---
id: markdown2
version: "2.5.5"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# markdown2 — A fast and complete Python implementation of Markdown

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 9.7M/mo

## What it is and what it does

markdown2 is a Python library that translates Markdown-formatted plain text into HTML. It implements the Markdown specification as a text-to-HTML filter, supporting standard Markdown features like headers, emphasis, code blocks, blockquotes, and links. The library has no runtime dependencies, making it lightweight and straightforward to integrate into projects that need to render Markdown content.

The package is production-stable and actively maintained, with support for modern Python versions (3.9 through 3.13). It's commonly used in documentation systems, static site generators, content management tools, and any application that needs to convert user-supplied or authored Markdown into HTML for display or storage.

Use it for:

- Convert user-submitted Markdown comments or posts to HTML for display in web applications.
- Generate HTML documentation from Markdown source files in build or deployment pipelines.
- Render README or help text stored in Markdown format within command-line tools or applications.
- Transform Markdown content in static site generators or documentation platforms.
- Process Markdown templates or email content that needs to be converted to HTML.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Converts Markdown text to HTML using a fast, complete Python implementation of the Markdown specification.

Yes. markdown2 is a solid choice for Markdown-to-HTML conversion: it has no dependencies, is actively maintained, supports current Python versions, carries a permissive MIT license, and has no known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need reliable Markdown rendering without external dependencies.

## Install

pip install markdown2
uv add markdown2
poetry add markdown2

## Installing markdown2

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with recent commits and a stable production release; supports Python 3.9 through 3.13.

License in practice: MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install markdown2

import markdown2
html = markdown2.markdown('# Hello\n\nThis is **bold** text.')
print(html)

Requires Python 3.9 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package supports Markdown extensions or flavors beyond the base spec.
- Performance characteristics compared to other Markdown implementations for large documents.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 9.7M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

markdown to html converter, markdown parser python, text to html filter, markdown implementation, convert markdown documents, markdown processor, markdown rendering, markdown, html-generation, text-processing

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/markdown2) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/markdown2/)