Spine Order, Not File Order
EPUB to Markdown follows the reading order the book's package declares, not the order of files in the archive or their names. Items marked non-linear are left out.
What Is the EPUB to Markdown Converter?
An EPUB is a ZIP of XHTML chapters plus a package file that lists their reading order. The EPUB to Markdown converter opens that package in your browser, follows the order it declares, and turns each chapter into Markdown — keeping headings, lists, quotes, links, and images.
- Reading order, not file order: Chapters are listed in the book's spine order, whatever their file names.
- A preview with the pictures: Check each chapter rendered with its images before you export anything.
- One file or the whole set: Export a chapter or the whole book as .md, or a ZIP with every chapter, a contents page, and assets/.
How EPUB to Markdown Conversion Works
EPUB to Markdown reads the book once, when you open it, in four steps that run entirely in the browser.
- 1The archive is opened with limitsThe ZIP is read in memory, up to 2,000 entries and 60 MB expanded. Encrypted resources, paths that point outside the archive, and XML entity declarations are refused.
- 2The package sets the orderMETA-INF/container.xml points to the package document. Its manifest lists the files and its spine sets the reading order; non-linear items are skipped.
- 3Chapters become MarkdownScripts, styles, forms, and embedded objects are removed, then each chapter's XHTML goes through the same HTML-to-Markdown engine as HTML to Markdown. A chapter is named after its first heading.
- 4Images and links are rewiredRaster images are copied into assets/ and links between chapters point at the exported files. SVG, external, and missing images become their alternative text.
<h1>Reading order</h1>
<p>An EPUB contains a <strong>spine</strong>:
the sequence a reader follows through the book.</p>
<p>Next: <a href="chapter-b.xhtml">Taking notes</a>.</p>
<p><img src="images/reading-order.png"
alt="Reading order then Taking notes"/></p>001-chapter-a.mdout
# Reading order
An EPUB contains a **spine**: the sequence a reader follows through the book.
Next: [Taking notes](002-chapter-b.md).
An EPUB to Markdown Converter That Respects the Book
EPUB to Markdown keeps a book's order, structure, and images, and is cautious with files it did not write.
Chapter by Chapter
EPUB to Markdown lists every chapter with its word count. Select one to preview, copy, or download it on its own, or select Whole book for everything in one file.
Images Kept Byte for Byte
PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, and AVIF images are copied into assets/ without recompression, and the preview shows them in place before you export.
A ZIP Ready for a Notes Folder
book.md, a linked contents.md, one numbered file per chapter, and the assets folder — unzip it into Obsidian or any folder-based notes app.
Careful With Untrusted Books
Chapter scripts never run and external resources are never fetched. Encrypted, malformed, or oversized packages are refused with a reason.
Private EPUB to Markdown
EPUB to Markdown unzips and converts the book in this browser tab. It is not uploaded to a conversion server or stored by this site.
EPUB to Markdown Examples
Taken from the sample book on this page: what the EPUB contains, and what EPUB to Markdown writes for it.
Reading order comes from the spine
The sample lists chapter B before chapter A in its manifest; the spine puts A first. The EPUB to Markdown export follows the spine and numbers the files to match.
package.opf (excerpt)in
<manifest>
<item id="second" href="chapter-b.xhtml" …/>
<item id="first" href="chapter-a.xhtml" …/>
</manifest>
<spine>
<itemref idref="first"/>
<itemref idref="second"/>
</spine>Files in the ZIPout
001-chapter-a.md # Reading order
002-chapter-b.md # Taking notesStructure becomes Markdown
Headings, quotes, and lists are converted from the chapter's XHTML. Fonts, margins, and colors come from the book's CSS and do not carry over.
chapter-b.xhtml (excerpt)in
<h1>Taking notes</h1>
<blockquote>
<p>Keep the idea, then add your own connection.</p>
</blockquote>
<ol>
<li>Read the converted chapter.</li>
<li>Check links and footnotes.</li>
</ol>002-chapter-b.mdout
# Taking notes
> Keep the idea, then add your own connection.
1. Read the converted chapter.
2. Check links and footnotes.Images move to assets/
The image file is copied unchanged into the ZIP and the reference is rewritten to point at it. Keep assets/ next to the Markdown files after unzipping.
chapter-a.xhtmlin
<img src="images/reading-order.png"
alt="Reading order then Taking notes"/>001-chapter-a.mdout
A .md download on its own does not include the image file — use the ZIP.
Links follow the export
A link to another chapter points at that chapter's file in the per-chapter export, and at the chapter's heading anchor in the combined book.md.
chapter-a.xhtmlin
<a href="chapter-b.xhtml">Taking notes</a>001-chapter-a.md, then book.mdout
[Taking notes](002-chapter-b.md)
[Taking notes](#taking-notes)One Book, Every Way You Need It
Select a chapter or Whole book in the list: Copy Markdown and .md act on the selection, and the EPUB to Markdown ZIP always contains everything.
- book.md — the whole book, with links between chapters turned into in-page anchors.
- contents.md — a linked list of the chapter files.
- 001-….md, 002-….md — one file per chapter, numbered in reading order.
- assets/ — the extracted images, referenced from the Markdown.
What EPUB to Markdown Preserves
How each part of an EPUB comes out of EPUB to Markdown, and what is worth checking after conversion.
| In the EPUB | In Markdown | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| <h1> – <h6> | # … ###### | The first heading also names the chapter. |
| <strong>, <em>, <a href> | **bold**, *italic*, [text](url) | External links are kept as written. |
| <ul>, <ol>, <blockquote> | - item, 1. item, > quote | Nesting is kept. |
| <table> | | a | b | or HTML | Tables with merged cells stay as HTML. |
| PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF |  | Original bytes in the ZIP; nothing is recompressed. |
| SVG, external, or missing images | Alternative text | Not fetched and not embedded. |
| Links between chapters | […](002-chapter-b.md) | Fragment IDs from the book may not match Markdown heading IDs. |
| Title and creator | # Title, then the author | Read from the package metadata; missing metadata cannot be recovered. |
| CSS, fonts, page numbers | (dropped) | Markdown has no layout; fixed-layout books lose their page geometry. |
Keep the Meaning, Review the Layout
EPUB is not PDF
An EPUB stores chapters as XHTML with a declared order, so its structure can be read directly. A PDF stores positioned page content — use PDF to Markdown for those; renaming .pdf to .epub converts nothing.
Footnotes need a second look
EPUB notes are usually linked HTML fragments. They are not turned into GFM footnotes, and Markdown renderers generate heading IDs differently, so check notes and back-links.
Only books you may convert
EPUB to Markdown does not remove DRM or bypass encryption. Use it for unencrypted books you are allowed to convert, and keep the original EPUB for its layout and metadata.
Specifications behind these rules
- W3C EPUB 3.3The container, package document, manifest, and spine.
- GitHub Flavored Markdown specificationThe Markdown syntax the chapters are written in.
Convert EPUB to Markdown in 3 Steps
Convert an EPUB to Markdown, review the chapters with their images, and export them the way your notes are organized.
1
Open a DRM-free EPUB
Drop an .epub up to 25 MB onto the EPUB to Markdown converter or choose Select EPUB — or try the two-chapter sample book.
2
Review the chapters
Pick chapters from the list to check them in Preview with their images, or switch to Markdown to read the source.
3
Copy or export
Copy or download the selected chapter or the whole book as .md, or download the ZIP with every chapter and its images.
EPUB to Markdown Questions
Answers about EPUB to Markdown with Obsidian, images, chapter names, DRM, footnotes, limits, and privacy.
How do I convert EPUB to Markdown?
Can I use the result in Obsidian?
Does EPUB to Markdown keep the images?
Can I convert an EPUB to a single Markdown file?
Does EPUB to Markdown work with EPUB 2 and EPUB 3?
Why do the chapter names differ from the file names?
Can it convert Kindle books or DRM-protected EPUBs?
What happens to footnotes and internal links?
Will my EPUB be uploaded?
What are the size limits?
More Ways Into Markdown
Start from a different document format, or check the Markdown syntax your notes use.
Convert EPUB to Markdown Now
Open a DRM-free book, and EPUB to Markdown gives you its chapters as Markdown with the images kept.