotes become [1] markers with the notes at the end. Task-list checkboxes, maths and Mermaid diagrams have no BBCode form and stay as plain text. Image alt text is dropped because [img] has nowhere to put it.
Why doesn't Pandoc do this?
Pandoc has no BBCode writer. It supports custom writers written in Lua, so you can script one, but nothing ships with it. For a single forum post, pasting here is quicker. If you only need the words without any tags, try Markdown to plain text.
How are tables, code, front matter and other edge cases handled?
| Input | What you get |
|---|---|
| Tables | [table] with [tr], [th] and [td]; needs a forum with a table tag |
| Fenced code (``` or ~~~) | [code]...[/code], language name dropped, contents untouched |
| Inline code | [code]...[/code] inline, contents untouched |
| Lists starting with *, - or + | [list] with [*] items |
| Nested lists | [list] inside the parent [*] item |
| Multi-line blockquotes | One [quote] block |
| _italic_ and __bold__ | [i] and [b], same as asterisks |
| Images | [img]url[/img]; alt text dropped |
| Footnotes | [1] markers, notes listed at the end |
| Raw HTML | Passed through as typed |
| YAML front matter | Removed |
| Task lists | [*][x] done, [*][ ] todo, as text |
| LaTeX math | Left as $...$ source |
| Mermaid code blocks | [code] block containing the diagram source |
| Emoji | Unicode emoji kept; :shortcodes: kept as typed |
How does this compare with Pandoc and the forum's own editor?
| MDConvert (this page) | Pandoc | Forum's WYSIWYG editor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write in Markdown | Yes | Yes | No, toolbar buttons or BBCode |
| BBCode output | Yes | Only with a custom Lua writer | Yes, native |
| Headings sized for your forum | 1 to 7 scale; phpBB needs edits | Whatever your writer does | Yes |
| Tables | [table] tags | Depends on your writer | Only if the forum has a table tag |
| Install needed | No, runs in the browser | Yes, plus the writer script | No |
If you mostly write on one forum, its own editor knows its tags best. This page helps when the post already exists as Markdown, for example in a README, a changelog or notes.
Maintained by Ankit Aglawe. Last updated .
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