How to use the markdown table generator
- Set the number of rows, including the header, and the columns.
- Type in the cells. The first row is the header. Use the menu above each column to align its text left, center or right.
- Or open Paste from a spreadsheet or CSV and paste your data, then press the button to fill the table.
- Copy the Markdown from the output box. The preview below shows how the table will look.
What the output looks like
A Markdown table is rows of text separated by pipes, with a line of dashes under the header. Colons in that line set the alignment: a colon on the left means left, on both sides means center, and on the right means right. The tool writes this line for you and can pad every cell so the columns line up in plain text, which makes the source easier to read.
Pasting data
Copy cells from a spreadsheet and paste them in, and the cells arrive separated by tabs. Comma separated text works too, including quoted fields that contain commas. The first pasted row becomes the header. The tool reads up to 50 rows and 15 columns and tells you if anything was left out.
Special characters
A pipe inside a cell would split it in two, so the tool escapes it with a backslash. Line breaks in a cell become a br tag, which most Markdown renderers accept. Wide characters such as emoji can make padded columns look uneven in a plain text editor, though the table still renders correctly. Markdown tables are supported by GitHub style Markdown, and many other tools use the same form. To tidy other text first, try the case converter or compare two lists.
Assumptions and limits
- The first row is the header, and the output follows the GitHub style table format.
- Cell text is plain. Markdown inside cells, such as bold, is left as you type it.
- Padding counts characters, so it may not line up exactly for wide characters.
- Everything runs in your browser. Your data is not uploaded or stored.
Frequently asked questions
How do I align a column in a Markdown table?
Put colons in the line under the header, a colon on the left for left, on both sides for center and on the right for right. This tool writes that line when you choose an alignment.
How do I convert an Excel table to Markdown?
Select the cells in the spreadsheet, copy, and paste them into the paste box, then press the fill button. Copy the Markdown that results.
How do I put a pipe character in a cell?
Write it as a backslash and a pipe. The tool does this automatically when you type a pipe in a cell.
Can a Markdown table have a merged cell?
No. Standard Markdown tables have no merged cells or multi line cells. For those you need HTML, or a line break tag inside the cell for simple cases.