How to convert Markdown to HTML on iPhone
You get a complete .html file — doctype, head, a small stylesheet, body — not a fragment of markup you then have to wrap yourself. Open it in any browser and it looks like a document.
What you get out
Most Markdown converters hand you a naked fragment — <h1>Title</h1><p>Text</p> — which is useless on its own: double-click it and the browser shows unstyled text at 16 pixels crammed against the left edge.
Convexy writes a whole document: a doctype, a <head> with the character set and viewport declared, a small inline stylesheet that sets a readable system font, sensible line height and page padding, and your content in the body. It opens correctly on a phone or a desktop, works offline, and can be emailed as a single self-contained file.
Because the styling is a plain <style> block at the top of the file, it is also the easiest thing in the world to change afterwards. Open the HTML in any text editor and rewrite the CSS. Nothing is minified, obfuscated, or split across files.
What converts
- Headings —
#,##,###become<h1>,<h2>,<h3>. - Bold and italic —
**bold**becomes<strong>,*italic*becomes<em>. - Bullet lists — lines beginning
-become a proper<ul>. - Numbered lists — lines beginning
1.become an<ol>. - Links —
[text](https://example.com)becomes a real anchor. - Inline code — backticks become
<code>. - Fenced code blocks —
```fences become<pre><code>, with your indentation preserved.
What does not convert
Markdown has no single standard. Convexy implements a defined subset, and everything outside it passes through as literal text rather than being silently mangled:
- Tables — pipe tables are not turned into
<table>markup. - Images —
does not produce an<img>. - Blockquotes — a leading
>is not turned into<blockquote>. - Headings deeper than
###—####and below are not recognised. - Bullets written with
*or+— only hyphens start a list. - Nested lists — indentation is not read as depth; sub-items are flattened.
- Horizontal rules, strikethrough, task lists, footnotes.
Raw HTML in your Markdown is escaped, not rendered. If your source contains <div class="box">, the output shows those characters on the page rather than creating a div. This is deliberate: a stray angle bracket in a sentence — x < y, an email address in brackets — would otherwise truncate or corrupt the whole document. Correctness beats convenience here, and it means the converter can never produce broken markup from valid text.
Why do this at all
Three honest reasons people convert Markdown to HTML on a phone:
- To send it to someone who does not know what Markdown is. A
.mdfile opens as a wall of asterisks and hashes for most people. An HTML file opens as a document. - To read it properly. iOS has no built-in Markdown renderer; Files previews a
.mdas plain text. Converting it makes it readable. - As a stepping stone. HTML is the format everything else routes through. It is also worth knowing that Markdown to PDF goes through exactly this HTML step internally — the difference is that a PDF is a fixed page, while the HTML has no page limit at all.
The conversion runs entirely on your iPhone or iPad. Nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and the app has no server behind it — it works with the network switched off. Your drafts and private notes never leave the device.
How to do it
-
Bring the Markdown file in
Open Convexy, tap Browse files, and pick the .md file — or share it into Convexy from Files or your editor.
-
Choose HTML
Convexy shows only what a Markdown file can become: HTML, PDF, TXT and RTF. Tap HTML.
-
Convert
Tap Convert. There are no options to set for this one; the output is a complete standalone HTML document.
-
Check the result
Preview the output. Confirm your headings and lists came through, and remember that tables and images do not.
-
Save or share
Save the .html to Files, or send it on. It is self-contained: it needs no other file to display correctly.
Common questions
Is the output a full HTML page or just a fragment?
A full page. You get a doctype, a head with charset and viewport, a small inline stylesheet giving a readable font and spacing, and your content in the body. Open it in a browser and it displays as a proper document, with no other files needed.
Can I change how it looks?
Yes, easily. The styling is one plain CSS block at the top of the file. Open the HTML in any text editor and edit it. Nothing is minified or split across separate stylesheets.
Do Markdown tables become HTML tables?
No. Pipe tables are not converted to table markup — they appear as the literal characters you typed. If tables are central to your document, this converter will disappoint you, and we would rather you know that here than after installing.
Why is the HTML I wrote inside my Markdown showing up as text?
Because raw HTML in the source is escaped rather than rendered. That is a deliberate safety decision: it means an ordinary angle bracket in your prose can never break the output document. The trade-off is that you cannot drop hand-written markup into the source and have it come through live.
Which Markdown syntax is supported?
Headings one to three, bold, italic, inline code, fenced code blocks, hyphen bullet lists, numbered lists and links. Not supported: tables, images, blockquotes, nested lists, headings below level three, asterisk bullets, horizontal rules, strikethrough and task lists.
Does my file get uploaded to convert it?
No. Convexy has no server, no account and no analytics. The conversion happens on the device, and the app behaves identically in Airplane Mode. After a 14-day free trial it is a one-time $4.99, with no subscription.