How to convert Markdown to Jira markup
Paste Markdown into Jira without losing formatting by converting it to Jira wiki markup first — the syntax differences that trip people up, and a clean workflow.
Jira doesn't speak Markdown. Paste a Markdown ticket description in and your headings, code blocks, and lists arrive as literal asterisks and hashes. Markdown to Jira translates your text into Jira's own wiki markup so it renders correctly.
The syntax differences that trip people up
Jira's markup looks similar to Markdown but differs in the details:
- Headings use
h1.h2.h3.— not#. - Bold is
*bold*(single asterisks), where Markdown uses**bold**. - Code blocks are wrapped in
{code}…{code}, not triple backticks. - Links are
[text|url], with a pipe instead of parentheses.
These overlaps are exactly why hand-editing fails — *bold* means italic in Markdown but bold in Jira. The converter handles every one of these mappings so you don't have to remember them.
A clean workflow
- Write your ticket, comment, or description in Markdown — the syntax you already know.
- Convert it to Jira markup.
- Paste the result into the Jira field.
It renders with proper headings, lists, code, and links.
Where it helps
- Authoring tickets in bulk — draft in Markdown, convert, paste.
- Reusing documentation that already exists in Markdown as ticket content.
- Scripting — generating Jira-ready descriptions from a template.
The reverse direction
Migrating out of Jira, or want a teammate's Jira-formatted text in Markdown? Jira to Markdown converts the other way — handy for moving issues into docs or a new tool.
Privacy
Conversion runs locally; your ticket text never leaves the browser.
Write in the markup you know, convert once, and let Jira render it properly.