How-to · export
A real Word document, formatting intact — without a sketchy online converter that uploads your file to someone else's server. Markd.ly does it locally with Pandoc, the category-standard document converter, and your file never leaves your machine.
Mac · Windows · one license, both desktops · lifetime $19 launch / $29 retail
Most “markdown to Word” results are web tools that ask you to paste or upload your document. For a personal note that is fine. For a client deliverable, a contract draft, a confidential spec, or anything under an NDA, uploading it to an unknown server is the wrong move. Markd.ly's Pandoc-backed export runs on your computer — nothing is uploaded, and the conversion fidelity is Pandoc's, which is the standard serious tooling uses for exactly this.
Open your .md file in Markd.ly.
It is already a plain markdown file on your disk — nothing to import.Open File → Export (Pandoc) → DOCX.
In the File menu, choose the Export (Pandoc) submenu and pick DOCX. Markd.ly hands the document to Pandoc locally — nothing is uploaded. (Pandoc export is a Pro feature; the same submenu also offers PDF, EPUB, HTML, and Reveal.js slides.)Choose where to save the .docx.
A save dialog opens — pick a location and filename. Headings, lists, tables, code blocks, and emphasis are converted to Word structure by Pandoc. There is no separate style/template picker in the menu today; export uses Pandoc's standard DOCX output.Open it in Word.
It is a normal Word .docx — send it, track-change it, hand it to a client who has never heard of markdown. No account, no upload, no watermark, no per-document limit.DOCX export via Pandoc is a Pro feature (Pro is one-time $19/$29, lifetime, desktop-only). Markd.ly Free is a complete local editor with live preview, Mermaid, and KaTeX, but Pandoc export is part of Pro. The deepest Pro export toolset is on the Mac direct-download build today; Windows Pro export tooling is rolling in across the 1.x series — verify the current Windows build before relying on Windows DOCX export. Mobile is a free local editor with no export tooling.
Pandoc must be installed on your machine
Markd.ly does not bundle Pandoc — it uses the pandoc already on your system (for example, installed via Homebrew). If Pandoc is not installed, Markd.ly tells you so instead of silently failing. This is the one prerequisite, and we would rather say it up front than have you discover it at export time.
Pandoc isn't pixel-perfect DTP
Markdown → DOCX is structural conversion: headings, lists, tables, code, emphasis, images. It does not reproduce a hand-laid InDesign-style layout. For most reports, proposals, and specs that is exactly what you want; for a heavily designed brochure it is not.
No custom-template picker in the UI today
Export uses Pandoc's standard DOCX output. There is no in-app reference-document / corporate-template picker in the current build, so do not buy expecting one-click brand-template mapping from the menu.
Pro + desktop only
No DOCX export on the free tier's core, and none on mobile.
Native Mac & Windows editor. Pandoc-backed DOCX export in Pro, on-device. Lifetime $19 launch / $29 retail.
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