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How to convert BBCode to Markdown

Rescue forum posts written in BBCode into clean Markdown — ideal for migrating a community, archiving threads, or republishing old guides on a modern site.

June 21, 20262 min read
FORUMSBBCode → MDGUIDEBBCODE[b]bold[/b]MARKDOWN**bold**

Years of forum knowledge often sits locked in BBCode — the [b]…[/b] tag format of phpBB, vBulletin, and their kin. BBCode to Markdown converts those posts into clean Markdown so the content can live on a modern platform.

What converts

The tool unwraps BBCode's bracket tags into Markdown:

  • [b] / [i]**bold** / *italic*
  • [url=…]text[/url][text](url)
  • [code] → fenced code blocks
  • [quote]> blockquotes
  • [list] with [*] items → Markdown lists

The output renders correctly on GitHub, static sites, and any Markdown-aware system.

Where it helps

  • Migrating a forum to a modern community platform or a static knowledge base.
  • Archiving valuable threads — tutorials, FAQs, build logs — as durable Markdown.
  • Republishing your own old posts on a blog or docs site.

Bulk migrations

If you're moving an entire forum, treat it as a pipeline: convert each post as you export it, preserve thread and author metadata alongside the Markdown, and keep attachments in a parallel folder. The payoff is a searchable, portable archive instead of content stuck in legacy software.

The reverse direction

Still posting to a BBCode forum? Markdown to BBCode lets you draft in Markdown and convert to BBCode for submission.

Privacy

Conversion runs locally, so private or members-only content stays in your browser.

Bring your community's history into a format that will still be readable in ten years.

Tags#bbcode#markdown#forum#how-to

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