What Is a .markdown File? .markdown Format, MIME & How to Open

Quick facts

Extension.markdown

File typeMarkdown Document

MIME typetext/markdown

CategoryData & Text

Charset—

CompressibleYes

Format familymarkdown

What is .markdown

What is a .markdown file?

A .markdown file is a Markdown Document — Alias extension for Markdown documents.

In the mime-db registry it maps to text/markdown, and it is marked as compressible. When serving .markdown over HTTP, set the Content-Type header as shown in Developer info below.

Related entities: it maps to text/markdown and is used by Markdown among others — and is delivered over HTTP via the Content-Type header.

How to open .markdown files

Use VS Code or Typora to open and edit .markdown files.
Any text editor (Notepad, VS Code) can inspect the raw content as text.

Developer info

When served over HTTP, responses should set the following header:

Content-Type: text/markdown

Common software that reads/writes .markdown:

VS CodeTypora

Relation chain

.markdownextension of

format

markdownserved as

mime type

text/markdownsent via header

http header

Related extensions

Related MIME types

Related programming languages

Markdown

.md .livemd .markdown

Common uses

Configuration files
Data interchange between systems
API request and response payloads
Logs and data exports

How to edit .markdown files

Open the file with VS Code, make your changes and save.
Most editors preserve the original formatting and encoding — avoid changing the charset.

How to create .markdown files

Create a new file and save it with the .markdown extension, or export this format from VS Code.

Frequently asked questions

What programs can open .markdown files?

Common options include VS Code, Typora. You can also open many of these files with built-in viewers or a browser.

How do I create a .markdown file?

Create a new file in any text editor or the app that owns the format and save it with the .markdown extension.

What is the relationship between .markdown and the text/markdown MIME type?

text/markdown is the media type identifier used for .markdown files during network transfer (for example in the HTTP Content-Type header).

Sources & standards

Updated 2026-08-18

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