Text to HTML

How to use the text to html

1. Paste plain text, or send it here from another tool.
2. Choose whether blank lines make paragraphs and whether URLs become links.
3. Copy the HTML, or download it as a complete document.

About this tool

Plain text has one piece of structure — the blank line — and this promotes it to a paragraph. Single line breaks become `<br />`, bare URLs and email addresses become links, and everything else is left alone, because there is nothing else in plain text to interpret without guessing.

Escaping happens first, before anything is added. Text containing `<script>` becomes visible characters rather than a script, and links are added only after that, so nothing in the input can inject markup. That ordering is the whole security of the tool, and it matters because converted text is usually pasted straight into a page or a CMS.

The alternative to paragraphs is a `<pre>` block, which preserves every space and line break exactly. That is the right output for a log, a code sample or a poem — anything where the layout of the original is part of its meaning — and the wrong one for prose.

What this deliberately does not do is guess at headings, lists or emphasis. A line in capitals might be a heading or might be shouting; a line starting with a hyphen might be a list item or might be a dash. Markdown exists precisely because plain text has no answer to that, and the Markdown converter is the tool for text that carries those conventions.

Common uses

• Publishing a plain text notice as a web page.
• Turning an email body into HTML for a CMS.
• Getting escaped, safe markup from untrusted text.

Frequently asked questions

Does it detect headings and lists?

No, deliberately. A line in capitals might be a heading or shouting, and a leading hyphen might be a list or a dash. Markdown exists to answer that, and there is a converter for it.

Is the text escaped?

Yes, before anything else happens. Text containing angle brackets becomes visible characters, and links are added afterwards so nothing in the input can inject markup.

When should I use the pre option instead?

For logs, code or anything where the exact spacing and line breaks carry meaning. Paragraph mode is for prose.