Resources · n8n integration

n8n Markdown nodeConfigure Markdown in n8n.

The n8n Markdown node converts data between Markdown and HTML without calling any API. One parameter drives it: Mode, with 2 choices and 4 fields underneath. It runs on every incoming item, needs no credential, and writes its result to the field you name in Destination Key.

Try the Markdown node on n8nSee the 1 parameters

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Why automate

What does the n8n Markdown node actually do?

It takes text in one format and hands it back in the other. Markdown to HTML for anything that has to render in a browser or an email client, HTML to Markdown for anything that has to stay readable as plain text. The conversion happens inside the workflow, on each item that reaches the node, and the result is written into a field you choose rather than replacing the input.

Three jobs cover most of what people ask this node to do. The first is publishing. A post written in Markdown, pulled from a database or a form, has to become HTML before it lands in an email body. Set Mode to Markdown to HTML, point the Markdown field at the incoming text with an expression such as {{ $json.body }}, and push the result through Gmail without maintaining a template by hand.

The second job is the return trip. Newsletters, scraped pages and CMS exports arrive wrapped in tags, and nobody wants to read that in a chat window. HTML to Markdown strips the markup while keeping headings, lists and links, so the output drops cleanly into a Slack message or a cell in Google Sheets.

The third is storage hygiene. Destination Key accepts dotted paths, so article.content.html nests the converted text under the object it belongs to instead of flattening everything at the root of the item. Handy when the same item carries both versions of a document and a later node has to pick one.

Worth knowing when not to use it. HTTP Request is the node you reach for when a dedicated node is missing an HTTP API operation, and never for something that is not HTTP. Conversion is not an API call here: the node does the work in place, using Showdown for Markdown to HTML and node-html-markdown for the other direction. Sending your text to an outside converter would only add a step that can fail.

The limits are the ones you would expect from a formatter. It converts, and that is all: no fetching a page, no rendering a PDF, no checking that your HTML is valid. Options are tied to the mode you picked, and most of them start disabled, so Tables Support and Emoji Support do nothing until you add them with Add option. Keep Images With Data covers files up to 1MB. The page describes node version 1, and an older workflow may show fewer options than that. If you are still weighing the platform itself, the n8n review goes into the trade-offs.

Parameters

How do you set up the Mode parameter?

The Markdown node has one parameter. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, what the parameter changes, and our field notes.

01

Mode

mode

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Mode sets the direction of the conversion and which input field the panel shows. Pick it first.

Key parameters

  • Markdown to HTML (markdownToHtml): converts data from Markdown to HTML, and the panel asks for the Markdown field.
  • HTML to Markdown (htmlToMarkdown): converts data from HTML to Markdown, and the panel asks for the HTML field instead.
  • Destination Key: required, the field that receives the output. Dots create nested fields, as in level1.level2.newKey.
  • Options: a collection opened with Add option, and the list depends on the mode you selected.
Use cases
a support macro stored as Markdown becomes HTML for the reply, while an incoming HTML signature goes the other way before storage.
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FAQ

Questions people ask next

01Is the n8n Markdown node free to use?
Yes. It ships with n8n as a core node, so there is nothing to install and nothing extra to pay on top of what you already run. It behaves the same way on n8n Cloud, the hosted offer run by n8n, and on an instance you host yourself with Docker or npm under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use license. Conversion happens inside the workflow, so no outside service bills you per document either. The one thing to check is the node version: this page describes version 1, and a workflow built earlier can display an older version with fewer options.
02What credentials does it need?
None, and that is not a shortcut in the answer. This node has no credential and no Authentication selector, so there is nothing to configure on the account side before it runs. Open it, choose a mode, fill the text field and Destination Key, and it works. What it does need is something in front of it, because it does not start a workflow on its own: a Schedule Trigger, a Webhook, or the trigger of whatever tool brings the document in. It then runs once per incoming item, and a required field left empty stops the execution of the node.
03What are the limits of the Markdown node in n8n?
It converts between two formats and does nothing else. It will not download a web page, will not produce a PDF, and will not tell you that your HTML is malformed. The two option lists are separate, one per mode, and an option you never add with Add option keeps its default value, which for most of them means disabled. A few are on by default instead, such as GitHub Code Blocks and Encode Emails. Keep Images With Data supports files up to 1MB. Options can also interact with each other, so testing a combination on real content beats reasoning about it.
04Markdown node or HTTP Request for a conversion?
The Markdown node, in almost every case. HTTP Request exists to call an HTTP endpoint when a dedicated node is missing an API operation, and it is never the answer for something that is not HTTP. Converting text is not an API operation: Showdown handles Markdown to HTML, node-html-markdown handles HTML to Markdown, and both run where the workflow runs. Calling an external converter adds latency, a failure point and a dependency for a result you already have locally. HTTP Request earns its place before or after this node, to fetch the document or to post the converted output somewhere.
05n8n or Make for this kind of formatting step?
It depends on where you want the data to sit and how you want to pay. Make is a hosted automation platform with no self-hosting option, billed per operation, so a workflow that converts thousands of documents consumes operations on every run. n8n runs on n8n Cloud or on your own server, and a workflow is identical in both cases, which matters when the text being converted is customer content you would rather keep in house. Both give you a visual canvas. The question is really hosting, control over the data and the cost model, not the conversion itself.
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