md2document
Tool

A Markdown-to-PDF flow for Obsidian that produces a document

Obsidian's built-in export gives you a PDF that looks like Obsidian. The browser converter gives you a PDF that looks like a document - with templates, themes, cover pages and a real ToC.

Elia Kuratli
By Elia Kuratli
·4 min read
Open the converter

The five-step flow

  1. Open the note in Obsidian.
  2. Switch to source mode (⌘E on Mac, Ctrl+E on Windows / Linux, or click the toggle in the right margin).
  3. ⌘A / Ctrl+A then ⌘C / Ctrl+C.
  4. Open md2document.com and paste into the editor.
  5. Pick a template and design. Export.

Why source mode matters

Reading mode renders Obsidian-flavoured Markdown, including its plugin syntax. Copying from reading mode hands you the rendered output, not the source - wikilinks become anchor tags, callouts become styled divs, embeds become previews. The converter wants the original Markdown so it can apply its own templates and themes. Source mode gives you that.

Obsidian syntax that does not translate

  • Wikilinks - [[Page]] renders as literal text. Convert to [Page](Page.md) or inline-strip if the link target lives only inside the vault.
  • Wikilink images - ![[image.png]] does not load. Drag the image from your vault into the converter editor; it embeds as a data URL.
  • Callouts - > [!note] renders as a normal blockquote. Acceptable but not styled the same way.
  • Embeds - ![[Other Note]] does not inline the target note. Copy the target content in manually if you need it.
  • Dataview queries - replaced with the literal query syntax. Paste the rendered output instead.
  • Plugins - none of them survive the copy. Whatever is in the source Markdown is what the converter sees.

What translates cleanly

  • Headings, paragraphs, emphasis, links, lists, task lists.
  • Tables with column alignment.
  • Code blocks with language tags.
  • Blockquotes, horizontal rules.
  • Standard Markdown image syntax with HTTPS URLs.

Pick a design that suits the note type

For a research note or a handbook page - rotion or rcrport. For a client-facing brief written in Obsidian - balandir or aplle. For a personal essay - rcrport with the inter-plexserif font pairing. Themes set the register; pick one that matches the destination, not the editor.

Common questions

Why not Obsidian's built-in 'Export to PDF'?

It uses your reading-mode CSS plus the current theme. Result: the PDF looks like Obsidian. That is correct for personal notes, wrong for documents going to someone who does not use Obsidian.

Do wikilinks (`[[Page]]`) work in the export?

Standard Markdown does not understand wikilinks. They render as literal text. Convert to `[Page](Page.md)` or just `Page` before exporting if the document is going outside the vault.

Do Dataview queries render?

No. Dataview is an Obsidian plugin; the queries do not survive a copy. Replace the query block with its output text before exporting.

What about images stored in the vault?

Drag the image from your vault into the converter editor - it embeds as a data URL inline. Wikilink-style image syntax (`![[image.png]]`) is not standard Markdown, so the converter does not resolve it automatically.

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