How to convert Markdown to BBCode
Post formatted text to forums that use BBCode by converting your Markdown first — the tag-based syntax, and why drafting in Markdown is still easier.
Plenty of forums and communities still run on BBCode — the [b]…[/b] tag syntax from the phpBB era. If you'd rather write in Markdown than memorize BBCode tags, Markdown to BBCode converts your post so it formats correctly when you submit it.
How BBCode differs
BBCode wraps content in square-bracket tags, like a simplified HTML:
- Bold →
[b]bold[/b] - Italic →
[i]italic[/i] - Links →
[url=https://…]text[/url] - Code →
[code]…[/code] - Lists →
[list]with[*]items - Quotes →
[quote]…[/quote]
Markdown's headings don't always have a BBCode equivalent (many forums reserve heading styling), so they typically convert to bold or large text depending on the board.
A simpler workflow
- Draft your post in Markdown — fast, readable, no tag soup.
- Convert it to BBCode.
- Paste it into the forum's reply box and post.
You get clean formatting without hand-typing brackets or forgetting a closing tag (the classic BBCode bug).
Where it helps
- Cross-posting the same content to a Markdown site and a BBCode forum.
- Writing long forum posts — guides, tutorials, announcements — without the formatting friction.
- Reusing documentation as a community post.
The reverse direction
Salvaging old forum content? BBCode to Markdown converts posts back to Markdown so you can archive or republish them on modern platforms.
Privacy
The conversion is local — your draft stays in the browser until you choose to post it.
Write the post the easy way, convert, and let the forum render it right.